A transformative educational framework in tourism higher education through digital technologies during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

The rapid development and the integration of emerging technologies are changing the perceptions in all aspects of education. As the current tourism education is considered traditional, changes in learning environments, educational methods, and curricula are required. Additionally, the latest COVID- 19 pandemic developments have led to a new perspective of education through digital technologies, changing how universities perceive the teaching and the learning process. As a result of these circumstances, the transformation of higher tourism education is more than ever a current issue preparing students to face the new challenges that arise. This paper proposes an educational framework using the Transformative Learning Theory and digital technologies, providing a contemporary learning design, and offering flexible use of many digital technologies and tools, leading to the development of tourism students according to the needs of modern society. It can also lead to the transformation of dysfunctional beliefs and assumptions of tourism students to be more functional and thrive. Implementing the educational framework can lead to the upgrade of the provided tourism education and its transformation, leading to a higher quality of the tourism services.