With worldwide growth of tourism and its respective industries, there has been increased focus on tourism and hospitality education in recent years. Concurrently, there is growing industry demand for better educational infrastructure and curriculum relevant to build a competent workforce. Despite shared consensus between academics and industry on the need to produce graduates with suitable theoretical and practical competencies, there seems to exist a gap between what educators are nurturing and what the industry expects. This study aims to examine the tourism and hospitality programs currently offered by institutions vis-à-vis the graduate competencies and job-specific skills sought by the industry. It aims to assess the gaps (if any) existing between industry expectations and education curriculum; and in doing so provide the foundation for future research on strategies needed to bridge the gap(s) identified for a better fit between tourism and hospitality education and industry requirements
