A Possible Transformation of Tourism Education: A Chaos Theory Perspective

Abstract

Recently, there has been a likely transformation from traditional face-to-face education to distance education and hybrid models. Higher tourism education has undergone these changes concordantly as it incorporates an applied field. Therefore, an atmosphere of uncertainty and chaos has arisen in universities. The study approaches the effects of the pandemic on the education system through the perspective of chaos theory. The data were collected from tourism academics, one of the pillars of the higher education system. Semi-structured in-depth interviews were conducted with 21 lecturers. Study findings revealed that the lack of compulsory attendance reduced student participation in online classes. Accordingly, low student attendance resulted in the lack of lecturer-student interaction in courses, negatively impacting lecturer motivation and highlighting the inefficiency of distance education. The study also provides clues regarding differences and managerial implications experienced by public and foundation universities during the pandemic.