This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: Research published in the International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development analyzed interviews with more than 300 Chinese hotel interns to examine how perceptions of hotel work affect whether graduates pursue a career in the industry. The findings suggest that negative perceptions deter graduate interns from pursuing careers in hospitality.
Fundamentally, the team found that occupational stigma—the belief that a profession has low status or is undesirable—was most associated with weaker professional identity. Graduates with this perception generally did not choose hotel work as a career. The findings highlight a significant recruitment problem for China's hotel industry.
Despite its reliance on a large and stable workforce, only an estimated 10% to 20% of hospitality and tourism graduates enter the sector. Moreover, internships, which are intended to provide graduates with practical experience early in their careers, sometimes reinforce negative perceptions and lead many graduates to leave the sector before they have taken more than a few tentative steps along this career path. The study found that vocational skills sometimes offset the stigma.
Interns with additional skills were less affected by negative perceptions of the industry. This suggests that practical training and professional certification might boost confidence in hotel careers and improve professional identity in the sector. Feifei Yu et al, Hotel interns' career choice intentions from a high-versus-low climate changing region background, International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development (2026).
DOI: 10.1504/ijesd.2026.155727 Swati Mestri holds a bachelor's degree in Electronics Engineering and has worked as a content editor since 2019. She has experience editing research documents across technology, health care, and materials science, and has a particular interest in technology and space. Full profile → Master's in physics with research experience.
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