Hospitality Degrees in New Zealand: Exploratory Research

Recent years have seen a huge increase in the number
of hospitality qualifications offered in New
Zealand, after the first degree becoming available
in 1993. There are now six providers of hospitality
degrees. These recent developments raise the issue
of whether industry and providers considered the
ramifications of introducing degree qualifications.
This thesis explores the place hospitality degrees
have here in New Zealand. It takes into
consideration the perspectives of students,
providers and the industry on hospitality degrees.
Industry feels that the degree is not enough to
enter the work force without an amount of work
experience and is very sceptical of what level of
management a graduate should apply for. Providers
felt that it was industry, which had pushed for this
level of qualification although nothing had been
done to make the qualification more acceptable to
industry by introducing a bench marking system for
qualifications for positions within thehospitality
industry. Students felt that the degree was a way
to formalise the experience they had already gained
in the industry to obtain a recognised qualification.