Career Intentions: An Analysis of Final-Year Hospitality Students’ Intentions in the Hotel Industry

The hotel industry, being one of the largest industries globally, offers many job opportunities and promising career prospects for students. Career intention reflects students’ readiness, preferences, and advancement within the industry based on their education, experiences, and perceptions. Final-year hospitality students have diverse career prospects in the hotel industry. However, many higher-educated students are losing interest in pursuing hotel-industry careers due to various factors. Hence, this study aims to assess the career intentions of final-year hospitality students in the hotel industry, considering factors, such as parental influence, promotion opportunities, nature of work, and personal interest. Using a quantitative research approach, data have been gathered from 70 final-semester hospitality students via questionnaires. The results show that parental influence and personal intention significantly impact the students’ career intentions in the hotel industry. It is recommended that future research should explore the impact of specific departments on career intentions, include both degree and diploma students, and promote collaborations between academia and the hotel industry to align curriculums with industry needs.