Russia needs to develop education in the field of tourism. New tourism professionals have problems with finding jobs due to the poor quality of education, President of the Federation of Restaurateurs and Hoteliers of Russia Igor Bukharov said during the expert discussion Hospitality Industry: Potential and Development Prospects held as part of the 2020 Gaidar Forum organized by RANEPA.
Russian schools do not offer high-quality education in the field of tourism, so the travel industry largely has to take care of training its own staff, Igor Bukharov said.
“Unfortunately, people who join the industry do not have the required qualifications, but come from a variety of unrelated backgrounds,” the expert noted.
Universities training specialists in the field of tourism should first of all understand where their graduates will work. Furthermore, there should be competition between such universities. Another problem, according to Bukharov, is the shortage of teaching staff.
“Tourism practitioners and business leaders are unlikely to want to teach,” the expert added.
He also said that universities training specialists for the industry should offer specific programs in regional tourism.
“For example, if a university is located in the Arkhangelsk Region, it should teach courses on the specifics of tourism in that area,” the expert concluded.