What is the Hospitality Industry?

The Hospitality industry is one of the oldest commercial sectors of economy in the world, with the Ancient Greeks and Romans implementing principles of basic hospitality when receiving guests and travelers. Today, the hospitality industry covers a variety of sectors related to providing services for customers that focus on creating memorable and leisurely experiences. The main sectors of the hospitality industry include: Food & Beverage, Travel & Tourism, Lodging, and Events.

Food & Beverage

The Food & Beverage sector of the hospitality industry covers businesses such as restaurants, bars, cafes, catering, food manufacturing operations, and even nightclubs. Working in the food & beverage industry will keep you on your toes literally and figuratively. Roles and opportunities include waiters/waitresses, bartenders, chefs, food service managers, directors of food & beverage, and many more.

Travel & Tourism

Travel and tourism, as the name suggests, is all about the businesses and careers that revolve around jet-setting, adventure-seeking tourists from all corners of the globe. Careers in travel and tourism are all about curating experiences to create memories. From planning the best tours for your clients, to developing new attractions and sites to boost tourism in a particular destination, you won't have to worry about being stuck in an office from 9 to 5.

Lodging/Accommodation

Lodging or accommodation is all about providing people with a place to stay on holiday, or a short-term basis. It's more than just creating a 'home away from home,' it's also about creating the ultimate experience in comfort and luxury. This sector includes hotels, Airbnb's, motels, hostels, bed & breakfasts, resorts, and service apartments. The number of roles available in the accommodation industry is astounding, with entry level positions ranging from housekeeping, concierges, front desk operators, grounds keepers, the list goes on for a while. It's a great industry to get into if you're looking for an exotic or luxurious workplace.

Events

Imagine waking up on a sunny Saturday, trying to go out, and realising that there's absolutely nothing to do - no pop ups, no cultural events, no exhibitions, no festivals, not even a wedding or birthday party to attend. That's the importance of events and the people who work in the industry. Events often overlaps with a few of the hospitality industry's other sectors, like food & beverage. If you're a people-person through and through, this is a great field to get into, as there will be no shortage of clients to talk to, people to network with at the events you organise or attend, and collaborators you'll need to communicate with, to help bring the best events to life.

Of course, the hospitality industry is a lot more nuanced and diverse, but we hope that this rough guide has given you some idea of what working in hospitality entails, and the potential career paths that you can take to seize opportunities, achieve success, and make those dreams a waking reality.

If you want to learn more about studying Hospitality, visit https://www.bac.edu.my/bac/hospitality-culinary-tourism/.