Hospitality Education in India-present status, challenges and opportunities

The Hotel Industry in India has witnessed a tremendous boom in recent years. It is inextricably linked to the tourism industry and the growth in the Indian tourism industry has fuelled the growth of the hotel industry. The thriving economy and increased business opportunities in India have also acted as a boon for Indian hotel industry. Today, the hospitality industry is shifting towards technologically interfaced products and services. To perform and remain competitive in the volatile hospitality business environment, graduates require a complex set of operational & managerial skills, and to develop constructive thinking for transferring the acquired skill and knowledge into productivity and performance. In order to enable the supply of a skilled and efficient human resource for the industry, hospitality schools in India should revisit certain challenges facing the industry and attract the right kind and type of talent and develop the right attitude in staff. During the last two decade numerous hospitality educational institutions have introduced hospitality management education programs to cater for the diverse requirements of the industry in India. In this context, the present article has a two-fold purpose: to identify the present status of hospitality education in India and to explore the challenges facing hospitality education in the country so as to forge the path ahead