Abstract
Even though there is an increase in tourism research in India during the last 2-3 decades, researchers within the domain of tourism education made an insignificant contribution to entrepreneurship education (henceforth ‘EE') programs. The objectives of this research are to study the current status of EE in tourism, to analyse and compare course title, core concepts, major references, and further readings. This study follows a content analysis design, focusing on an in-depth analysis of syllabi of post-graduation tourism programs in Indian higher educational institutions. The syllabi contents were analyzed using the Atlas.ti. The major findings of this study indicate that in India EE in tourism programs is mostly considered as one of the core modules itself than optional/elective modules and part of other courses. Almost all syllabi have included chapters on basic concepts of entrepreneurship, capital financing, business plan, opportunities, innovations, etc. This finding has major implications for designing innovative entrepreneurship courses in tourism programs.
TopIntroduction
In the new global economy, entrepreneurship has become the central attention of everyone, as entrepreneurs are considered the future of the world, who keep on working on challenging issues creatively to make the world a better place to live. Similar to, how entrepreneurship ideas are recognized or supported by society, entrepreneurship education is also treated as one of the important components in the startup environment/ecosystem along with incubators, innovation centers, venture labs, and funding events (Mcmullan & Long, 1987). But there exists a gap in its intensity depending upon the region, especially the economic status and technological advances of the countries. Moreover teaching or training for entrepreneurship is facing many challenges including the difference in expectations of stakeholders and the educators (Mwasalwiba, 2010). Similarly, in the case of tourism and hospitality students or industry, in past, most of them have not considered the value of entrepreneurship module in their programs as a very important skill for the future (Ahmad, 2015). Earlier starting own business or small scale venture was challenging when coming to the stage of funding or marketing. Train them for the industry to title as an employee. But things got changed a lot due to technological advancements and government initiatives supporting entrepreneurs. And now they are considered one of the developmental pillars of a country or a community. These days any tourism and hospitality graduates can easily set up their entrepreneurship with minimum capital, they can look for getting funds from big ventures, and can use social media websites to market their products or services. There comes the important role of educators. Educators can help students to find out their passion for entrepreneurship, develop skills, and fully prepare them for taking challenging decisions in their entrepreneurial journey (Deale, 2016). These kinds of innovative or applied education are not only needed for the student's development, but also for ensuring future industrial demands (Zhou, 2017). Every university or administrator has to create a professional platform for students to think out of the box and to develop innovative solutions for different problems faced by existing consumers or society. The university department can prepare talent training plans, entrepreneurship associations among interested students and dual mentorships to foster innovations among students (Zheng, 2019).
Key Terms in this Chapter
Postgraduate: Specifies whether to refer to degrees completed after the completion of the first degree. Especially after three or four years of undergraduate degree courses in India.
Content Analysis: Content analysis is a research tool used to determine whether certain words, themes, or concepts are present within certain qualitative data. Content analysis allows researchers to quantify and analyze the presence, meaning, and relationships of specific words, topics, or concepts.
Multidisciplinary: The combination or inclusion of several scientific or professional disciplines in approaching a topic or problem.
Hospitality (Industry): Hospitality is a broad sector of the service industry that includes lodging, food and beverage services, event planning, theme parks, travel and tourism. This includes hotels, travel agencies, restaurants and bars. Hospitality is the relationship between a guest and a host in which the host receives the guest with some degree of goodwill, including accepting and entertaining the guest, visitor, or stranger.
ATLAS.ti: ATLAS.ti is a computer-assisted qualitative data analysis software that facilitates analysis of qualitative data for qualitative research, quantitative research, and mixed methods research.
Entrepreneurship: The activity of creating a business or businesses, taking on financial risks in the hope of earning a profit.
Syllabi: The subjects in a course of study or teaching.
Undergraduate: A university degree taken after completion of 10th or 12th standard in India.
Vocal for Local: A government of India initiative, the idea is to encourage local industry and consume as locally as possible, and to use the long-term effects of increased demand to develop domestic industry and gradually become self-sufficient.
Diploma: A diploma is a certificate issued by an educational institution that certifies the recipient's successful completion of their studies. Especially short term courses after 10th or 12th standard in India.
Aatmanirbhar Bharat: Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyaan or Self-Reliant India campaign is the vision of new India with the aim to make the country and its citizens self-reliant in all sense.
Tourism: The commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest. There are numerous types of tourism based on tourist’s interest and market demands.