A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF UNDERGRADUATE CURRICULUM IN TOURISM MANAGEMENT BETWEEN INDIA AND AUSTRALIA

Abstract

The primary purpose of any tourismcurriculum is to cultivate the talents and skills of students to make them fit as per the needs of the industry. This helps to maintain tourism offerings as per the international standards for both domestic and international tourists. Tourism is an industry of expanding economic significance to both India and Australia. This study aims to compare the undergraduate tourism curriculum content in India with those offered in Australia in order to show up differences in approach, outcomes and design. As a sample 18 Indians and 7 Australian universities undergraduate curriculum content was selected. Content analysis is used to examine the curriculum content. The study result indicates that Australian universities have more specialization in tourism management/theory subjects as compared to Indian universities.However the present post-covid-19 pandemic era would be requiring more digital competency skills which are comparatively lesser in the current curriculum structurefor both the countries. The study provided valuable information in the form of cross-country curriculum content comparison and shows that under which components differences occur further it can be helpful for tourism curriculum planners to know the difference and to adapt well with the current industry requirement.