Hospitality and tourism internship programme: Expectation versus reality

Abstract

Internship has been recognized as a significant component of hospitality education that will bridge the gap between industry and academia. This study investigated the hospitality student's perception about importance and performance towards the internship programme. Data about importance (expectations) before internship (preinternship) and performance (experience) after internship (post-internship) was collected from the students who pursued either BBA or MBA degree in hospitality, travel, and tourism management from educational institutions in India. The findings of the study indicate that the students stand satisfied with the internship experience as a whole, but the level of satisfaction is low. The traditional Importance-Performance analysis by means of the four quadrants and the modified Importance-Performance analysis using the diagonal approach identified three important common aspects of internship that are to be taken care on urgent basis. They are: stable work shift, good opportunity for self-development, and feeling of being a team member. The hospitality organisations in India must pay special attention to and devote the maximum resources to enhancing the performance of these common facets that are critical for success of internship. These variables will affect the internship experience undesirably if due care is nor exercised. The major implications of the study revolve around the internship organisations, educational institutions, and the student.