Tourism and hospitality students’ perceptions of a career in the industry : a comparison of domestic (Australian) students and international students studying in Australia

The purpose of this article is to analyse differences in the opinions of two groups, domestic (Australian) and international students, towards careers in the tourism and hospitality industry. This will ascertain if one group is more committed to a career in the industry than the other. A quantitative study investigating factors that students find important in choosing a career, as well as their perceptions of different aspects of a career in the industry, was undertaken. In total, 379 completed surveys were collected. The findings of this research show that there are significant differences between the two groups, especially when comparing the extent to which respondents believed tourism and hospitality offered the career factors that students found important. From these results it is argued that international students are more likely to believe that the tourism and hospitality industry offers the factors they find important when choosing a career. This has implications for tourism and hospitality employers in Australia as it shows that domestic graduates will be less likely to join the industry upon graduation.