Course Overview
Hospitality in a very simple definition refers to a business of entertaining or housing visitors, a service more commonly practised or offered in the hotel industry. Hospitality management is the study of hospitality as an industry. Tourism involves people travelling from their usual environment and staying in other places for business, leisure or other reasons but not exceeding more than a year. Tourism Management is a field of study that combines both theoretical and practical skills necessary in business and management of the tourism industry. Professionals in this field may be referred to as hospitality or tourism managers among other titles. Tourism managers plan, develop and promote tourism industry in order to attract visitors and generate significant economic benefits for a particular business, region or site. Due to good climate and natural environment within the country, tourism remains Kenya’s largest source of foreign exchange. Worldwide, tourism is world’s largest industry. The Tourism industry is one of the largest foreign exchange earners in Kenya and contributes above 10% to the GDP as well as the economy. The ability of this industry to attract and retain skilled employees is critical for the industry’s growth. This can only be achieved through appropriate industry-driven training and education. Therefore there is need for the country to produce competent manpower to manage this sector for the benefit of the country.

The Bachelor of Science in Hospitality & Tourism Management is a four year course which was developed to play a leading role towards educating the next generation of hospitality and tourism managers within the world’s largest industry.  The curriculum coursework covers important areas such as; food safety and hygiene, tourism philosophies and practices, tourism, leisure, recreation & health, wine and beverage knowledge, German for beginners, French for beginners,  meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions, hospitality and tourism facilities management, human resource management, entrepreneurship and small business management, hotel information systems and hospitality product marketing among other important subjects. In addition, the design of the curriculum incorporates professional attachment for students to give them a head-start in the hospitality and tourism industry. With the need to meet increasingly qualitative and quantitative needs of the hospitality and tourism industry in terms of manpower, the training and education of this programme seeks to pursue major strategic outcomes that aim at: enhancing a culture of innovation and creativity, inculcating a culture of excellence as well as pursuing academic and skill-based student outcomes. Upon successful completion of the course, graduates will be equipped with the relevant skills, knowledge and attitudes towards solving the challenges facing the organizations in the hospitality and tourism industry.

Entry requirement
For self sponsored students, at least a mean grade of C+ in KCSE. For Government sponsored students, the minimum cut point which is announced annually applies. The students should in addition have good performance in the following cluster Subjects; Subject 1 ENG/KIS, Subject 2 MAT A / MAT B, Subject 3 any GROUP II or any GROUP III, Subject 4 a GROUP II or a GROUP III or any GROUP IV or any GROUP V.

Becoming a hospitality-cum-tourism manager
If you are passionate about the tourism and hospitality industry and interested in a career within the fast-paced fields of hospitality or the tourism management, then pursuing this course might be a good choose for you. In addition, you should be prepared to develop skills that can help you grow and succeed in this profession.

Tourism managers are effective communicators able to communicate effectively with other people across various social classes. They also have good interpersonal skills that enable them work effectively with other people; in addition, good interpersonal skills is very important to enable these professionals be able to collect and interpret complex data to target the most promising geographic areas and/or demographic groups and determine the most effective strategies to grow tourism business.

Excellent customer service skills are equally important to enable these managers listen and respond to the customer’s needs. To keep on top of their game, tourism managers should be able to evaluate how their staffs performs and then develop strategies for meeting goals. Tourism managers should also be comfortable interacting well with diverse cultures/ groups from across the world and in addition have the ability to speak at least one foreign language.

The hospitality industry especially the hotels are visited by many people at any given time, managers of these establishments must therefore possess good organization skills to keep track of visitors, guests among others. Solving guests and personnel related dissatisfaction is very important in this industry, hospitality specialists must therefore have good problem solving skills. Professionals in this field must also possess good business skills to address budget matters, minimise costs and enhance business profitability.

Work environment.
Professionals in this work mainly work in hotel establishments and related establishments.

Career opportunities
Graduates of the course can find work opportunities in travel, hotel and accommodation industry. They can also find work within lodging establishments, luxury camps, recreational camps, resorts, youth hostels among other hospitality related establishments. Graduates may also decide to start their own businesses.

You may explore these courses
Bachelor of Tourism Management
Bachelor of Science in Food Service and Hospitality Management
Bachelor of Science in Event and Convention Management
Bachelor of Catering & Hotel Management
Bachelor of Technology in Institutional Catering and Accommodation
Bachelor of Travel and Tours Operations Management
Bachelor of Technology in Hotel and Restaurant Management