Exploring the curriculum development of Diploma IV and Bachelor programs for hospitality and tourism studies in Indonesia

Following the recognition of hospitality and tourism studiesas an independent discipline by the Department of Educationin Indonesia in 2008, opportunities to study hospitality and tourism from bachelor up to doctoral level wereopened. Previously these studieswerecategorized as vocational programs stressing the practical aspects of the discipline,but they are now evolvinginto more academically challenging courses. To distinguish between diploma IV and bachelor program, one of the challenges faced by hospitality and tourism schools in Indonesia is the curriculum, since both programs are considered equal in terms of study duration, total credit units taken, and the continuity of study toward a master degree. This exploratory study tries to identify the expected competency output, expected job levels, components of theory and practice, frequency and areas of internships, as well as course categories and course names, for the basis of curriculum development of both programs. Essential skills for people working in hospitality and tourism have also been identified. The primary data was collected through mixed method data collection using a survey and structured interviews with 103 respondents. The respondents consisted of 35 industry practitioners, 36 educators and 32 students in hospitality and tourism. The use of secondary data includes academic literature, websites related to academic and vocational curricula in hospitality and tourism schools, and aprevious paper of the author.The data was analyzed qualitatively. Data triangulation was used to increase the validity and reliability of research, as well as to avoid research subjectivity. In analyzing the questionnaire data, the results were categorized and grouped for diploma IV and bachelor programs respectively