The evaluation of student perceptions regarding educational programs of tourism faculties in context of industry 4.0 expectations

Industry 4.0 applications, defined as the smart automation of cyber-physical systems, have also started to gain momentum in the tourism industry. The rapid changes experienced within the scope of this industry have changed the expectations regarding the employees to work in the sector. In this research, it is aimed to evaluate the suitability of tourism education to new expectations. In the research, in which the Netnography method was used, the data were collected from social media platforms and websites. As a result of the site scans, 148 tourism faculty students' opinions were taken into consideration. As a result of the descriptive analyzes, the following findings were reached: It was determined that the students' ability to access information in virtual environments is high, they are aware of İndustry 4.0 expectations and they use virtual environments effectively. Moreover, they are aware that they will need İndustry 4.0 expectations in their education and business life. It has also been learned that students generally prefer social media platforms to gather and obtain information.