Author

  • Thavorn Thitthongkam

    • School of Management, Shinawatra University, Thailand
    • Thailand

  • John Walsh

    • School of Management, Shinawatra University, Thailand
    • Thailand

Abstract

Language plays an imperative role in business as a means and a source of power. It is particularly important in the tourism industry when international customers may be unable to communicate directly with service providers in the receiving country, and this has a direct effect on the level of satisfaction that they enjoy during their experience. To address this issue, countries attempt to various degrees to manage their labour markets so as to produce a number of graduates from secondary and tertiary level educational institutions commensurate with the demand from the sector. However, this is quite a young industry at the global level, and it is not clear to what extent the number and quality of such graduates with international language ability will be required. This paper studies the comparative extent of such education at the tertiary level of individuals in both Thailand and Malaysia. It aims to compare the number and variety of people being trained in the tourism and hospitality industry and the extent to which languages are being taught. Results show that there is something of a disconnection between the languages provided and the languages that tourists desire in terms of their mother tongue. Those tourists who can speak English or Chinese may receive service support in those languages, while those who cannot may be disappointed.

Keywords

References

  • Baum, T. (2006). Human Resource Management for Tourism, Hospitality and Leisure: An International Perspective. London: Thomson Learning.
  • Busby, G. (2001). Vocationalism in Higher Level Tourism Courses: The British Perspective. Journal of Further and Higher Education , 25(1): 29-34.
  • Chaisawat, M. (2005). Travel and Tourism Education in Thailand. Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism , 5(3): 197-224.
  • Chon, K. S., Singh, A., and Mikula, J. R. (1993). Thailand’s Tourism and Hotel Industry. Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly , 34(3): 43-49.
  • Christou, E., and Singala, M. (2002). Innovation in Hospitality and Tourism Education. International Journal of Tourism Research , 4(1): 65-67.
  • Churchward, J. and Riley, M. (2002). Tourism Occupations and education: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Tourism Research , 4(2): 77-86.
  • Cohen, E. (1996). Thai Tourism: Hill Tribes, Islands and Open-Ended Prostitution. Bangkok: White Lotus.
  • Da Silva, A. (2009). Thailand’s Tourism Industry, Kapiolani Community College, Horizons. Available: http://bosp.kcc.hawaii.edu/Horizons/Horizons2002/Thailand_tourindusty.html [Accessed 6 June 2009].
  • Department of Statistic (2008). Key Statistics, Available: http://www.statistics.gov.my: Department of Statistics Malaysia. [Accessed 12 October 2009].
  • Economic Planning Unit (EPU) (2006). Realizing Tourism Potential: The 9th Malaysian Plan (2006-2010): Economic Planning Unit (EPU), Prime Minister's Department of Malaysia.
  • Ernawati, D. (2002). Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level in Indonesia: An Exploratory Study. International Journal of Tourism Research , 4(2): 145-150.
  • Goldsmith, A., & Zahari, M. S. M. (1994). Hospitality Education in Malaysia: Filling the Skill Gap. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 6(6): 27-31.
  • Gossling, S. (Ed). (2003). Tourism and Development in Tropical islands: Political Ecology Perspectives. Northampton: Edward Elgar Publishing, Inc.
  • Jennings, G. R. (2000). Educating Students to Be Lifelong Learners. Review of Business , 21(3/4): 58-62.
  • Khairudin, M. R. (2009). Tourism as a Graduate Career in Malaysia: Stakeholders’ Perceptions. A Master Degree Thesis in Tourism Management. Victoria University of Wellington.
  • Knowles, T., Teixeira, R. M., and Egan, D. (2003). Tourism and Hospitality Education in Brazil and the UK: A Comparison. International Management , 15(1): 45-51.
  • Lam, T., and Xiao, H. (2000). Challenges and Constraints of Hospitality and Tourism Education in China. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 12(5): 291-295.
  • Lauring, J. (2007). Language and Ethnicity in International Management. Corporate Communication: An International Journal , 12(3): 255-266.
  • Lee, M. N. N. (2004). Restructuring Higher Education in Malaysia. School of Educational Studies: Penang, Malaysia.
  • McKercher, B. (2002). The Future of Tourism education: An Australian Scenario? Tourism and Hospitality Research , 3(3): 199-210.
  • Ministry of Human Resource. (2008). Human Resource and Labor Statistics: Vacancies reported to the Labor Department by Industry (2004-2007). Available: http:// www.mohr.gov.my [13 October 2009].
  • Ministry of Tourism (2008). Malaysia Tourism. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Tourism.
  • Ministry of Tourism (2002). A Study on the Human Resource Development in Tourism. Kuala Lumpur: Ministry of Tourism.
  • Office of the Higher Education Commission. (2009). Higher Education Information. Available: http://www.info.mua.go.th/CHE-pp2552/INFO_UNIV/ index.php?lang=en [Accessed 27 September 2009].
  • Ouyyanont, P. (2001). The Vietnam War and Tourism in Bangkok's Development, 1960-70. Southeast Asian Studies, 39(2): 157-187.
  • Poon. W. C., and Low, K. (2005). Are Travelers Satisfied With Malaysian Hotels? International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management , 17(3): 217-227.
  • Punmunin, W. (1993). What’s happening to Thai Hospitality? Cornell Hotel and Restaurant Administration Quarterly , 34(3): 60-65.
  • Saibang, P. and Schwindt, R. C. (1998). The Need for Employee Training in Hotels in Thailand. International Journal of Training and Development , 2(3): 205-214.
  • Sangpikul, A. (2009). Internationalization of Hospitality and Tourism Higher Education: A Perspective from Thailand. Journal of Teaching in Travel and Tourism . 8(4): 71-87.
  • Thitthongkam, T., and Walsh, J. C. (2009). The Need for Language Skills Training for Tourism Company Staff in the Thai Tourism Industry: Managerial Perspectives. Proceedings of the 3rd International Colloquium on Tourism and Leisure (ICTL) 2009. 6th-9th July, Bangkok, Thailand.
  • Toatong, C. (2008). Why Tourism Educational Cooperation and Networking among the Southeast Asian Countries. Available: http://www.ttresearch.org/pdf/2551/325511.pdf [Accessed 26 September 2009].
  • Tourism Authority of Thailand Annual Report (2007). Annual Report. Available: http://www.tourismthaland.org [Accessed 5 June 2009].
  • Tourism Malaysia (2007). International Tourists' Expenditure Breakdown 2000-2006. InA. I. w. T. M. Sydney (Ed.).
  • Tourism Malaysia (2008a). Fast Facts about Malaysia. Available: [ http://www.tourism.gov.my] [Accessed 13 October 2009].
  • Tourism Malaysia (2008b). About Tourism Malaysia. Available: [ http://www.tourism.gov.my] [Accessed 13 October 2009].
  • Tourism Malaysia (2008c). Tourist Arrivals and Receipts to Malaysia, Available: [ http://www.tourism.gov.my] [Accessed 13 October 2009].
  • Tourism Malaysia (2009a). Fast Facts about Malaysia. Available: [ http://www.tourism.gov.my] [Accessed 13 October 2009].
  • Wells, R. J. G. (1982). Tourism Planning in a Presently Developing Country. Tourism Management , 98-107. WTTC. (2007). Travel and Tourism Navigating the Path Ahead: The 2007 Travel and Tourism Economic Research. World Travel and Tourism Council.

Downloads

No downloads have been recorded for this article yet. Figures appear here once readers begin downloading the full text.

How to Cite

Thitthongkam, T., & Walsh, J. (2011). Tourism Education at the Tertiary Level and Competitive Advantage: A Comparison between Thailand and Malaysia. Journal of Education and Vocational Research, 1(1), 26-35. https://doi.org/10.22610/jevr.v1i1.5

Share this article

License

Copyright (c) 2011 Thavorn Thitthongkam, John Walsh (Author)

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Author (s) should affirm that the material has not been published previously. It has not been submitted and it is not under consideration by any other journal. At the same time author (s) need to execute a publication permission agreement to assume the responsibility of the submitted content and any omissions and errors therein. After submission of revised paper in the light of suggestions of the reviewers, the editorial team  edits and formats manuscripts to bring uniformity and standardization in published material.

This work will be licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) and under condition of the license, users are free to read, copy, remix, transform, redistribute, download, print, search or link to the full texts of articles and even build upon their work as long as they credit the author for the original work. Moreover, as per journal policy author (s) hold and retain copyrights without any restrictions.

Keywords

Section

Research Paper

Published in

Vol. 1 No. 1 (2011) Leadership, Learning & Human Capital View issue contents

Published

2011-11-04

Submissions

Have research to publish? Journal of Education and Vocational Research welcomes submissions.

Make a Submission