An Evaluation of Tourism Higher Education in Iran Based on SWOT Model

Document Type : Research Paper

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Abstract

Tourism education in developing countries including Iran is faced with challenges. The purpose of this research is determining the strengths, weaknesses, threats, and opportunities of tourism education in Iranian university system using SWOT analysis system. To this end, internal evalution process and survey research methods were used. The required data were collected through field survey and a questionnaire completed by 150 respondents including tourism investors, activist, faculty members, and students of tourism
The analysis of strengths and weaknesses matrix shows that educational dimensions had top priorities in actions and threats. The study proposes a sterategy based on as much communication as possible between university educational system on the one hand, and managers and other people involved in the tourism industry on the other. The final section of this paper makes some recommendations for the development of tourism education in Iran.

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