Role and place of geographic knowledge as a component of tourism education

Abstract

The present article is concerned with a role and place of geographic knowledge in training of specialists in the specializations of Service, Tourism, Hotel Business in the Don State Technical University. Analysis of geographic disciplines, their interrelation and mastery sequence is performed. It was found that the most effective sequence is from fundamental and conceptual to principal and highly specialized ones. Opinions of students in various courses, as well as of employers on the importance of geographic knowledge in tourism education are studied. Upward trends of the role of geographic knowledge in tourism education are explored. Curricula for training of specialists are analyzed with respect to the quantity of geographic disciplines and hours devoted to their learning in in absolute terms and as a percentage. A tend to decrease the study time devoted to geographic disciplines is defined that may cast a pall on the quality of training specialists. Problems of grasping geographic knowledge and mastering the corresponding skills are identified. The present paper examines the best possible modes of study for students of the sphere of service, tourism, and hospitality industry. Evidence of importance of students’ involvement into scientific workflows is provided. Special attention is paid to importance of internship in training of future specialists. Ways to enhance efficiency of tourism education through optimization of methods to learn disciplines in the sphere of geographic knowledge.