Is culinary considered an Art or Science or both?: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

To be good Chef which is more important? Should the balance beam below be the same or maybe it should be weighed towards arts or even science? There are many providers around the world that is offering Culinary Arts degree and some Culinary Science degree.

A quick glance through some major websites showed the following:

The word "culinary" is defined as something related to, or connected with, cooking or kitchens.

Culinary art is the art of cooking. A culinarian is a person working in the culinary arts. A culinariao working in restaurants is commonly known as a cook or a chef. Culinary artists are responsible for skillfully preparing meals that are as pleasing to the palate as to the eye. Increasingly they are required to have knowledge of the science of food and an understanding of diet and nutrition. They work primarily in restaurants, fast food chain store franchises, delicatessens, hospitals and other institutions. Kitchen conditions vary depending on the type of business, restaurant, nursing home etc.

Culinary science is the planning and preparation of cuisine. Culinary science shows students how to arrange dishes and present those dishes. Different schools emphasize the culinary delights from different nationalities and themes such as the creation of French or of Italian cuisine.

Then, you have another term called Culinology. It is an approach to food that blends the culinary arts and food technology. Through the blending of these two disciplines, culinology seeks to make food taste better--whether purchased in a supermarket or eaten in a restaurant. Culinology also seeks to make food more consistent and safer. A primary method of culinology is to logically translate sophisticated food concepts, such as those applied in fine dining or in a traditional ethnic cuisine, for items on the menus of chain restaurants or those processed for retail sale. Such product or chain-menu development is only possible through the astute combination of the culinary arts and food science or technology.

I would like to get your personnel opining on what you think?

The ECOCLUB Interview: The Challenges of the Ecotourism Industry in Malaysia: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

Recently I was interviewed by the International ecotourism club (ECOCLUB.COM) based in Greece. Herewith is the interview which I would like to share with all readers and seek your comments on some of the critical issues raised by ECOCLUB.

For details, checkout: http://www.ecoclub.com/news/098/interview2.html

(The Interview follows:)
ECOCLUB.com: How did you end up discovering and specialising in Ecotourism as an Academic, and how has your understanding evolved over the recent years?

Vic Nair: It is by accident that I ventured into the world of ecotourism. I have always had the passion for ecology and environment even when I was young. I have always enjoyed roughing out in the nature, doing jungle trekking, camping at the beachfront and other nature based tourism activities. Upon completing my Bachelor Degree in Horticulture, I spend 2 years in the plantations in Batang Berjuntai. In 1996, I was offered by University Putra Malaysia to carry out a research to design an expert system to manage the terrestrial vegetation impact in carrying out the Environmental Impact Assessment.

Upon graduation in 1998, I was offered a job in Taylor’s School of Hospitality and Tourism. Thus, Taylor’s College was indeed my eye opener to the magnificent world of Tourism. Thus, I continued my PhD thereafter in developing another expert system for rating the ecotourism industry of Malaysia. With my strong ecological background, I had little trouble to complete my PhD in 2003. Hence, I was involved in many researches and consultancy work in the field of tourism and have published many articles and papers in many forums nationally and internationally. Subsequently my interest and understanding evolved from nature tourism to sustainable tourism to responsible tourism.

ECOCLUB.com: You have also extensively studied Ecotourism Certification & Rating. What is your overall evaluation of its usefulness and implementability in Malaysia, compared to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region?

Vic Nair: There are approximately about 500 potential or existing ecotourism sites in Malaysia as reported by WWF in their report for the National Ecotourism Plan in 1996. In addition, there are many agencies managing ecotourism in Malaysia which make the coordination and standardisation of all the code of practices a challenge.

At national level, the main government bodies relevant to ecotourism are the Ministry of Tourism, Tourism Malaysia (Malaysia’s tourism promotion arm), Ministry of Agriculture, including the Department of Fisheries (for Marine Parks), Department of Agriculture (for agro tourism which is related to ecotourism) and Department of Irrigation and Drainage (for river management). Within Peninsular Malaysia, other very important government bodies over seeing ecotourism resources and service provisions are the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (for national parks, wildlife reserves and sanctuaries and protection of wildlife), the Forestry Department with the constituent state forestry departments (for recreational forest), the State Governments (eco-sites within the boundaries of a state), the Economic Planning Unit and State Economic Planning Units, other departments and agencies such as the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Veterinary Services Department, Forest Research Institute of Malaysia, the Malaysian Fisheries Development Board and universities.

Thus, with some many National Tourism Organisations (NTO) involved in managing ecotourism, a standardised certification and rating become more and more important in Malaysia compared to other Asia Pacific region where the NTO structure is not so complicated.

Therefore, it can be said that the main problems in the current practice of ensuring sustainable development of the ecotourism industry in Malaysia are: lack of effective and proper approaches for efficient sustainable management practice of the ecotourism site, lack of enforcement in ensuring the ecosystem is sustained; insufficient environmental cum ecological expertise that incorporates the fundamental of safety, health and environment; lack of consistent approaches in implementing a mitigation measures and in satisfying the requirement of national environmental regulatory authorities; the large number of small organisations involved in tourism and their related fields make the effort to collect data from them both costly and time-consuming, resulting in unreliable and incomplete ecotourism databases.

Hence, a reliable and consistent rating system and database system is required to ensure the sustainability of these ecotourism sites, which can be used for intelligent decision-making. A systematic rating system is developed to maintain a certain level of standards.

In order to make ecotourism development sustainable with minimum impact on the nature, it is important that all ecotourism sites are evaluated and rated in terms of importance and attractiveness. Nonetheless, with the complex bureaucracy and the organization of the NTO in Malaysia, the implementability of this certification and rating is dictated by the political party in power and the Minister who manages his/her Ministry for a period of 4-5 years before being replaced with another Minister who has his or her own vision during the period of his/her term as a Minister.

Thus, the industry suffers. Since completion of my study in developing an ecotourism rating system for Peninsular Malaysia in 2003, five years later today, there is still no concerted effort done to check and balance the fragile ecotourism industry in Malaysia. A comprehensive National Ecotourism Plan that was prepared by WWF in consultation with the ecotourism guru, Architect Hector Ceballos-Lascurain for the Ministry of Tourism, Malaysia in 1996 was not utilized to the maximum to effectively manage the ecotourism industry in Malaysia. Today, the Ministry of Tourism is inviting potential consultants and academicians to re-work on the National Ecotourism Plan. What will happen after this report is completed is everybody’s guess.

ECOCLUB.com: What are the main challenges for Tourism and the Ecotourism movement in Malaysia today, and how suitable and 'eco' are related current state and federal government policies?

Vic Nair: The current Government policies, both the State and the Federal, need to further holistically focus on the impact of over-development on ecotourism destinations. 50 years ago Malaysia was a destination of eco-paradise with beautiful and coral rich beaches and one of the world's oldest tropical rain forests. The diversity of its flora and fauna is a result of undisturbed evolution over 130 million years.

Malaysia has plenty of natural attractions to satisfy even the most discerning of adventure seekers. With the South China Sea and the Indian Ocean lapping its shores, there is an enormous variety of flora, fauna and marine life to be enjoyed. Ecotourism has become a major enterprise in Malaysia in the last decade. Several pristine rain forest areas have now, been turned into national parks and recreational parks. Total Protected Areas in the Peninsular Malaysia has dwindled with the major areas still in the Borneo Island of the Eastern Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak). Sadly, now even this part of Malaysia is projected for development under the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) which was announce by the Prime Minister of Malaysia early this year. It is everybody’s hope that the development in this eco-paradise destinations will be done carefully and not solely for commercial purpose.

In a market driven environment, what the ecotourism industry in Malaysia needs and the public must demand is a ruler for measuring the impact of tourism on natural resources. Ensuring that nature-based tourism and ecotourism establishes and maintains high standards will be a challenge for all parties. The management of sensitive ecosystem in the ecotourism context can one way protect a country’s heritage and make it available for local education and tourism. The investment in such facilities is usually repaid through tourists who come in larger numbers and stay longer because there are more things to see and do and at the same time be contended that the sustainability of the site has been looked into. The environment is the resource base for tourism; without protection, the natural attraction that brought the tourist in the first place will be lost.

ECOCLUB.com: Observing Malaysia today, it is hard to see any signs that over a generation ago, there was major intercultural / intercommunal friction. Has Tourism played any part in terms of better understanding & integration between Malaysian communities, and what about indigenous people?

Vic Nair: Tourism may have played their part in bridging the understanding of the multiculture, which is the selling point of Malaysia. The “Malaysia Truly Asia”, tagline that was adopted by the country for the last so many years, indeed portray the unique culture and the harmonious living among the three distinct people of Asia, the Malays (Muslims), the Chinese and the Indians. These three populations put together, the Malays (comprising Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei), the Indians (Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Pakistan) and Chinese (Malaysia. China and almost all of North and East Asia), will make up almost 75 percent of the world population. Thus, Malaysia is indeed a melting port or sample of what Asia has to offer. Thus, tourism in Malaysia has certainly capitalized on this unique advantage in terms of better understanding and integration. In a multiracial country like Malaysia, certainly there are bound to be some intercultural and inter communal friction but it is within the control and tolerance of the country.

Similarly, tourism has certainly opened the doors for the indigenous people especially in Sabah and Sarawak. Nonetheless, the benefits that tourism brings in alleviating poverty among these indigenous communities are still questionable. Many of them continue to live in their natural environment which is getting scarce day by day with deforestation for development, plantation expansion, etc. The Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy (SCORE) and Sabah Development Corridor (SDC) will further displace these communities if the development is not done with these communities in mind.

ECOCLUB.com: Among other things, you have working experience of oil palm & rubber estates, which have been blamed for deforestation in many other parts of the world. So, do you see Ecotourism as a realistic alternative to plantations and forestry in Malaysia, or merely as an add-on?

Vic Nair: I do not see Ecotourism as a realistic alternative to plantations and forestry in Malaysia. Malaysia is one of the largest producers of natural rubber and palm oil in the world. Despite having been industry for so many years, Malaysia still face the problem of poor management practice in land clearing. Although, incidence of slash burning is under control in Malaysia in comparison to Indonesia, problem of haze still persist.

Although the total size of rubber plantations in Malaysia has dwindled over the last decade, oil palm, which is the backbone of the plantation industry today in Malaysia, has expanded its cultivation from 54,000 hectares in 1960 to 4.17 million hectares as at May 2007. Hence, this represents nearly a 70-fold increase in size in the last four and a half decades. Palm oil cultivation occupies 66% out of the 6.3 million hectares of total agricultural land.

Deforestation for oil palms and rubber estates is a problem in Eastern Malaysia (Sabah & Sarawak). With oil palm and rubber still fetching good price at the market, ecotourism will never be a good alternative to plantations and forestry in Malaysia. Instead, the plantation industry in Malaysia must ensure the practice of sound environmental measures by ensuring zero burning, good agricultural practices and the use of biological agents to reduce pests and effluents.

On the other hand, in Peninsular Malaysia the damage done to ecosystem in irrevocable. One just needs to look at the birds eye view as your plane glide down to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Massive land clearing, erosion and destruction of the flora and fauna, is evident. Nevertheless, there seem to be some commitment off late from Malaysia’s palm oil industry. Approximately US$7 million wildlife conservation fund was recently launched. The revolving fund would for start help fund a survey on Sabah’s orang utan population that is disappearing fast due to deforestation. Indeed the fund is one the many examples of corporate social responsibility and environmental care by the palm oil industry.

Today, palm oil cultivation in Malaysia is strictly regulated and only land designated for agricultural purposes are utilized. In addition, research has also indicated that in a number of oil palm plantations in Sabah, greater biodiversity in plantations attracts animals and birds. Thus, there are some form of add-on that ecotourism can bring to these plantations.

ECOCLUB.com: You were also once involved with sales and marketing of fertilisers and agrochemicals for golf courses. Are the growing golf & luxury tourism developments in Malaysia compatible with Ecotourism in your view? Are golf developers really sincere about greening their act, or is it a ruse to expand in sensitive ecosystems?

Vic Nair: As a Horticulturist (my first degree), I was introduced to the world of landscaping and golf course design in the early 1990s. Quite often we hear about the Environmentally Friendly Golf Course, Environmentally Sensitive Gold Course Design, etc. There are also many golf courses that claim the following:

“This 36-hole golf course was formed on 750 acres of land of which 147 acres were wetlands that formed a part of the fragile ecosystem… incorporated these areas into the course architecture in order to protect the wetlands and the unique wildlife habitat.”

Golf course development is now emerging as a major environmental issue in Asia. The problem may not seem so acute in Malaysia. Nonetheless, because of the maintenance of large, closely trimmed grassy areas is more difficult and environmentally hazardous in tropical areas which are home to greater numbers of pests, diseases and weeds, the problem of environmental damage is there.

In a small drought prone destination like Langkawi, one of the major tourist destination in Malaysia, there are water demand for about 2 million tourists and 4 golf courses. With a population of about 820,000 people, the fishing villagers and farmers of Langkawi are in the mercy of golf developers who are not sincere in greening their act or even creating employment to the local communities. They are more interested to expand in sensitive ecosystems.

As a result, after losing their farms, many of these villagers end up as cheap labourers on their very own lands. Working on these golf courses represents a drastic change from their once independent and self-reliant way of life. All too often, this kind of change leads to the collapse of whole rural communities. Those who are not employed by golf courses move to big cities, contributing to the urban problems of slums, traffic congestion and pollution.

Thus, golf course should not venture into eco-sensitive sites and do more damage then the short term commercial benefit to a few.

ECOCLUB.com: In your College, from your students, as well as from your contacts with Tourism Academics around the world as Head of CHRIE in Asia-Pacific, do you observe a falling, steady, or increased interest in Ecotourism and environmental issues? And how satisfied are you with the level of research in Ecotourism?

Vic Nair: Across Asia-Pacific, there is certainly an increase interest in Ecotourism and Environmental issues. With the Global Warming phenomena that seem to be the main agenda in many forums across the world including Malaysia, environmental interest has steadily increased in the region. Nonetheless, there seem to be spin off to ecotourism in the region at present with many countries moving into the concept of “Responsible Tourism”.

According to Wild Asia, a non-government organization based in Kuala Lumpur who have been advocating this concept, there is a new wave of tourists who are saying “no” to mass tourism, irresponsible operators and resorts that are destroying the local environment. These tourists want real quality experience. They want to know that the shower they are taking is not depriving a village of water. That the hotel they are staying at is not robbing the locals of their livelihood. Or that their very presence is not offending the local communities. Travel is about relaxation, rejuvenation, adventure, fulfilment, playfulness and sharing experiences rather than just 'places and things' It certainly is not about being cooped up in a tourist compound! This is what “Responsible Tourism” or “RT” is all about.

RT in essence provides quality travel experience that promotes conservation of natural environment and offer opportunities and benefits for local communities. RT in ideal is tourism operations that are managed in such a way that they preserve the local environment and culture so that it can continue to deliver the benefits for years to come.

Thus, more applied and fundamental research is required to study the implementability of good practices of ecotourism or responsible tourism. Currently, most research in this region seems to stay as a research with no practical use or benefit. Institutions like Taylor’s College and even CHRIE, can play a distinctive role in molding the future graduates that are going to dictate the industry, with qualities that are essential to the survival of mankind in this globalised age.

ECOCLUB.com: You are attending all sorts of Tourism-related conferences all over the world, ranging from purely academic to business ones. How useful are they really, beyond networking, in advancing theory, policy & practice? And are Academics adequately listened to?

Vic Nair: Attending conferences and seminars all over the world is an important aspect of all academicians. Besides networking, it is really a one-stop point for researchers to exchange notes and argue on their findings which eventually will be picked up by policy makers, entrepreneurs, funding bodies, etc. Thus, academicians have to be conscious to the happenings in the industry in order to develop both the basic and applied research. Armed with this knowledge, academicians are able to educate the youths of the world to take their productive place as leaders in the global community.

Thus, a tenured academician must be able to speak his/her thoughts without being oppressed or judgmental of his/her critical thoughts. Sadly, this is still lacking in many countries around the globe including Malaysia, where academicians are bounded by the political power house that dictates what should be said and not question their constructive criticism.

ECOCLUB.com: Are Malaysian Tourism graduates easily absorbed into the 'job market' compared to other disciplines or has there been saturation? What are the hot topics within Tourism?

Vic Nair: The Malaysian tourism graduates are easily absorbed into the ‘job market’ especially those trained from reputable hospitality and tourism universities like Taylor’s College, where practical exposure, management and entrepreneurial skills are blended to fit to the industry requirement.

Nonetheless, as more and more highly qualified and skilled hospitality and tourism staff force are pinched by the industry in Singapore, Macau and Hong Kong, there is a serious turnover across the industry in Malaysia. As a result, many front liners in the industry in Malaysia are being managed by immigrants from Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, China, etc.

Thus, there is an imbalance of growth of the academia in relation to what the industry can offer in Malaysia. The Ministry of Tourism in Malaysia is aware of this gap and is current trying to tackle this issue.

ECOCLUB.com: Finally, which is your favourite ecological / responsible tourism spot or operation in Malaysia, and why?

Vic Nair: Personally, I enjoyed Mulu National Park in Sarawak. Mulu National Park is the largest park in Sarawak, with an area of 544 square kilometres. The Mulu National Park has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in November 2000 for its natural beauty and the world's largest cave system with its amazingly rich bio-diversity.

Out of the 27 caves discovered in Mulu, so far, only four caves are open to the general public, with some others being accessible to groups of experienced adventure cavers. Fortunately, the four "show caves" are a representative sample of the whole cave system, each cave being completely different from the others. The caves – Lang Cave, Clearwater Cave, Deer Cave and Wind Cave – which are easily accessible, are surrounded by natural settings that contain different and beautiful scenic spots that make a visit fulfilling to any tourist.

Mulu has successfully balanced the social inherence (respect host culture, conserve built and living cultural heritage & promote inter-cultural understanding and tolerance), environment optimisation (optimal use of resources, maintain ecological processes & help conserve natural heritage) and also the economical benefits and opportunities (profits, long-term business viability, provide socio-econ benefits to all stakeholders, support stable employment opportunities and social services & contribution to poverty alleviation), which is critical for a successful ecotourism destination.

ECOCLUB.com: Any other thoughts?

Vic Nair: As ecotourism becomes increasingly popular, a need has emerged for both industry standards and procedures, and for monitoring compliance with such requirements. Such standards and monitoring procedures can distinguish valid ecotourism projects from other enterprises that have appropriated the ecotourism label without commitment to its principles. Such measurements are also necessary to help honest ecotourism projects critique their performance and move closer to the ideal of sustainability.

Today, a need has emerged for both standards and procedures to monitor compliance with these standards. Client evaluation is a simple procedure available to all ecotourism operations that can serve to both enhance tourist education and provide a simple system of monitoring. As an educational tool it can be used to focus the tourists' attention upon ecotourism criteria. As a monitoring system it has an advantage over either surveys or on-site investigation because it provides information by observers supplied over an extended period of time.

The management of sensitive ecosystem in the ecotourism context can one way protect a country’s heritage and make it available for local education and tourism. The investment in such facilities is usually repaid through tourists who come in larger numbers and stay longer because there are more things to see and do and at the same time be contended that the sustainability of the site has been looked into.

Further, the ecotourist needs to understand the value of participating in this evaluation programme. This requires them being told how the findings will be used and how they will benefit, as well as the environment and local culture, from nature tour operators adhering to management standards and guidelines. One way to accomplish this goal is through an incentive program that encourages nature tour operators, guides, and lodging establishments to participate in the evaluation process.

In conclusion, as the ecotourism industry continues to grow, greater pressure will be placed on nature tour operators, lodging establishments, trade associations and governmental bodies to ensure a high quality tourism experience for its customers, to protect the natural and cultural resources that are utilized, and remain economically sustainable. To accomplish this goal, the ecotourism industry in countries, regions and destination areas are going to have to make tough decisions regarding how they hope to ensure the future of the industry. An underlying tension will always exists among the different ecotourism providers on how to best achieve this goal. The tension is between self-regulation by a business, the collective development and enforcement of objectives and guidelines by an ecotourism association, or through regulation by a governmental entity.

ECOCLUB.com: Thank you very much!

Survival & Surviving the Political & Economical Leash: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

With the intense political bickering that is going on in the country now, the general public seems to be loss and totally neglected. The people are struggling with economic condition of the country; companies are trying to juggle to manage their operations without going bust.

The impact of the current political and economic situation of the country is also slowly eroding tourist confidence to visit the country. No thanks to the announcement by the cabinet recently to reduce the government events at hotels, the Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) reported that approximately RM100 million losses were experienced by the hotel industry in Malaysia after 85 percent event bookings by government departments and government linked agencies were cancelled over the past two months. The Tourism Ministry as reported by The Star on 4th July is proposing to the cabinet to review this ruling.

For the year 2007, tourism contributed RM46 billion in revenue to the country. Thus, measures must be taken to safeguard the industry that has in the past survived trying times. More efforts must be taken to encourage Malaysians to travel and spend their vacation within the country. Last year, 22 million Malaysians traveled overseas, whereas only 21 million tourist arrivals were recorded in the country. Thus, there seem to be a balance number of people leaving the country for business, leisure or VFR (visiting friends and relative).

It was also interesting to find that hotels in Negri Sembilan recorded the lowest occupancy rate in Malaysia for 2007 (51.2 percent) despite being home to some good and popular beaches in West Malaysia. The rate is below the national occupancy average of 68 percent. Again Port Dickson is used to win more tourist (more Singaporeans to be exact) to Negri Sembilan. Indeed, Port Dickson needs serious branding to make it a preferred family holiday destination. The State Government is currently proposing to make Port Dickson as health, wellness, sporting and cultural centre.

To make matters worse, now we have the issue of cabbies in Kuala Lumpur who have stopped using meters because they say increasing the fares is the only way they can survive and cope with rising costs. So, how will our visitors from abroad react to these situations? Do we blame the cabbies for their actions? Maybe not as we are all beset by this economic condition of the world due to the increasing price of the fuel.

Nonetheless, all these issues are lost in the more ‘entertaining’ and ‘drama’ on our political scene that is selling newspapers like hot cakes. Can there be an end to this period of indolence? The general public is crying for help but our elected leaders are so embroiled in the political saga that is slowly eroding the investors’ interest in Malaysia. No thanks also due to the computer glitch at the Bursa Malaysia that added negative momentum to an already bearish environment.

Are we going to derail our Vision 2020 to be a fully developed nation? Or is this process part of being a fully developed nation as implied by one of the opposition party leader.

We pray and hope to see the light at the end of the tunnel soon.


(c) drV 7 July 2008

Working in the Exciting World of Hospitality & Tourism: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

As reported by the World Travel and Tourism Council in their 2007 publication, the hospitality and tourism industry have grown by 500 percent in the last 25 years and it was estimated that up-to the year 2007, more than 100 million people world wide were employed by this truly exciting globalised career.

Very often I get invitation to pen down my thoughts or address students on what the hospitality and tourism career is all about. Is it a career that you as a parent would encourage your kids to get into? Thus, I would start my blog with my thoughts on what this exciting vocation can offer you. This thought of mine was penned down for the upcoming Doctorjob's Courses Now magazine.


Introduction
The hospitality and tourism industry has grown dramatically in recent years and today is widely regarded a major creator of jobs. Hospitality and tourism is one of the most interesting career fields in the world. It can be exciting, stimulating, dynamic, stressful, challenging, frustrating and most importantly FUN! Hospitality and tourism is a serious business, representing millions of jobs and billions of dollars. The hospitality and tourism industry helps people get to business engagements and make more money, take vacations, see the wonders of the world, go for honeymoon, study abroad, visit health centres and spas, or even gamble their money away if they so choose!

So, what is this dynamic hospitality and tourism industry? “Hospitality”, a term derived from the Latin word hospitaire, meaning to receive a guest, it is a phrase that implies a host is prepared to meet a guest’s basic requirements while that guest is away from home, which include the food, beverages or lodging. Thus, the business of hospitality industry comprises businesses that provide the services of food and beverages, food processing industry, culinary, lodging industry which include hotel and other accommodation sector, or some combination of these, to travellers.

“Tourism” on the other hand comprises the activities of persons travelling to and staying in places outside their usual environment for not more than one consecutive year for leisure, business, and other purposes. Thus, tourism is the temporary movement of people to destinations outside their normal places of work and residence. The travel and tourism industry comprises businesses providing primary services to travellers, including the traditional hospitality businesses and others closely linked to them in such fields as entertainment, recreation, shopping and retail sector, sports, event management (this include organising meetings, incentive travels, conventions and exhibitions), transportation (airline, rail, cruise and road transportation) and travel/tour operations management (include tour guiding).

In general, four of the most common career cluster in the hospitality and tourism include, (i) Lodging and Housekeeping Services, (ii) Food Production and Services, (iii) Travel and Tourism Services, and (iv) Recreation, Gaming and Sports.

Current Trend and Scenario
With the escalating increase in the price of the fuel cost worldwide, the effects on the tourism industry has been paramount. Nonetheless, this service related industry will stay resilient and will be able to overcome the inflation that is setting in most countries across the globe including Malaysia. Malaysia’s Travel & Tourism economy employment crossed1.2 million jobs in 2007 (11.4 percent of total employment in Malaysia or 1 in every 8.8 jobs). According to the 2007 report of the World Travel and Tourism Council, by 2017, this should total 1.8 million jobs. Similar trends are also seen worldwide. In countries like the Caribbean, tourism provides 25 percent of all employment.

Tourist arrivals to Malaysia, have shown dramatic recent increases that are continuing to make Malaysia the largest Southeast Asia tourism marketplace despite the economic downturn that is engulfing the whole world. Despite the economic slowdown, this upwards trend of the industry is expected to continue steadily in years to come.

Career Opportunities
Nonetheless, the popular career in the hospitality and tourism industry still revolves around the core business of servicing the tourist (both domestic and international). Most institution offering this programme prepares students for range of careers in the industry. Some programme will give students solid foundation of both the hospitality management (which include hotel management and may specialise in rooms division, i.e. front office and housekeeping, food and beverage management and culinary arts) and tourism management. Courses in these programmes will equip students with both industry and practical knowledge.

The Future of Hospitality & Tourism Industry
With the growing demands of the consumer, the tourism market is also evolving accordingly to the scope and direction away from the traditional 3S (sun, sand and sea) vacation to a wide range of diverse and new activities such as sports and leisure activities, cultural and heritage tourism and adventure based activities. Increasingly also, the industry has also begun dipping into other industries like health (medical checkup and cosmetic surgery in private hospitals), agriculture and ecology (farm-stays, home-stays, wildlife conservation and eco-tourism) and education (education trips, student exchange and internships).

For the period of 2007, Malaysia recorded 20.97 million tourist arrivals with RM46.1 billion in receipt, which makes the industry the second largest income earner for Malaysia after the manufacturing industry. In a developing country like Malaysia, the potential for the industry to grow further is undeniable. As the world seem to be getting smaller by the year with the advent of newer technology and the fierce marketing and competition between the low cost carrier and the full service carriers, people are travelling for pleasure, business and also VFR (visiting friends and relatives) more than ever in Malaysia and internationally. As people travel, they need to be serviced and their needs need to be taken care off. Hence, it is projected that more than 260 million people worldwide will be employed in this sector by 2011 (as reported in the 2007 WTTC Report).

The booming gaming industry in Macao, the integrated resort projects in Singapore and the multi-development projects in Malaysia (Northern Corridor Economic Region, Southern Corridor Iskandar Development Region, East Coast Economic Region, Sabah Development Corridor and finally the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy) have tourism as the main catalyst. Despite the inflation setting in most part of the world due to the increase in fuel cost and the environmental degradation in many parts of the world, the resilient nature of the hospitality and tourism industry will certainly make a career in this sector none regrettable.

Conclusion
In short, the hospitality and tourism is an exciting industry that will attract the extroverts. You may consider studying either Hospitality or Tourism Management as individual programme, or enrolling into a programme that is dedicated and specialises in one of the two. For those who have completed a degree in a programme other than hospitality or tourism, courses at Masters level are becoming increasingly important for the industry. Career prospects are good. A lot of hard-work and commitment are required to succeed.

Hospitality and tourism, in all its areas offers great potential for job opportunities, career advancement and job satisfaction than any other industry. Clearly there is and will be considerable international demand for highly skilled and qualified young people to manage the growth of the industry.

Hospitality and tourism is one of the most interesting career fields in the world. The upwards trend of the industry is expected to continue in years to come. Thus, the potential for a career in this industry almost guarantees success for those who are hard-working and resilient in being successful in climbing their career path.

Add to your people skill, a willingness to get the necessary training and education, to start at the beginning, to work hard, to keep an open mind, be creative, to be flexible, to learn and explore something new about the world every day and you will fit the description of a hospitality and tourism professional headed for success in the world biggest industry. No other industry satisfies so many needs, both personal and professional.


(c) drV. 1 July 2008

Welcome to my blog: By Dr. Vikneswaran Nair

Hi there. Welcome to my blog.

So, I have finally managed to get my blog up. I always wanted to do this but just could not find the time or maybe was just too intimidated with the thought of writing freely in cyberspace. No more turning back from here on.

Signing out for now. You will be hearing from me soon.

Cheers,
drV