Özet:

Tourism as a dynamic sector which affects various sub-sectors directly or indirectly due to its multiplier effect. The current study was conducted with the purpose of revealing the tourism industry’s professional expectations from the employees working in the field of gastronomy, discovering the factors affecting the industry’s expectations and putting forward the industry’s views on gastronomy education. In this regard, the research sample was composed of 407 respondents who work as manager in administrative offices and food & beverage departments of tourism enterprises in Istanbul, Turkey and have volunteered to be involved in the survey. Questionnaire which is a data collection tool in quantitative research methods were used in the current study. The research data were analyzed on statistical analysis software. For data analysis, “Frequency” and “ANOVA” tests were performed. Based on the research findings, it was concluded that the gastronomy industry expects from the employees in their professional life the existence of work effort and experience, and professional knowledge and experience on food and beverages; that the industry believes that the lecturers in the gastronomy section of the department of gastronomy and culinary arts are not very well knowledgeable about the gastronomy industry; that the internship or on-the-job training programs are beneficial for student’s career; and that there are differences between the career expectations of managers and lecturers in gastronomy industry. In the light of these results, it is recommended that students are provided with internship opportunities and on-the-job training courses to increase their experience levels; that they should improve their skills through courses or trainings on food and beverages; and that the lecturers to be employed for the universities’ gastronomy departments should be selected among the individuals who have practical knowledge, skills and experience in gastronomy industry.

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