The Department of Hospitality and Tourism was initially established by the Senate of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta in 2009 as Department of Foodservice and Tourism. The Department is one of the four departments in the College of Food Science and Human Ecology (COLFHEC). The first intake of students to the Department of Foodservice and Tourism resumed in October, 2010. The Foodservice and Tourism program was given full accreditation by the National University Commission (NUC) in July 2013 with the proviso to change the name of the program to Hospitality and Tourism and the 4 years Foodservice and Tourism program to 5 years Hospitality and Tourism program based on National University Commission Bench Marks (NUC BMAS). The programme is meant to complement the collective goals of other established programmes namely; Food Science and Technology, Home Science and Management, Nutrition and Dietetics. The Hospitality and Tourism (HTM) program commenced with intakes of student in the 2013/2014 academic session and the transferred 200 and 300 level Students of Food Service and Tourism into the new program.

Hospitality and Tourism (HTM) is a multidisciplinary field of study with the purpose of preparing people with the expertise, commitment, and skills for training, supervising, management, marketing and operations positions in the expanding industry that provides food, accommodations, and tourism services to people away from home. As a field of study, Hospitality and Tourism program is interdisciplinary. It draws upon a wide range of basic disciplines to provide the fundamental knowledge and skills that are required to fulfil the diverse demands placed upon individuals in leadership positions within the hospitality industry.

The Hospitality and Tourism industry is one of the largest and fastest growing industries in the world and this growth is predicted to continue. It is a service industry and it includes areas such as: hotels, restaurants, night clubs, convention centres, amusement parks, cruise ships, events, travel and tours. With the rapid growth in the field of Hospitality and Tourism, demand for more and more expertise in this sector is growing.

As an academic discipline, hospitality covers ‘the management of food, beverage, accommodation, event planning, leisure, gaming etc. Currently the industry is facing challenges in meeting the diverse needs of clientele. Professionals in the industries should be competent to address these challenges and handle the various discipline involved in hospitality. This can be achieved through appropriate training.

The tourism business is also growing steadily in the country, in the areas of historical/traditional/modern tourism involving arts, leisure and entertainment. The Hospitality and Tourism programme puts the training needs of both industries as an integrated package. This programme will provide an appropriate training medium for human resource development and wide-scope exposure of graduates in the frontiers of knowledge needed to solve the problems of this sector.

Rationale

There is dearth of professionals especially University trained and highly skilled manpower in the Hospitality and Tourism industry. The programme addresses the training and education needs of graduates required to operate in these industries. Furthermore, the curriculum of Hospitality and Tourism program in FUNAAB is designed to be a science-based curricular model that emphasizes the importance of science and technology in the Hospitality and Tourism industry.

Area of Focus

The Hospitality and Tourism program has the following focus on broad based interdisciplinary specializations:

1. Hospitality and Hotel Management ii. Food Production and Product Development iii. Food Safety
2. Food Quality Control and Assurance v. Culinary Science and Technology vi. Travel and Tourism Management vii. Housekeeping and Accommodation Management.

Philosophy

The philosophy of the Department of Hospitality and Tourism is to produce graduates in the Hospitality and Tourism industry that will be globally relevant and excel in a dynamic business world. The graduates will be active in their community and have knowledge of entrepreneurial principles and be competent in technology, communication, presentation, teamwork and critical thought across disciplines without compromising sustenance of an environmentally friendly society.

Objectives

• To attract prospective students who possess a strong desire to learn and pursue a career in Hospitality and Tourism.
• To equip students with the necessary training, leadership, managerial, and technical skills needed in the Hospitality and Tourism industries.
• To train graduates that will develop the required leadership and entrepreneurial skills to set up, manage, and operate profit oriented businesses based on strategies for cost-effectiveness and management of human and material resources.
• To offer training that serves as a foundation for research and further education in the discipline.
• To produce articulate graduates who has clear understanding of the science of the Hospitality and tourism, possess strong interpersonal skills, good business sense and entrepreneurial spirit
• To train graduates with sound knowledge of developing home-based services and those suitable for the export market in order to attract foreign exchange earnings and investors for economic stability of the country.
• To train graduates to be self-employed or employers of labour, as well as being engaged in the service needs of both private and public organizations.
• To promote scholarship and high quality research aimed at solving the problems confronting the hospitality and tourism industry.
• To equip graduates with high standard of academic and professional competence in the pursuance of higher degree programmes.

Vision

To become an internationally recognized Department for research and production of scientifically and vocationally competent human capital for the Tourism, Hospitality and Educational Industries.

Mission

• To assist in the actualisation of the University tripodal mandate of teaching, research and extension in Hospitality and Tourism.
• To develop relevant specialisation areas in Hospitality and Tourism.
• To produce high level manpower with capacity for self-employment in various specialised areas of Hospitality and Tourism.
• To disseminate and utilise research results through invigoration of extension services for improved food utilisation, service delivery in hospitality and tourism and for promotion of food security.
• To continuously enhance and effectively utilise resources and facilities.
• To recognise and adapt to changes in the Nigeria environment.