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The purpose of this paper is to profile the Worldwide Hospitality and Tourism Themes theme issue “The way forward: how is Malaysian hospitality and tourism education working with industry?” with reference to the experiences of the theme editors and writing team.

Structured questions were used to enable the theme editors to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting point, the selection of the writing team and material and the editorial process.

Malaysia’s hospitality and tourism industry is facing an acute shortage of skilled employees, accentuated by the fact that jobs in the industry are not broadly appealing to Malaysians.

The hospitality and tourism industry in Malaysia wants to employ graduates with a professional attitude and mindset, and to secure this objective, a greater focus on work-based learning is needed.

The paper draws on discussion and applied research to explore the hospitality and tourism industry–education collaboration in Malaysia and the ways in which employability and retention can be enhanced by a greater emphasis on work-based learning.

The main aim of this paper is to review the contribution made by this theme issue in responding to the strategic question: “How do we develop more sustainable and responsible rural tourism by benchmarking innovations and new practices in Asia?”

A content analysis of the papers was undertaken to learn from best practices within and outside Asia. Structured questions were used to enable the theme editors to reflect on the rationale for the theme issue question, the starting point and the nature of the contribution made by the writing team.

This summary highlights the most significant outcomes in terms of the contributions to knowledge and/or professional practice, and also the implications for management action and applied research arising from the review of best practices in Asian countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, The Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, India, China and Chinese Taipei. Some of the innovative approaches that can be adopted by Asia from non-Asian countries, namely, New Zealand, Australia, Canada, Lesotho and Poland, are also presented.

This paper outlines the challenges and new approaches needed in managing and developing rural tourism initiatives that have been established in other countries.

This paper explores the extent to which the lessons and innovative approaches discussed in this theme issue could be replicated and applied in countries that are developing rural tourism.

The purpose of this paper is to summarise the main points arising from the articles contained in this theme issue and to provide some directions for the future development of hospitality and tourism education in Malaysia.

The paper reviews the contribution made by this theme issue in response to the strategic question: How is Malaysian hospitality and tourism education working with the industry?

The paper observes that authors with different academic and industry backgrounds are able to generate significant outcomes in terms of the contribution to knowledge and/or professional practice, the implications for management action, applied research and industry practice in Malaysia.

This paper considers the extent to which the strategic question discussed in this theme issue could be applied to other ASEAN countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic has long-lasting effects that necessitate business revision, innovation, and transformation in the hospital industry. The research in this field is, however, still incredibly underdeveloped. Hotels have faced unprecedented pressure due to the outbreak of novel COVID-19, forcing many to close temporarily or permanently. The aim of this study is to assess COVID-19 effect on hotels within the Bono region of Ghana, as the protocols are currently relaxed.

Using a quantitative approach, a stratified and purposive sampling method was used and 174 hotel managers in the Bono region responded to the research questions in relation to how their businesses were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The findings showed that the most prominent and recurring measures among hotels are the application of hygiene standards, employee training and awareness, reduction of employees’ guest contact and ensuring a safer environment for both guests and employees.

The study’s sample frame covers hotels in the Bono region of Ghana with lower star classifications, ranging from affordable to three stars in quality and service. Hotels should emphasize the importance of providing their personnel with ongoing training and education to prepare them to deal with the outbreak of the pandemic.

As a result, the study suggests that hotel operators give innovative, fascinating and delightful accommodation experiences that may boost customers’ authentic happiness, as well as offer possibilities for customers to gain positive, memorable experiences from their experience.

Academia and hotel managers need to contribute to theory development in hotel marketing by analyzing changes in customer expectations and industry recovery measures to affect good changes in industry best practices in the aftermath of the epidemic.

This study makes a significant contribution to the body of knowledge of the service delivery system model research because it is one of the initial studies to examine hotel business operations and activities during the COVID-19 utilizing the Bono region as a case. Theoretical, managerial and policy implications are discussed to cope with this crisis.

The purpose of this paper is to present a briefing on milestones of Malaysia Centre of Tourism and Hospitality Education (MyCenTHE) regarding its role as a nation-building exercise in developing human capital talent for future sustainable hospitality and tourism in Malaysia. Under a national initiative by the ministry of education, hospitality and tourism educational institutes in the country have set out to better prepare graduates for industry. MyCenTHE aspires to build a hospitality and tourism cluster (threefold) so that Malaysia is able to increase its annual output of hospitality and tourism personnel from 20,000 in 2009 to 50,000 in 2020 and increase the share of graduates with diploma- or degree-level awards from 13% to 50% by 2020. These expectations can only be achieved by creating a sustainable pool of workers for this sector. It was in this context for which “MyCenTHE” was conceived.

The current study is based on documentary analysis of secondary sources, qualitative in nature, and presents a case study of MyCenTHE with its key accomplishments in promoting hospitality and tourism education in Malaysia.

The hospitality and tourism industry in Malaysia is set to create 600,000 new job opportunities and in so doing, will need many more skilled, work-ready graduates in the coming decade. This paper highlights the collective efforts of the private higher education sector together with some selected public institutions (polytechnics) under the umbrella of the ministry of education through the MyCenTHE platform in promoting hospitality and tourism education nationwide via national awareness campaigns, conferences, skill competitions, seminars, forums and corporate social responsibility projects.

This paper is of value in its own context and in particular support from ministry and related authorities, 26 institutions of higher education working together, approaches to hundreds of local schools and thousands of audiences/participants in awareness campaigns.

Globally, the hospitality industry has entered a new era of growth and transformation due to the Industrial revolution 4.0 and generational change among the consumers. The Malaysian hospitality industry is facing some issues and challenges due to this shift in the global economy, game-changing service innovation, increasing alternative service providers and the disruption of technology. The study aims to identify the issues faced by industry experts and to provide some practical solutions for industry.

The paper identifies the key issues and challenges faced by the hospitality industry by using an open-ended question-based approach among senior industry practitioners and the management representative of the Malaysian Association of Hotels.

A number of innovative recommendations are offered from an industry perspective (including best practices and benchmarking) that if adopted would be beneficial to all stakeholders and encourage tourists to embrace the Malaysian hospitality industry.

The paper underscores issues and challenges stemming from rapid tourism growth and some operational issues relating to hospitality development. The paper also identifies some recent innovations that hoteliers could implement in their respective hotels.

This study aims to examine the relative influence of four sustainability dimensions (environmental, economic, socio-cultural and institutional) in predicting resident satisfaction with the development of sustainable tourism. Prior literature focused mainly on the conceptualization and examination of tourist satisfaction.

Data were collected from a sample of 300 residents near two sustainable tourist sites of Gharana Wetland and Ramnagar Wildlife Sanctuary in Jammu and Kashmir, India. The partial least squares structural equation modelling method was performed to test the proposed relationships.

Empirical evidence supported the positive and significant effect of environmental, economic, socio-cultural and institutional dimensions on residents’ satisfaction. Findings indicate that all four dimensions of sustainability should be considered as part of a holistic approach towards planning and monitoring sustainable tourism development.

There are a number of limitations associated with this study. First, the findings were based on data from residents near two sustainable tourism sites. Second, the study focused on a relatively small sample of residents. Third, only the impacts of the four dimensions on residents’ satisfaction were assessed, which might have excluded other factors that may influence residents’ satisfaction.

This study used the prism of sustainability in the context of sustainable tourism sites in the Jammu and Kashmir region of India and evaluated its effect on residents’ satisfaction.

The economy of today has moved toward the fourth industrial revolution (FIR), which is characterized by the adoption of technologies such as cyber-physical systems, internet of things, big data, artificial intelligence and robotics. Globally, there is a lot of awareness created on the influence of the FIR on all industries, including hospitality and tourism. A plethora of studies on FIR have been conducted in the setting of manufacturing industries. Nonetheless, there seems to be in-exhaustive and non-consensual agreement among researchers as to the development and prospects of the FIR for service industries. Therefore, the aim of this paper was to comprehensively review the prospects of the FIR for the hospitality and tourism industry.

As a result of the novelty and gaps associated with the FIR in the hospitality literature, the authors explored the concept of FIR using a comprehensive literature review approach. Specifically, this paper reviews existing literature from diverse academic backgrounds, and annotates issues with regard to the evolution and prospects of the FIR for the hospitality industry.

Emphatically, the development and principles of FIR were expatiated. Additionally, an exegesis was carried out on the prospects (positives and challenges) of FIR for the hospitality industry. Finally, practical and social implications were also discussed.

It still remains a discourse among scholars and industry stakeholders as to the prospects of the FIR. This paper clarifies the confusion among researchers and bridges the literature gaps. Moreover, this review serves as a theoretical foundation for future research on the impact of FIR on the hospitality industry.

今日经济已经迈入第四次工业革命（FIR）阶段; 其特点包括科技运用, 如网络-实体系统、物联网、大数据、人工智能、和机器人。全球人已经达成共识: FIR整个产业包括酒店和旅游业有着重大影响。目前有很多FIT研究在生产工业背景中。然而, 研究者们似乎对FIR在服务产业中的发展和前景未达成太多的共识。

由于FIR在酒店文献中的新奇和欠缺, 本论文借助全面文献综述法, 来专注于研究FIR的概念。具体来说, 本论文审视了多个科研背景下的现有文献; 以及指出FIR对酒店产业的革命和前景的相关问题。

研究结果展示了FIR的发展和原则。此外, 本论文还指出了FIR对酒店产业的前景分析。最后, 本论文还讨论了基于本论文结果而衍生的实际启示和社会启示。

目前在学者和产业相关者之间, 对于FIR的前景讨论存在分歧。本论文解释了研究人员之间的疑惑以及弥补文献缺口。此外, 本论文还对未来关于FIR在酒店产业影响的研究奠定了理论基础。

The purpose of this study is to analyse the importance of rural communities’ participation in the management of tourism development.

A case study was conducted at the Katse and Mohale Tourism Development Area of Lesotho. This study was conducted in three villages adjacent to the Ts’ehlanyane Nature Reserve: Ha ‘Mali, Bokong Nature Reserve; Ha Lejone and Liphofung Nature Reserve; and Phelandaba using a mixed method design. In-depth interviews were conducted with Conservation Committee Forum members, and a survey was conducted on various stakeholders that included local rural communities, local authorities, nature reserve managers, tourism officers and environmental/conservation officers.

Respondents from all three villages (Ha Lejone, Ha ‘Mali and Phelandaba) shared the same preference of greater community involvement and decision-making power in the management of tourism. Ha ‘Mali and Ha Lejone respondents recognised community members’ participation but the Phelandaba respondents generally disagreed that the communities were involved in management, as they indicated not being consulted in any planning about tourism.

This study concluded that governments should not merely set aside conservation areas or construct tourist destinations in rural areas but should also empower local communities to participate in all stages of planning, developing and managing the tourism venture. Involving community members in the formulation of supporting tourism regulations, implementation, monitoring and evaluation procedures would be beneficial for sustainable development of rural tourism. Building partnership amongst all tourism-related stakeholders in rural tourism management is an ideal tool for promoting rural tourism.

Although the case study specifically referred to KMTD, the information gathered was used to formulate a model of the elements influencing rural tourism benefit-sharing processes from the perspective of a rural local community.