A contemporary examination of tourism management students’ internship experiences and career expectations-objectives

This study examines tourism management students’ internship experiences and their link with career expectations-objectives. Main justification of the study is the need for a contemporary and in-depth examination of internship and related issues and the need for developing practical solutions in that regard. This way, it is aimed to contribute to the literature which is arguably still weaker on the contemporary and practical aspects of the issue. Adopting a qualitative approach to get in-depth information, 18 students were interviewed about their internship experiences. The interviews were content-analyzed qualitatively. Key issues about the internship experiences and their impact on career expectations and objectives include responsibility-authority imbalance, too long hours of work, work-life imbalance, low wages/payment of wages issues, undesirable social atmosphere at workplace, and being undervalued. While travel agency interns were happier with internships, those who took hotel and restaurant/café jobs are not willing to continue in the tourism industry due to their negative experiences throughout internships. Both travel agency interns and others do consider becoming entrepreneurs. Hotel and restaurant/café interns reported that meeting new people was the enjoyable side of their internships and their internships encouraged them to improve communication and language skills. Many issues about tourism internships seem to remain unsolved despite their decades-long presence, which indicates the need for some major change in the approach to internships. Businesses are advised to enhance the quality of social atmosphere, minimize physical work, orientate the interns gradually, empower them properly, and get the most out of interns’ entrepreneurial qualities.