Tourism & Hospitality Industry
The Tourism & Hospitality Industry is the largest and fastest-growing industry in the world. One of the most exciting aspects of this industry it is made up of so many different professions. As diverse as the hospitality industry is, there are some powerful and common dynamics, which include the delivery of services and products and the guest’s impressions of them. Whether an employee is in direct contact with a guest (front of the house) or performing duties behind the scenes (back of the house), the profound and the most challenging reality of working in this industry is that hospitality employees have the ability to affect the human experience by creating powerful impressions – even brief moments of truth – that may last a lifetime. Hospitality businesses are open 365 days a year and 24 hours a day.
The hospitality industry is a broad category of fields within the service industry that includes hotels, restaurants, lodging, event planning, theme parks, transportation, cruise line, and additional fields within the tourism industry. The hospitality industry is a multibillion-dollar industry that depends on the availability of leisure time and disposable income. A hospitality unit such as a restaurant, hotel, or an amusement park consists of multiple groups such as facility maintenance and direct operations (servers, housekeepers, porters, kitchen workers, bartenders, management, marketing, and human resources etc.)
Food & Beverages Production
Food production, as the name suggests, is all about preparing food in which raw materials are transformed into ready-made food products for human consumption either in the home or in the food processing industries. It involves art and scientific approach. Food production has various sections and it starts with basic things like cleaning, packing, segregating, sorting, preparing, adding ingredients in correct proportions, presenting, etc.
How is food produced?
There are large numbers of plant and animal products, which are used for our wellbeing. They provide us food and the daily food, which we eat, comes from both plants and animals. These include grains, pulses, spices, honey, nuts, cereals, milk, vegetables, fruits, egg, meat, chicken, etc. The existence of our life is completely depended on plants and animals. Altogether both plant and animal species provide 90% of the global energy.
Types of food production
Food production is further classified into different types including, cultivation, selection, crop management, harvesting, crop production, preserving, baking, pasteurizing, pudding, carving, butchers, fermenting, pickling, drink and candy makers, restaurants, etc.
Methods Of Food Production:
- Chopping or slicing of vegetables.
- Curing food.
- Grinding and marinating.
- Emulsification.
- Food fermentation.
- Fermenting beer at brewing industries.
- Boiling, broiling, frying, grilling, steaming and mixing.
- Pasteurization.
- Fruit juice processing.
- Removing the outer layers either by peeling and skinning.
- Gasification of soft drinks.
F & B Service
Food and Beverage (F&B) Department is responsible for maintaining high quality of food and service, food costing, managing restaurants, bars, etc.
Food and Beverage Service is the service of Food made in the Kitchen and drinks prepared in the Bar to the Customers (Guest) at the Food & Beverage premises, which can be: Restaurants, Bars, Hotels, Airlines, Cruise Ships, Trains, Companies, Schools, Colleges, Hospitals, Prisons, Takeaway, etc.
1. Restaurants:
Restaurants are places where Food & Drink is served.
There are various types of Restaurants:
All Day Dining Restaurants:
They are usually called as Coffee Shop or Cafe in Hotels. They are usually big in size with many Covers (seats), compared to other Restaurants in the same Hotel. The main reason why they are called All Day Dining Restaurant is because of their hours of operation, as they are open for Breakfast in the morning to Lunch in the afternoon to Dinner in the evening.
Fine Dining Restaurants:
Fine Dining Restaurants are characterized by their elaborate and exclusive menu with special emphasis on the very high quality food they serve. The emphasis being on fresh ingredients and natural flavours or on the type of Cuisine served, or both. Usually the operation of this restaurant revolves around the Head Chef or Chef De Cuisine of this Outlet.
Speciality Restaurants:
These are Restaurants which usually have a type of National or Regional Character or Cuisine attached to them, for example: Italian Specialty Restaurant, Chinese Specialty Restaurant etc. In some Hotels they do also sometimes have Multi Cuisine Specialty Restaurant, which literally means that Restaurant serves cuisine from more than one country, or the dishes on the Menu at that Restaurant has Food Specialties from many different countries.
2. Lounge
Lounges can be found in different hotels. Their main purpose is to offer Food & Drinks in comfortable and cosy seating in relaxed surroundings. There are many kinds of Lounges ranging from a Lounge in a Lobby, Cocktail Lounge and Cigar Lounge to Executive and Club Lounge on special Floors.
3. Discotheque/Nightclub:
They are outlets where Music and Entertainment takes priority with the Food & Drink. The operation is very fast and the guest numbers are large. Security is an important aspect in these operations. Music and entertainment can range from DJ to live bands playing.
4. Room Service/In Room Dining:
Room Service, also known as In Room Dining .
It is the service of Food & Drink in Guest Rooms in a Hotel or a Resort.
Front Office
The hotel industry satisfies two basic physiological needs of all human beings- shelter and food. Whether a hotel is simple or elaborate, the hotel business is a safe investment. In a globalised world people must travel for business, leisure and education etc. The Front Office is a prime revenue generating department of a hotel as it sells rooms. In large hotels, it is part of a larger division called “Accommodations Division” or “Room Division”.
The Accommodations Division includes many other services that support a guest stay, such as the bell desk, concierge service, telecommunications, cashiering, information technology and business centre.
Housekeeping
The Housekeeping department takes pride in keeping the hotel clean and comfortable, so as to create a ‘Home away from home’. The aim of all accommodation establishments is to provide their customers with clean, attractive, comfortable and welcoming surrounding that offer value for money. Nothing sends a stronger message than cleanliness in a hospitality operation. No level of service, friendliness or glamour can equal the sensation a guest has upon entering a spotless, tidy and conveniently arranged room. Both management and guest consider the keeping of the place clean and in a good order a necessity for a hotel to command a fair price and get repeat business.
Housekeeping may be defined as the provision of a clean, comfortable and safe environment, it is not confined to the housekeeping department as every member of staff in the establishment should be concerned with the provision of these facilities in their own department.
In any establishment there are three departments particularly concerned with accommodation:
- The reception department, whose staff sell and allocate the rooms.
- The housekeeping department, whose staff plan, provide and service the rooms.
- The maintenance department, whose staff provide adequate hot and cold water, sanitation, heating, lighting and ventilation as well as maintaining and repairing individual articles and area within the rooms operation.
Career Opportunities
Hotel & Resort
- Hotels, Resorts and Clubs
- Food & Beverage
- Catering
- Facilities Management
Technology & Logistics
- Hospitality Information Technology
- Logistics Management
- Real Estate Development
- Management Consulting
Tourism Management
- Travel and Tourism
- Cruise Lines
- Airlines
- Rail
Event Management
- Promotion and Sport Management
- Agency and Personal Management
- Event and Venue Management
- Fitness, Health and Spa Management
Entertainment & Leisure
- Entertainment and Leisure
- Casinos
- Entertainment and Amusement
- Theme Parks
Other Sectors & Services
- Human Resources
- Media
- Training
- Education