A walk down memory lane: Reflecting on hospitality understanding amongst UUM students

• Main Authors: Zainol, Noor Azimin, Ahmad, Rozila, Mohd Shariff, Nurhazani
• Format: Conference or Workshop Item
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: G Geography (General)
• Online Access: http://repo.uum.edu.my/13284/1/1.pdf; http://repo.uum.edu.my/13284/; http://www.thic-uum.com/
• Institution: Universiti Utara Malaysia

This paper aims to reflect on the hospitality understanding amongst hospitality students since the inception of the hospitality programme in Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).This hospitality programme, named as Bachelor of Hospitality Management with Honours (BHM), was first introduced in 2004. A general review of hospitality education is discussed and followed by a discussion on hospitality education in the Malaysian context.Previous students taking the hospitality programme in UUM were seen as not only filling the loop of not getting their programmes that they desired, but also having less passion in serving the hospitality industry.However, present students are seen as more passionate in taking up this programme whilst also making hospitality management as their number one programme of choice to further their study. Perspectives from industry players are taken into consideration in evaluating hospitality students. In addition, evaluation from employers based on practicum presentations and feedbacks are also considered to investigate the performance of the hospitality students.Present students are seen to have more understanding of what hospitality is all about which had reflected on the way they think and perform their tasks. Thus, it is seen that the present hospitality students are more in demand and more pro-active to the industry‘s needs after a decade of BHM offering.