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Despite the rapid growth in the provision of tourism higher education in the past 40 years, uncertainties remain about the content and nature of tourism degrees and how these are aligned with the needs of the tourism industry. Some research has been done on tourism higher education curriculum design, but the extent to which tourism higher education meets industry needs has not yet been closely investigated. This study aims to ascertain whether a gap exists between what education institutions provide in their undergraduate curricula in the way of tourism knowledge and skills sets, and what knowledge and skills sets are required by the tourism industry. A conceptual framework was developed to outline the research process, which involved two steps. First, content analysis of tourism curricula was conducted as the preliminary research. A list of 34 subject areas was synthesised from all core subjects offered in tourism courses in a sample of Australian universities according to subjects? titles, themes and detailed descriptions. A list of 27 skills and abilities was identified by collating university generic skills and tourism discipline attributes from these institutions. Based on the study of tourism curricula, two web-based surveys were then designed and distributed in order to investigate the respective perceptions of industry professionals and academic providers on the subjects and skills sets necessary for tourism employment. In analysing the data, perceptions about the subjects and skills sets were compared between tourism industry professionals and academic providers. Importance- performance analysis, gap analysis, and SPSS statistical tools were applied to analyse this data. The study found considerable variance between the views of industry professionals and academic providers in Australia. Their views vary firstly on the relative value of tertiary degrees for tourism professionals; secondly, on the relative merits of skills and abilities needed to work in the tourism sector; and thirdly, on the relative merits of various subjects taught at university. These findings establish the existence of a gap between the existing tourism curriculum at university level, and the needs of the tourism industry. The findings of this study also provide evidence to suggest that tourism higher education provision should not be isolated from real practice and that those involved in curriculum design should work closely with industry representatives to ensure a strong connection between theory and practice, thus improving the likelihood that graduates of tourism higher education courses will graduate with knowledge and skills sets which are closely aligned with the needs and expectations of the tourism industry

Η παρούσα μελέτη διερευνά τις απόψεις, τις αντιλήψεις και τη σχέση των προπτυχιακών φοιτητών του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών με το Πανεπιστήμιο συνολικότερα. Πιο συγκεκριμένα, εξετάζονται τα κριτήρια βάσει των οποίων ο φοιτητής ή η φοιτήτρια επιλέγει τη σχολή φοίτησης αλλά και η άποψη που είχαν οι φοιτητές/φοιτήτριες για το Πανεπιστήμιο πριν εισαχθούν σε αυτό. Ακολούθως, ιδιαίτερο βάρος δίνεται στην πορεία που διανύουν οι φοιτητές μέσα στο Πανεπιστήμιο, τους παράγοντες που την καθορίζουν και πως αυτοί επιδρούν στην προσωπικότητα των φοιτητών. Διερευνώνται, επίσης, οι προοπτικές τους μετά την απόκτηση του πτυχίου, μέσα από το δικό τους οπτικό πρίσμα αλλά και αυτό των γονιών τους. Πέραν της υπάρχουσας βιβλιογραφίας, η έρευνα στηρίζεται σε 21 ατομικές, ημι-δομημένες συνεντεύξεις με προπτυχιακούς φοιτητές και φοιτήτριες του Πανεπιστημίου Πατρών. Όσον αφορά την ερμηνεία αυτών στηριχθήκαμε στην Grounded Theory αλλά και στη θεωρία του Bourdieu περί κοινωνικού και πολιτιστικού κεφαλαίου. Από την έρευνα προκύπτει ότι η πλειονότητα των παιδιών αποφασίζουν αυτοί για την εισαγωγή και για τις μελλοντικές επιλογές τους χωρίς να πιέζονται από τους γονείς αλλά απογοητεύονται από την εσωτερική εικόνα του Πανεπιστημίου. Τέλος, οι διδάσκοντες και η (οικονομική) κρίση μοιάζουν να επηρεάζουν σημαντικά την Πανεπιστημιακή πορεία αλλά και τα όνειρα των ερωτώμενων. / This study surveys the views, the perceptions and the relationship of undergraduate students of the University of Patras with the University as a whole. More specifically, we examine the criteria according to which the students choose their faculty and the inspection they had about the University prior to being accepted. Afterwards, special attention is paid to the course of students during their University years, the factors that determine it, and its effects on personality. Their prospects after graduation through theirs and their parents’ point of view are examined, as well. In addition to the existing literature, the research is based on 21 individual, semi-structured interviews with undergraduate students of the University of Patras. Grounded Theory and Bourdieu’s theory of social and cultural capital were used as hermeneutical tools to induct meaning out of the data. Research reveals that the majority of students decide on their own about their future choices without being influenced by their parents but students are let down by University’s inside conditions. Finally, academic instructors and financial crisis seem to affect considerably the University course and the dreams of the interviewees.