Evaluation of the Curriculum and Learning Outcomes for the Tourism and Travel Management Major

On March 3, 2023, the AIE at Lac Hong University held a workshop to evaluate the curriculum and learning outcomes of the Tourism and Travel Management major. The program was held in room D105 (Co - Working Space), Campus 2 - Lac Hong University. The participants included:

• Ms. Ta Thi Thanh Huong - Vice Dean of the Faculty of Management - International Economics;
• Mr. Phan Van Hai - Head of the Tourism Management and Operations Department;
• Mr. Vu Duc Cuong - Head of the Tourism Operations and Guiding Department.

Along with the faculty members, there were also employees and invited guests from various organizations. The workshop was successfully conducted and received many contributions, providing updates and new ideas to improve and enhance the quality of training at the AIE.

Accompanying the faculty and students, the AIE was honored to welcome the distinguished guests from the following organizations:

• Mr. Nguyen Hong An - Deputy Director of the Dong Nai Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism
• Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang - Head of the Business Department, Thai Loan Travel Company
• Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy An - Viet Holiday Travel Company

The participation of these esteemed guests from the tourism industry provided valuable insights and contributions to the workshop, which aimed to further improve the quality of the Tourism and Travel Management curriculum  at the faculty.

Mr. Phan Van Hai - Head of the Tourism Management and Operations Department, introduced the training program of the major to the distinguished guests. After the introduction, the expert guests actively contributed their opinions and proposed some solutions to improve and enhance the quality of the Tourism and Travel Management curriculum, aligning it with the current trends. They also provided some formulas for the faculty members as well as the students to change their mindset and further strengthen the effectiveness of the students' learning process.

The valuable inputs and recommendations from the industry experts were aimed at ensuring the training program remains relevant and responsive to the evolving needs of the tourism sector.

According to Mr. Nguyen Hong An, currently some students' introduction and presentation skills are not up to the mark, which requires students to be persistent and self-directed in their learning, as lecturers cannot impart all the necessary knowledge. He suggested that the curriculum should increase the number of credits for courses related to culture and history, such as: History of World Civilizations, Foundations of Vietnamese Culture, Destination Interpretation, Event and Festival Management, and reduce the time allocated for general education courses.

According to Mr. Nguyen Truong Giang, some elective courses are essential, such as: First Aid Animation Skills, Tourism Sales Management. Specifically, the 4-semester Korean and Japanese language courses are not in-depth enough. For the Event and Festival Management course, instead of just lecturing the theory, the instructor should divide students into groups, each representing a different region, to present or give speeches. The university needs to collaborate more with companies from the first year to organize events, allowing students to interact with real company models. The university also needs to improve students' office computer skills, and establish more clubs, associations, and groups.

According to Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy An, the current curriculum is still quite general, without a strong focus on any specific area. The knowledge needs to be updated, and there needs to be more emphasis on practical activities such as visiting tourist sites, learning to design tourism programs, and developing more marketing skills, content creation, and video editing.

After the sharing from the experts, the students also had the opportunity to raise their long-standing questions and aspirations. The experts provided supporting solutions to help the students develop themselves better.

The seminar ended successfully, with valuable contributions from both lecturers and students. Everyone is determined to work together to improve the quality of education, in line with the current trends.

Cre: AIE