Hospitality & Tourism: Traveling the Globe
Hospitality, Tourism, & Recreation Career Pathway Course Units
Unit 1: Introduction to Hospitality & Tourism
Do you like meeting new people? Do you find it enjoyable to help people? Do you like to travel and see different parts of the world? If so, you may be interested in a career in the hospitality and tourism industry. This unit will introduce the industry and the various types of businesses within it. We’ll learn more about the development and history of the hospitality and tourism industry, and we’ll also discuss some of the current trends affecting it today.
Unit 2: Careers in the Hospitality & Tourism Field
Do you think you’d like to work in the hospitality and tourism industry? In this unit, we will examine some of the career areas available to people. We’ll learn more about career paths and what these typically look like in hospitality and tourism businesses. We’ll also discuss some of the characteristics that employers look for in employees and discuss some tips that people can use to obtain careers in hospitality- or tourism-related fields.
Unit 3: Hotels
Lodging is one of the earliest-known sectors of the hospitality and tourism industry. From ancient societies to modern times, people have needed places to stay and sleep when they are away from home. In this unit, we will explore the hotel sector of the hospitality and tourism industry, and we’ll learn about some of the different types of lodging. We’ll also discuss some of the common departments in hotels and what these departments are responsible for in the hotel’s operation. Finally, we’ll discuss room counts and the practice of overbooking rooms.
Unit 4: Restaurants & Food Service
Convenience has become a hallmark of the modern world. Nowhere is this truer in the hospitality industry than with restaurants and other food service businesses. More than ever, people are eating outside their homes, whether this involves a short trip to a restaurant down the street or as part of a longer trip outside of someone’s local area. In this unit, we will examine the restaurant and food services sector of the hospitality and tourism industry. We will discuss some of the different types of restaurants, examine the front and back of the house, and investigate how restaurants differ from managed services.
Unit 5: Tourism & Travel Planning
Since ancient times, people have been interested in seeing the world around them. Although our methods for travel have changed dramatically since then, many people still travel far away from their homes to see new places and experience different cultures. In this unit, we will examine some of the aspects of tourism and travel planning that make up this area of the hospitality and tourism industry. We will consider some of the factors that influence travel and the impact that travel can have on everyday life. We’ll also examine career options in the area of tourism and how these career positions are changing in today’s world.
Unit 6: Event Planning & Conventions/Exhibitions
Everyone likes to have a good time, but what about being the person behind all the action? If you like to help people make tough choices, organize, and are dedicated to customer service, this sector might be a good fit. Event planners and event managers are integral parts of the event business, helping to ensure that the gatherings they oversee run smoothly. However, these are careers in the hospitality and tourism industry that are often overlooked. Let’s take a peek!
Unit 7: Theme Parks & Recreation
How do you unwind and relax? Today, we do many things to help us cope with the modern stressors that we face in areas like workplaces and school. This unit focuses on the recreation and leisure sector of the hospitality and tourism industry. We will learn about government-sponsored, nonprofit, and commercial recreation sites, and we will examine the history of the amusement park. We will also learn more about the responsibilities and challenges of managing an amusement or theme park.
Unit 8: Cruise Ships & Resorts
In some areas of the hospitality and tourism industry, guests are “captive” in the sense that they spend a great deal of their vacation on the premises of the hospitality and tourism business. Two examples of this are cruise ships and resorts. Both cater to a complete vacation experience for guests that can’t otherwise be replicated—long gone are the days of one-size-fits-all vacations. This has resulted in changes and challenges for owners, staff, and guests alike. Working through these challenges will allow the cruise and resort sectors to grow and grow, possibly bypassing all other areas of the hospitality and tourism industry.