Hospitality Tourism Management Education: an Analysis of Chinese Students' Motives and Institution Choices Criteria

Abstract

has increased choices for Chinese students, but also brought along fierce competition among HTM institutions. To achieve sustainable competitive advantages in the global educational market, HTM institutions need to clearly understand the decision-making process of prospective students. A better grasp of the motives for opting for an HTM program and choice criteria considered will facilitate the planning of effective marketing strategies. A vast majority of the previous research on students’ decision-making was conducted in the West and it was found that only little of it focused exclusively on HTM students in China. This latter point is precisely what prompted this study. Its purpose is thus (1) to investigate Chinese students’ motives for studying HTM after high school, (2) identify the choice criteria Chinese students applied when selecting HTM higher educational institutions, and (3) explore Chinese students’ desire to study abroad, their preferred countries as well as the factors influencing this choice. 390 freshly-enrolled Chinese HTM undergraduates at Fujian Normal University, Minjiang University, and Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University were selected as the sample. Based on the findings, managerial suggestions are provided to HTM educational institutions.