Hospitality and tourism education in Malta : students’ reflections on the dissertations process

This study explores what hospitality and tourism students in Malta perceive as the biggest challenges in writing their dissertations. Balancing academic research with industry-focused skills presents difficulties. Students struggle to manage workload, meet academic writing standards, and secure effective supervision. Restricted access to academic resources, rigid institutional policies, and time constraints can present additional challenges. This study adopts a qualitative approach, gathering insights through focus groups with students from various backgrounds, academic levels, and levels of dissertation progress. The discussions focus upon concerns about inconsistent supervision, the lack of structured academic writing support, and difficulties in obtaining research participants. Many students also express anxiety over dissertation expectations, leading to procrastination and uncertainty about their research direction. The findings offer recommendations for improving dissertation support systems, helping to enhance student confidence, engagement, and motivation in hospitality and tourism education in Malta.