The top universities for tourism and hospitality in 2021

The field of hospitality includes areas of study such as tourism management, ecotourism, culinary management, international tourism, food studies, and management of resorts, restaurants and hotels.

The increasing profile of niche trading sectors such as ecotourism, cultural tourism, wine tourism and sport tourism has created growth in the industry, and new markets continue to emerge, including heritage tourism and Indigenous tourism.

Courses in this field are largely vocationally oriented, so many require students to work in on-campus training facilities and include compulsory periods of industry placement — often paid.

The Good Universities Guide's ratings look at specific strengths of Australian universities, giving insight to support and guide decision-making when choosing a university.

There are over 116 undergraduate courses in tourism and hospitality listed on The Good Universities Guide. This month, we looked at which universities ranked highest in learning resources, teaching quality and student support.

Learning Resources

This rating looks at the proportion of students who were satisfied with the learning resources provided by their institution. It is based on students’ average ratings of teaching spaces (including lecture theatres, laboratories and tutorial rooms), student spaces and common areas, online learning materials, computing and IT resources, assigned books and notes, laboratory or studio equipment and library facilities. Charles Sturt University ranked highest with a satisfaction rate of 93.3%, followed closely by Melbourne’s Swinburne University of Technology with a satisfaction rate of 92.6%.

Teaching Quality

This rating looks at the proportion of students who were satisfied with the quality of teaching they experienced. It is based on students’ ratings of their overall educational experience; the quality of teaching they received; and the extent to which they felt lecturers and tutors actively engaged them in and demonstrated concern for learning, provided clear explanations of coursework and assessment, inspired them intellectually, seemed helpful and approachable and provided useful feedback on work, among various other factors. Griffith University in Queensland scored highest with an 97.6% satisfaction rate, followed by Swinburne University of Technology, which scored 96.4%.

Student Support

This rating looks at the proportion of students who were satisfied with the support they received from their institution. It is based on the extent to which students felt they received support to settle into study; experienced efficient enrolment and admissions processes; felt orientation activities were helpful; and found administrative staff and services, career advisers, academic or learning advisers, counsellors, financial advisers and health services to be available and helpful. Griffith University ranks again, taking the top spot with a satisfaction rate of 97.3%, followed by The University of Notre Dame Australia, which scored 90.3%.

View all 2021 rankings for tourism and hospitality — filter by state, or level of study to view both undergraduate and postgraduate ratings.

Further reading