“Impact Of Online Teaching And Learning On Hotel Management Teachers And Students During COVID-19”

Abstract

Hospitality management institutes have seen an incredible growth in recent years. The recognition of this course amongst the young aspirants is due to various factors like job opportunities, different avenues, popularity of assorted television programs supported cooking skills, parent’s wishes etc. Studies reveal that the hospitality profession is treated as a glamorous one and students are attracted to join the hotel schools with the perception of achieving a great career path which is possible through the hospitality industry. (Datta, 2015)  Positive attitude and perception about the industry attracts aspirants towards the hotel industry. According to Aman Aditya Sachdev, Regional Director – South Asia & Myanmar, EHL Advisory Services, says the pandemic has forced many hospitality higher education institutions to review their core operations. Large numbers of job losses have also impacted students’ perception about the hospitality and tourism industry. This has in turn put pressure on new student admissions into hospitality programmes, forcing institutions to review the relevance of their curricula and student learning environment. Government mandated lockdowns and physical closure of institutions has forced many to use online platforms for the delivery of their programmes. This paper examines the case of Hotel management, travel and tourism programs. Total 73 teachers and 165 students from hotel management colleges from different parts of India participated in the survey. The questionnaire was filled by the participants for the research paper. The hotel management programs are designed in a way where practical content is most important. Students are keener to have hands-on experience or they carry notions that when they join this program, they will be able to achieve all the things that they aspired to. The lockdown situation, being one of its kinds, has been difficult for the students as well as the teachers. Dealing with this particular situation because of its uniqueness has been an obvious challenge. Though online learning options have been available, it has been difficult to teach the practical component of the program. Therefore, the researchers wish to explore this topic for the said study.