Bridging the Competency Gap in Hospitality Management Education in the Digital Age: A Comparative Study of Undergraduate Curriculum Systems in Chinese and International Universities

Abstract

The profound development of the digital economy has fundamentally transformed the landscape, operational models, and talent demands of the global hospitality industry, highlighting a "competency gap" between talent cultivation in traditional hospitality management education and industry requirements. Using "competency gap" and "curricular response" as core analytical concepts, this study constructs a three-dimensional analytical framework of "educational objectives - curriculum structure - teaching practices" to conduct a comparative study of undergraduate hospitality management curriculum systems from representative Chinese and international universities. The research finds that the core competency gaps for hospitality management talent in the digital age primarily lie in digital operations and management, strategic thinking and innovative insight, international communication and cross-cultural management, as well as comprehensive management and leadership. Leading international universities achieve a more proactive and effective "curricular response" to competency demands through systematic and forward-looking curriculum design, deeply integrated industry-academia collaboration practices, and student-centered teaching methods. In comparison, although Chinese universities have begun to respond actively, there remains room for improvement in the systematic restructuring of curriculum systems, deep integration of digital content, the effectiveness of practical teaching, and the digital literacy and industry experience of faculty. Based on these findings, this paper proposes optimization suggestions for the future development of undergraduate hospitality management curriculum systems in China, focusing on four dimensions: defining forward-looking educational objectives, systematically restructuring the curriculum system, deepening innovative practices in industry-academia collaboration, and promoting teaching reform and faculty development.