Collaboration among universities offering tourism program : The case at Kansai Tourism Education Consortium

In recent years, universities in Japan started to collaborate for further development of their research and education. To promote and enhance the tourism education in Kansai area, universities and colleges offering tourism programs established the Kansai Tourism Education Consortium, with the initiative of the Faculty of Tourism at Wakayama University in August 2013. This paper aims to identify problems and discuss future opportunities of the organization. In order to achieve the aim, this paper first raises the current state of tourism education, then introduces the examples of the other consortium’s activities, and clarifies issues from the point of universities, companies, and high schools.