The year 2020 turned out to be a pivotal annum for the hospitality, event, entertainment, restaurant, sports, tourism and travel industries, and for UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management as well. The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic brought these industries to a halt, and at the same time boosted the demand for research in these fields. Predictive analytics and forecasts for the future are current topics of conversation for those who saw revenues dip and furloughs and layoffs increase.
In June of 2020, UCF Rosen College received news that the ShanghaiRanking, a highly respected ranking for 500 research universities and colleges, had placed it at the top of the ranking in the United States and number two in the world. The new ShanghaiRanking brought a renewed interest in the hospitality realm, particularly in light of the grim outlook for the industry with planes grounded, hotels and restaurants closed or at reduced capacity, theme parks limiting access, conventions and conferences cancelled, and cruises docked portside. Home to the editors of four top-reviewed research journals in the field of tourism, travel and hospitality, UCF Rosen College is known among its academic peers, through its individual research projects contracted with destination management agencies, and its collaborative studies with esteemed partners around the globe. With the advent of the pandemic, stakeholders in the industry turned to the college’s experts for insights.
The need to know what would happen in the weeks, months, and even years to come, pushed the researchers at UCF Rosen College into high gear. Sometimes research can take years to prove or disprove a hypothesis. With COVID-19, answers were needed almost overnight in some cases. The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies, established in 1979 at UCF Rosen College, mobilized all its resources to present webinars to answer key questions that were on the minds of industry leaders who had seen spectacular growth in recent years come to a screeching halt. From May to August 2020, the Institute produced five webinars, titled: Research, Recovery, Rescaling. The webinars provided results of research produced in the early months of the pandemic, relaying a gauge of how, when and by what means travelers would venture forth. The webinars delivered insights into small lodgings’ capabilities to manage the pandemic and also provided a forecast of the future. Each webinar was recorded and is available on the Rosen College YouTube Channel and the Rosen College website.
The research delivery system from the Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies continues in the fall with Rosen College Research Colloquiums. These usually academic-driven gatherings are now open to all who find their minds turning to thoughts of getting out on the road, reintroducing travel into their lives, and who want to know what they can expect. The monthly colloquiums look at global issues affecting the hospitality industry. The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies is also producing a special series over the next seven months, the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series. To honor Dr. Abraham Pizam, founding dean of the Rosen College of Hospitality Management on the 50th anniversary of his achieving his Ph.D., the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series takes a look at the evolution of the hospitality and tourism industry through the eyes of some of the pioneers in this field of education. Academic offerings for the hospitality industry have changed dramatically in the last half century. With the economies of several regions of the globe dependent on tourism, what the scholars have learned and how their research has evolved and is being used today, matters to the sustainability of many islands, cities and countries.
The college’s research focus has also looked at the people in the hospitality industry. Throughout the summer and fall, the Research Recovery and Reskill webinars provided insight into gearing up for the world to come, the psychology of managing to live and work, or be unemployed in isolation, the benefits of education while unemployed and more. Originally launched as a professional development tool for the 11,000+ Rosen College alumni, the Research Recovery and Reskill webinars gained popularity among industry partners, and current students, the future leaders of the hospitality industry.
The Research Recovery Rescaling webinars, the Research Colloquiums, the Dean’s Distinguished Lecture Series and the Research Recovery and Reskill webinars have been compiled on one page on the Rosen College website for ease of accessibility to this profound research resource: https://hospitality.ucf.edu/rosen-college-webinars/.
Continuing the efforts to educate and enhance the skills of industry professionals, UCF Rosen College will soon be launching professional development courses that will tackle emerging focuses of the hospitality industry, such as tourism technology and analytics. The college already offers some graduate degree certificates in destination marketing and event management, which of course are disciplines that will look different in and after the pandemic, with more virtual aspects to all facets of the hospitality industry.
While ResearchGate is a fine repository of hospitality research, the treasure trove of UCF Rosen College research can be found on STARS, UCF’s Showcase of Text, Archives, Research & Scholarship. STARS is administered by UCF Libraries and exists to host and promote research, to publicize, disseminate, and provide ready access to works by, for, and about the University of Central Florida, of which Rosen College is one of its 12 colleges. Stars is accessible digitally from anywhere around the world: https://stars.library.ucf.edu/rosencollege/.
UCF Rosen College and the Rosen Research Review are here to share knowledge to enhance the world of hospitality.
