Research published in the International Journal of Environment and Sustainable Development analysed interviews with over 300 Chinese hotel interns to see how perceptions regarding hotel work affect whether graduates pursue a career in the industry or not. The findings suggest that negative perceptions do indeed deter graduate interns from pursuing hospitality as a career.
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. Those 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 per cent of graduates in hospitality and tourism enter the sector. Moreover, internships, which are intended to provide graduates with practical experience early in their career, sometimes reinforce negative perceptions and lead to many graduates dropping out of the sector before they have even taken more than a few tentative steps on this career path.
The study did find 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.
Yu, F., Liu, L. and Zuo, Z. (2026) ‘Hotel interns’ career choice intentions from a high-versus-low climate changing region background’, Int. J. Environment and Sustainable Development, Vol. 25, No. 7, pp.64–83.
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