LAUSR

Tourism and Hospitality Management Schools’ students must complete their internship before graduation in four or five stars hotels or travel agencies in Turkey. Some students may have negative perceptions of tourism education and working conditions in the industry, after they have worked as trainees in the industry. The aim of the study is to compare the perceptions and expectations of students in relation to tourism industry who have done their internship with those who have not and is to explore the differences in their future expectations and any changes in their career plans. For the purpose of the study a questionnaire was prepared, based on relevant literature, and the survey was conducted in the School of Tourism and Hotel Management at Anadolu University in Turkey. 204 students were selected by the use of stratified sampling as the study sample from the first, second, third and the fourth year. Half of the questionnaires were distributed to students who had done their internship and the rest to the students who had not undertaken internship yet. Results indicate that the respondents’ perceptions and expectations of the industry were not significant according to their experience. Finally, the differences between respondents are summarized and implications are drawn for the educational institutions and further studies.