Tourism Higher Education in Turkey

This paper discusses and evaluates tourism higher education in Turkey. Turkish universities have been offering associate, bachelor, and postgraduate degree programs in tourism since the early 1990s. However, there have been major problems and challenges in this endeavor, including the lack of qualified academic staff, improperly designed curriculums, limited practical training opportunities for students, and difficulties in keeping qualified graduates in the industry. So far, it is hard to claim that Turkey has developed contemporary tourism higher education policies and plans. If Turkey is to gain more from tourism in the long term, it is essential for the country to improve the standards of tourism higher education. However, to achieve this, some radical cultural and structural reforms are needed, not only in tourism higher education, but also in the country's overall higher education system. (C) 2005 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved.