Key Difference – Tourism Management vs Hospitality Management
Although hospitality management and tourism management sound similar there exists a clear difference between the two fields. According to experts, the 21st century will be dominated by industries such as telecommunications, tourism and IT. Hospitality and tourism management are integral aspects of this industry where hospitality takes care of the accommodation needs of the tourists at hotels, restaurants, resorts, pubs and bars whereas tourism is a vast sphere of activity that involves everything from ticketing to conveyance in places of tourist attraction and arranging comfortable stay for the tourists and also arranging for entertainment. Though hospitality and tourism management are spoken of in the same breath and traditionally the two have been taught and studied by those who are desirous of being a part of this industry, of late the two courses have emerged as separate and distinct. This article intends to highlight features of both so that readers can accordingly join either of the two branches of study depending upon their chosen career.
What is Hospitality Management?
Hospitality takes care of the accommodation needs of the tourists at hotels, restaurants, resorts, pubs and bars. Though tourism and hospitality are intricately linked with each other as tourism cannot do without hospitality, hospitality management prepares students to work in the field of catering and accommodation especially in hotels, resorts and even hospitals.
Hospitality management is a course that is being offered separately by many management schools that are providing MBA courses as there are many who wish to study this field of management. Students are taught all the methods of hospitality that are essential to please the guests in a hotel or the patients who come to receive treatment for their ailments in hospitals.
What is Tourism Management?
Tourism is a vast sphere of activity that involves everything from ticketing to the conveyance in places of tourist attraction and arranging a comfortable stay for the tourists and also arranging for entertainment. Tourism management focus on all activities that form the core of tourism and students can hope to work as a travel agent, guide, and representatives of travel companies or managers in tourist companies.
Though hospitality is a trait that is essentially required in tourism industry also, it is just a part of tourism management which encompasses activities beginning from devising packages for the tourists, selling them as tour operators, booking air tickets for passengers, arranging accommodation for tourists at different places, looking after their needs and in general ensuring that tourists get the most comfortable tour or vacation that they can get.
It is clear from this analysis that hospitality management focuses on just one aspect that is catering to the needs of guests in hotels, reports and hospitals, while tourism management is a broader term encompassing a range of activities that includes hospitality.
What is the Difference Between Hospitality and Tourism Management?
Definitions of Hospitality and Tourism Management:
Hospitality Management: Hospitality takes care of the accommodation needs of the tourists at hotels, restaurants, resorts, pubs and bars.
Tourism Management: Tourism is a vast sphere of activity that involves everything from ticketing to a conveyance in places of tourist attraction and arranging a comfortable stay for the tourists and also arranging for entertainment.
Characteristics of Hospitality and Tourism Management:
Focus:
Hospitality Management: Hospitality Management prepares students to work in the field of catering and accommodation especially in hotels, resorts and even hospitals.
Tourism Management: Tourism management focus on all activities that form the core of tourism and students can hope to work as a travel agent, guide, and representatives of travel companies or managers in tourist companies.
Course:
Hospitality Management: This is a course for which students can apply for.
Tourism Management: This is also a course for which students can apply for to gain the necessary knowledge and skills.
Category:
Hospitality Management: Hospitality Management can be viewed as a subcategory of tourism.
Tourism Management: Tourism Management captures the entity and includes hospitality as well.
Image Courtesy:
1. “CblLRM” by CookiesBrownie – Own work. [Public Domain] via Wikimedia Commons
2. “Wakatobi beach 2006” by Jenny from Taipei – Wakatobi beach. [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons
