Travel, tourism, and hospitality are rebounding following a slump during the years of the COVID-19 pandemic. Augusta University and UGA are helping bump the numbers by offering training programs for those industries.
A recent report from the University of Georgia (UGA), listed hospitality and tourism as the second largest contributor to the state’s economy. In 2022, there were nearly 168 million visitors generating $39.8 billion in direct visitor spending. That translates to $4.7 billion in state and local tax revenues.
In Athens, the UGA Center for Continuing Education & Hotel partners with the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences to offer a bachelor’s degree in Hospitality and Food Industry Management. The collaboration began in 2019 and prepares students for jobs ranging from hotels and resorts, to meeting and event management, and agritourism.
“One of the program’s key attributes is the Georgia Center experience,” John Salazar, professor and program coordinator, said in a news release. “Giving students opportunities to work on projects, and having part-time job and internship opportunities keeps them engaged throughout the entire curriculum. And I think that’s an important attribute that makes us very unique and competitive among the other hospitality programs in the country.
At Augusta University, The James M. Hull College of Business offers the Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) degree and the Master of Business Administration degree.
Students may choose to major in accounting or choose a concentration in one of several areas. Students can also select from a group of six business electives to customize for a specific job or industry. The college also offers an undergraduate certificate in Hospitality Administration.
“This is a college-level certificate. The big premise for them to learn is the hospitality mindset, which means that you are offering your guests an outstanding experience,” explained Marsha Loda, Associate Professor at Hull College. “Because hospitality is totally leisure and is discretionary.”
Loda said the program would be most useful for someone pursuing management positions, the person who leads a team.
“Most of the time, the people who really have one-on-one contact with your customers are the lowest paid people that you have. And so the ability to motivate that group, to keep them delivering with a smile on their face. It’s not an easy task. It’s a real management challenge,” she said. “And for those people who understand how to motivate that group, and how to really form a team and how to keep that focus on making people feel special, there’s a world of opportunity out there.”
South Carolina has also embraced the importance of providing a trained workforce for the hospitality and tourism industry in the Palmetto State.
The University of South Carolina found it is the main driver of South Carolina’s economy, “accounting for about 10 percent of jobs in the state and an estimated annual impact of $29 billion.”
The university created the College of Hospitality, Retail, and Sport Management to educate a pool of professionals.
“It’s about getting our students jobs, but it’s also about getting into these businesses and organizations for research, then using that research to provide help to the industries,” says Robin DiPietro, Director for the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management in a statement on the school’s web page. “We need industry and, in reality, the industry needs us to provide great employees and to provide cutting-edge research.”
Job growth remains strong in the industry. For example, UGA said figures show it supported roughly 424,000 jobs in 2021. That jumped to more than 442,000 a year later.
Information about the program at Augusta University is at:
https://www.augusta.edu/hull/programs.php#cert
Programs available at UGA are here:
https://agecon.uga.edu/undergraduate/majors/hospitality.html
Courses at USC are at: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/hrsm/study/areasofstudy/htmt/
