Welcome

Welcome! If you’re reading this book, then you likely have a strong interest in pursuing a career in BC’s tourism and hospitality industry. Perhaps you are already working in the the industry and would like to enhance your skills. No matter what your background, we’re happy to share this collaborative work that pulls together decades of industry experience and academic know-how.

An Introduction to the Industry

No textbook could cover, in depth, the tourism industry in BC and the global context for its development. This textbook is intended to be a stepping stone for further resources, and is written with a first year college and university audience in mind.

Created through Collaboration

The book you’re reading was created through a collaborative process managed by LinkBC. It involved input from educators at multiple institutions, industry leaders, employers, and past graduates of BC’s tourism and hospitality management programs.

Chapter Organization

Each chapter is organized thematically, and moves from a global, to a national, to a provincial context. Some chapters will be quite global in focus while others will concentrate primarily on British Columbia. Chapter content is based on available data and research, and input from collaborators.

Additional Resources

Each chapter features “Spotlight On” text boxes that highlight an organization, business, or other key component of the chapter’s theme. “Take a Closer Look” features encourage students to do further reading on particular subjects.

At the end of each chapter, key terms are presented in alphabetical order to help students gain confidence with terminology; these terms are summarized in a Glossary at the end of the textbook.. These are followed by chapter exercises and a case study for in-depth exploration of the subject matter.

For Instructor Resources or More Information

To learn more about the creation of this textbook, or for instructor resources, please contact LinkBC: the tourism & hospitality education network, by visiting its website at www.linkbc.ca or sending a tweet to @linkBC.

Attribution

Figure 1.0 The Lions – Lake Capilano, BC by Jason Mrachina is used under a CC-BY-NC-ND 2.0 license.