NOTE:This paper was published in an international scientific journal Central Asian Hournal of Innovation on Tourism Management and Finance. Volume: 04 Issue: 03 | 2023 ISSN: 2660-454X
Abstract
Tourism is the fastest growing industry in the world, and its environmental impacts are so great that the achievement of sustainable tourism would seem to integral to the achievement of sustainable development. Tourism impacts are wide-ranging, are perceived differently by different interest groups, and are subject to extensive uncertainty. However, there appears to be widespread agreement that education has, at the very least, an important role to play in the achievement of sustainable tourism.
The tourism industry is a significant driver of the global economy and impacts societies all over the world that are currently experiencing radical change. Responding to these changes requires economic paradigms and educational systems based on new foundations. It has received a remarkable reputation worldwide, and education tourism is a growing segment of tourism development.
Rwanda has shown commitment to bring improvements to its education sector. The development of Human capital that involves the enhancement of the education and health sectors was one of the main pillars of Rwanda’s development programme launched in 2000 to transform the country into a middle income state driven by the knowledge economy by 2020. Many developed countries joined in to financially support Rwanda to fulfil its development ambitions. Considering the history, there is some progress where education institutions have some contribution trough different ways of curriculum development, training and capacity building. This calls for current research of an international and comparative kind, in order to deepen the knowledge in the field there is a need for a more holistic approach to SD in the tourism curricula. This study attempts to explore the drivers of education tourism as the tool for sustainable tourism development to fulfill the existing research gap in the field of education tourism.
INTRODUCTION
According to United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO), tourism is not only one of the largest global industries, but it has become one of the fastest growing industries in the world (UNWTO, 2016). The grandeur of the tourism industry, along with globalization, immense rapid technological progress and climate change have impacted needs to travel, live and work in a sustainable way. This impact place an increasing demand on the hospitality and tourism industry to act responsibly in the practice of social, economic and environmental sustainability. Sustainable development (SD) was first introduced to the international community in 1987 by the World Commission on the Environment and Development (WCED) and in 1992 by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCE). The alignment of sustainable development and education gained further attention when the United Nations declared 2005 - 2014 as the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD).
Most recently, in 2015, the United Nations adopted the Agenda 2030 for sustainable development with sustainable development goals and associated targets (SDGs)(UN, 2015). Goal number four is centered on education (UN, 2015). Additionally, there has been a growing interest in the linkage between Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) and SD in the last decades. The two concepts were first interspersed at the Second International Congress held in Soul 1999 (UNESCO, 1999). In addition, the potential of TVET has been recognized by various stakeholders to develop human capabilities and individual empowerment along with socio-economic growth (Pavlova, 2009; Tikly, 2013; UNESCO, 1999). The SDGs not only include primary education but also have a specific target focusing on TVET (UN, 2015, 4.4). As a result, TVET has finally been placed in the forefront of the international political agenda. In 2016, 1 of 11 jobs was provided directly, indirectly or induced by the tourism industry. That industry employs 12 million people in Europe alone (Eurostat, 2015; UNWTO, 2016). Furthermore, the tourism industry attracts a young labor force with limited educational experiences (Eurostat, 2015). The disciplinary field of TVET can, therefore, become a potential provider of skills and relevant training in sustainable development to serve the global tourism industry with competent future professionals.
Previous research has established that teachers, students, and other stakeholders consider SD in hospitality and tourism education to be important (Barber, Deale & Goodman, 2011; Boley, 2011; Deale, Nichols & Jacques, 2009). Nonetheless, there is a gap in knowledge and a lack of research on the presence of sustainable development and the extent to which it is explicitly stated in TVET across national borders and at upper secondary tourism education levels.
In 2015, technical, vocational education and training rose to the forefront of the international and political debate with the adoption of UN’s Sustainable development knowledge platform and the Agenda 2030 for Sustainable development with its 17 sustainable development goals (UN, 2015). Goal 4 and target 4 in the SDGs proposes that, “by 2030, substantially increase the number of youth and adults who have relevant skills, including technical and vocational skills, for employment, decent jobs and entrepreneurship“ (UN, 2015, 4.4). In addition, 4 out of 7 targets are directly or indirectly linked to TVET (UN, 2015). This shows the commitment to SD and the recognition of TVET as a significant instrument in the pursuit of individual and global sustainability. It further confirms that TVET can be a powerful, unprecedented global agent potential to change. In addition, 2017 was declared the UNWTO year of tourism. Hence, the potential of tourism and sustainable development was recognized by the United Nations. The message was clear by, at the time, Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon’s address at the World Tourism Day 2015:
