Who Gets on the Bus? An Analysis of the Educational Pathways of Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB) Employees

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.64976/jbtm.19

Keywords:

CVB, Hospitality, Tourism, Career, Education

Abstract

What educational degrees are most likely to lead to a position working for a Convention & Visitors Bureau?  If such a position is a student’s goal, what is their best educational path to pursue to find success? This paper shares results of an analysis of CVB employment patterns of American CVB employees, determining the undergraduate and graduate academic degrees of these employees. The findings provide guidance for undergraduate Hospitality & Tourism Management students with an interest in this career path, for faculty creating curriculum and advising these students and for CVBs Human Resource Managers as they make their hiring decisions.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Author Biographies

Stephen Litvin, School of Business, College of Charleston, USA.

Dr. Litvin is a Professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at the College of Charleston (SC).  Academia is Steve’s third career, following his first as a CPA auditor and consultant with international CPA firms and his second as a travel industry entrepreneur.  His doctorate in International Commerce is from the University of South Australia.  Steve’s primary areas of research focus on tourism issues affecting communities and tourism consumer behavior.

Charlotte Heinrich, School of Business, College of Charleston, USA.

Ms. Meinrich was an Honor’s College student of the College of Charleston before completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Nottingham. Following her graduation,  Charlotte has pursued an MS Marketing degree at Durham University. Her post-graduate career goal is to obtain a destination marketing position with a CVB.

 

References

Airey, D., Dredge, D., & Gross, M. J. (2014). Tourism, hospitality and events education in an age of change. In D. Dredge, D. Airey, & M. J. Gross (Eds.) The Routledge handbook of tourism and hospitality education (pp. 2-14). Routledge.

Batra, A. (2016). Bridging the gap between tourism education, tourism industry and graduate employability: Intricacies and emerging issues in Thailand. ABAC Journal, 36(2), 78-89.

Dredge, D., Airey, D., & Gross, M. J. (Eds.). (2015). The Routledge handbook of tourism and hospitality education. Routledge. DOI: https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203763308

Ford, R. C., & Peeper, W. C. (2009). Skills, training, and experiences associated with success in the role of a convention and visitors bureau executive: An exploratory study. Journal of Convention & Event Tourism, 10(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/15470140902750952 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/15470140902750952

Giousmpasoglou, C. (2025). Reclaiming hospitality education: A critical reflection. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education. Advance online publication. http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9225-3475 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2025.2578541

Hanson, M. (2024). College graduation statistics,” update March 24, 2024, Education Data Initiative, accessed online at: https://educationdata.org/number-of-college-graduates%20.

Hsu, C. H. (2018). Tourism education on and beyond the horizon. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, 181-183. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.022 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.022

Kim, H. J., & Jeong, M. (2018). Research on hospitality and tourism education: Now and future. Tourism Management Perspectives, 25, 119-122. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.025 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tmp.2017.11.025

Lugosi, P., & Jameson, S. (2017). Challenges in hospitality management education: Perspectives from the United Kingdom. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 31, 163-172. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.12.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhtm.2016.12.001

McKercher, B., Tolkach, D., Lee, A., Macionis, N., & Jin, X. (2024). How successfully do we educate tourism, hospitality, and events graduates? Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 36(2), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2023.2172421 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2023.2172421

Millar, M., Mao, Z., & Moreo, P. (2010). Hospitality & tourism educators vs. the industry: A competency assessment. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 22(2), 38-50. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2010.10696975 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2010.10696975

Morrison, A. M., Bruen, S. M., & Anderson, D. J. (1997). Convention and visitor bureaus in the USA: A profile of bureaus, bureau executives, and budgets. Journal of Travel & Tourism Marketing, 7(1), 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1300/j073v07n01_01 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1300/J073v07n01_01

Nhuta, S., Tawanda, M., Regina, M., & Abednigo, C. (2015). The disparity between the tourism education/training and the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry manpower needs. Journal of Educational Policy and Entrepreneurial Research, 2(5), 65-83.

Raybould, M., & Wilkins, H. (2006). Generic skills for hospitality management: A comparative study of management expectations and student perceptions. Journal of Hospitality and Tourism Management, 13(2), 177-188. https://doi.org/10.1375/jhtm.13.2.177 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1375/jhtm.13.2.177

Sipii, V., Deshchenko, O., Honcharova, N., Hrytsenko, A., & Hrytsiuk, O. (2024). Analysis of the prospects for the development of soft skills in future education: trends and risks. Conhecimento & Diversidade, 16(44), 107-128. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18316/rcd.v16i44.12035

Sisson, L. G., & Adams, A. R. (2013). Essential hospitality management competencies: The importance of soft skills. Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 25(3), 131-145. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2013.826975 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2013.826975

Tran, L. N. (2022). A review and reflection on the liberation of hospitality higher education. Cogent Education, 9(1), 2153432. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2153432 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2022.2153432

Weiler, B., & Mahendra, G. (2007). Exploring the relationships between university course branding, length of study and employment outcomes in undergraduate tourism education. Tourism Recreation Research, 32(2), 7-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2007.11081272 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2007.11081272

Xu, J., Tavitiyaman, P., Kim, H. J., & Lo, S. K. J. (2022). Hospitality and tourism higher education in the post-COVID era: Is it time to change? Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Education, 34(4), 278-290. https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2022.2056044 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/10963758.2022.2056044

Downloads

Published

2026-07-27

Issue

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2026): #4

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Stephen Litvin, Charlotte Heinrich

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.