Sustainability in Knowledge, Education, and Industry: A Case of a Hospitality and Tourism Program

ABSTRACT

Sustainability is an important issue for the hospitality and tourism industry, and a well-educated workforce will be needed for continued growth in these sectors. Recognizing college student’s behavior toward and understanding of sustainability as well as their intention to work in this industry are critical. The main purpose of this study is to examine the relationships between factors: hospitality and tourism students’ sustainability levels (i.e. knowledge, familiarity, and improvement), program satisfaction and engagement, and their intentions to work in the sustainable industry. Both online and paper surveys were utilized to gather data for 4 months. The results show all positive effects except for levels of knowledge and familiarity against affective engagement. The findings will aid stakeholders in hospitality and tourism programs to improve their curriculum and provide the best educational environment through introduction of sustainability content.

KEYWORDS:

• Sustainability
• knowledge
• familiarity
• improvement
• intention

Disclosure Statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).