Virtual internships and work-integrated learning in hospitality and tourism in a post-COVID-19 world

This article is a scholarly discussion that outlines current studies of virtual training and internships in hospitality and tourism, and questions how these approaches can satisfy hospitality and tourism industry requirements in post-COVID19 environments. It reviews existing literature and compares best-practice approaches. In particular, this study investigates the state of play in three Asia Pacific tourism destinations that each have distinct contextual challenges; Cambodia, Vietnam and Australia. A research concept framework that takes into account the changes to the hospitality and tourism industry due to COVID-19, subsequent changes to industry training mechanisms, and the potential implications for work-integrated learning internship placements for the future generation of students, graduates and industry professionals, is presented. A structure for upcoming studies that compare post-COVID19 hospitality and tourism industry internship potential approaches is proposed for discussion.