Recruitment of Saudi Arabian students into Hospitality and Tourism Management at RIT

Recruitment of Saudi Arabian Students into the Hospitality and
Tourism Management Program at RIT
Name: SalehAljubaili
RIT
Date:
Chapter 1: Introduction
Saudi Arabia, for the better part of the last century has been concentrating on building an economy that is resources oriented, with close reference to the oil reserves. As such, much of the economy has been relying on the oil industry and the allied businesses. Analysis of the tourism industry has indicated that there is an immense potential in the sector (Telmesani, 2010). The government is looking to invest in the tourism sector with more emphasis on the religious tourism and at the same time build a better domestic tourism base (Pavan, 2013). The kingdom boasts of geographical and historical features, which it can leverage for better returns in tourism. The kingdom also has a large population and high growth rate of the same, but there very limited leisure products (Wish you were here; tourism in Saudi Arabia, 2014).
However, there are very few professionals in the industry who can help bring to fruition the objectives of the government in tourism (Hamid, 2014). At the same time, the industry has some very strict policies that may hamper the development of the industry with close comparison to other liberal states. Issues such as visa issuance, tourists’ freedoms and generally better accommodating hospitality of the tourist from across the globe regardless of their nationality will see the industry grow fast. This calls for a professional work force to revolutionize the industry much like the United Arabs Emirates has been able to do. More than half the population of Saudi Arabia is made up of the youths, majority of whom do not have formal employment (Alfawaz, Hilal, &Alghannam, 2014). The Saudi kingdom needs to focus on training more youths at home and abroad, where they can gain quality education to leverage at home, with guaranteed sustainable economic results (Telmesani, 2010).
Purpose of the research (Objectives)
To establish the best way that the Saudi students can learn about hospitality and tourism
To establish the educational needs in hospitality and tourism (Lawson, Vitalis, Niblock, Lacroix& Jones, 2011)
To establish how best the Saudi Arabian students in the USA can adapt to the different environment, academically, socially, culturally and economically (Ruiz, 2014).
Significance of the research
By the year 2020, the population of Saudi Arabia is expected to have grown to about 31.2 million (Telmesani, 2010). Half of the current population is made of youths who are below the age of 25 years. It is also important to note that the kingdom has been largely relying on oil to push the national economy. However, there is a great chance that the tourism sector could raise the economy further. This would require that the current policies and the professional capital in the sector to be improved significantly (Telmesani, 2010). Sponsoring youths to study hospitality and tourism in America is one of the ways that the government is looking to invest in the future of this industry and the entire economy (King Abdullah Scholarship Program, 2014).
Growing Saudi student population in US – how do they learn best?
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