What Next After Studying
Hospitality and Tourism?

Graduating with a degree in hospitality and tourism can open several exciting pathways. Whether you're interested in climbing the corporate ladder, starting your own business or pivoting to a related field, the options are vast and varied. Here's a look at what you can do after earning your degree in hospitality and tourism.

Advance in the Hospitality Industry

Many graduates choose to stay within the hospitality industry, moving up into managerial or executive roles. With experience, you could end up managing a hotel, a resort or a restaurant, or even working at an executive level in operations or guest services. The hospitality sector prizes leadership and operational skills, which can be honed through on-the-job experiences and further professional development.

Specialise in a Niche

Within the broad field of hospitality and tourism, there are numerous niches you can specialise in, such as luxury travel, eco-tourism or culinary tourism. Specialising helps you become an expert in a particular area, potentially leading to opportunities in consultancy or management within that niche.

Transition to Related Fields

The skills acquired in hospitality and tourism studies—such as customer service, organisational abilities and cultural sensitivity—are highly transferable to other sectors. Graduates often find rewarding careers in human resources, marketing, public relations, and event management.

Start Your Own Business

Entrepreneurship is a popular route for hospitality and tourism graduates. Using your knowledge of the industry, you can start a business related to travel consultancy, event planning or hospitality services. The industry offers ample opportunities to innovate, whether it’s by launching a boutique hotel, creating a travel app or starting a food and beverage establishment.

Pursue Further Education

If academia or a more specialised profession appeals to you, pursuing further education could be the way to go. This could involve studying for a master's degree in hospitality management, business administration or a related field like real estate (focusing on hospitality properties). Alternatively, you might opt for professional certifications in hotel management, culinary arts, or travel and tourism.

Explore Careers in Travel and Tourism Media

With your background, a career in media covering the travel and tourism sectors could be another pathway. This might involve writing for travel magazines, producing content for travel blogs or even hosting a travel show. These roles allow you to leverage your industry knowledge and communication skills.

Work in Government or NGOs

Your expertise can also be valuable in government or non-governmental organisations that focus on tourism development, cultural preservation or economic development through tourism. Such roles often involve planning and policy-making to help develop and sustain tourism as a tool for economic growth and cultural exchange.

Event Planning and Management

If you enjoy organising events, consider a career in event planning and management. This field requires exceptional organisational skills and an ability to manage both budgets and people, all of which are honed in hospitality and tourism programs.

Consultancy

After gaining experience, you might choose to become a consultant, offering advice to businesses on how to improve their service quality, increase their efficiency or expand their operations. Hospitality consultants often work on a freelance basis or with professional consulting firms.

Corporate Training and Development

Companies often seek hospitality graduates for training and development roles because of their expertise in customer service and operations management. These positions involve developing training programs to enhance employee skills and improve customer satisfaction.

A degree in hospitality and tourism offers more than just an entry into hotels and travel agencies; it opens a world of possibilities across various industries and sectors. Whatever your career aspirations, the diverse skills you've acquired during your studies will serve as a strong foundation for success in numerous fields. Whether you choose to deepen your expertise in hospitality or branch out into new territories, the future is rich with opportunities.