Student’s perceptions concerning computer Based learning in tourism higher education – a Case study in dokuz eylul university, izmir, Turkey

Abstract

Nowadays, information technology (IT) represents a very important aspect in education as in every other area. As computer use is becoming widespread in education, its quality may be enhanced. The contribution of computers to tourism education could not be ignored. The Tourism industry, similarly to many countries, has a great contribution to the economic growth in Turkey. More specifically, for the deployment of young population, the importance of the tourism sector cannot be underestimated. Nevertheless, the dynamic feature of the tourism sector and the fluctuation of demand cause high turnover speed employee results for corporations in this specific sector. Consequently, students graduated from tourism schools are not able to last long in the sector and they end up with abandoning the sector and prefer other businesses to work at. While the use of computers is becoming widespread and its importance is increasing in all sectors, it bears a significant importance for students who would work in the tourism sector. Consequently, the importance of computer-supported education is becoming crucial. Dokuz Eylül University is one of the most important Tourism schools in Turkey. Dokuz Eylül University is an educational institution that has a leading position in Turkey in the area of tourism management education with its experienced instructors tutoring in the Vocational School, undergraduate, graduate and doctorate courses. The students of tourism management should also be supported with the advances in computer technology in their profession. In this specific paper, the first chapter would involve a general aspect and presentation of the tourism education, which would be accomplished, followed by the existing different levels of the structure of tourism education in Turkey. The aim of this specific study would be to examine the students’ perceptions regarding computer – based learning, as far as the education and training for the tourism industry is concerned. This research would represent students’ perceptions of the two existing different classes, the tourism and the hotel management class. In conclusion, it could be said that the findings of this research, would be used in order to present some suggestions and crucial success factors regarding computerized education systems.