The results matter because tourism and hospitality employers increasingly require graduates who can combine academic knowledge with practical, communication, customer-service, and workplace skills. For Gordon College, the tracer study provides local evidence that can be used to strengthen tourism education, industry partnerships, internships, and graduate employability programs.
Tracking What Happens After Graduation
Tracer studies are used by higher education institutions to understand what happens to graduates after they leave campus. They can show whether graduates find employment, whether their jobs are related to their degrees, and whether the skills learned in college remain useful in the workplace.
The issue is particularly relevant to tourism education. Graduates may enter hotels, travel agencies, airlines, tourism offices, restaurants, or other service industries. Others may move into business, education, government, or completely different sectors.
The researchers noted that Olongapo City provides an important setting for examining these career pathways because of its proximity to the Subic Bay Freeport Zone, a major center for tourism, hospitality, and service activities. Local employment data can therefore help Gordon College assess whether its BSTM curriculum remains aligned with regional labor-market needs.
350 Graduates Tracked
Lagman, Sia, Williams, and Dasig used a quantitative descriptive approach based on a graduate tracer survey. The study covered BSTM graduates from 2020 and 2022 through 2025.
The researchers successfully traced all 350 graduates included in the designated cohorts. The largest groups came from the 2023 and 2024 graduating classes, with 107 graduates each, followed by 77 graduates from 2025, 53 from 2022, and six from 2020.
Data were collected through an online questionnaire adapted from the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) Graduate Tracer Study Instrument. Questions covered graduates' demographic characteristics, employment status, current occupations, education and training, and factors influencing employment and career development. The researchers analyzed the responses using frequencies, percentages, weighted means, and standard deviations.
Nearly Four in Five Graduates Are Working or Self-Employed
Employment was one of the study's strongest findings.
Of the 350 graduates:
- 225 graduates, or 64.28%, were employed.
- 50 graduates, or 14.30%, were self-employed.
- 75 graduates, or 21.42%, were not employed when the survey was conducted.
Combined, the employed and self-employed groups represented 78.58% of all respondents.
The range of occupations also demonstrates the flexibility of a tourism management degree. Among the 275 respondents listed in the occupation table, travel agent was the most common position, with 39 respondents. Other prominent occupations included entrepreneur, front desk officer, and flight attendant. Graduates also worked as tour guides, reservation officers, sales coordinators, event coordinators, call center agents, teachers, and in other service-related roles.
The researchers therefore found that BSTM graduates were not limited to one career path. Many entered tourism and hospitality occupations, while others transferred their skills to business, education, government, and other service industries.
Tourism Certification Is Common Among Graduates
Professional certification was another notable feature of the graduates' profiles.
A total of 269 respondents, or 76.85%, held a Tourism Promotion National Certificate II. Another 75 graduates, or 21.42%, were Professional Civil Service Passers. Smaller numbers held teaching, Japanese language-related, and computer systems certifications.
For tourism graduates, such credentials can complement a bachelor's degree by providing additional evidence of job-related competencies.
Most Graduates Consider Their Education Highly Useful
The study also found strong positive assessments of college education.
A total of 199 respondents, or 56.85%, rated the usefulness of their overall college training between 80 and 100. Another 75 respondents, or 21.42%, gave ratings between 60 and 79.
Only 32 respondents, or 9.16%, rated the usefulness of their education below 50.
The findings indicate that most Gordon College BSTM graduates considered the knowledge and training they received relevant to their professional lives.
Lagman, Sia, Williams, and Dasig of Gordon College emphasize, in substance, that the favorable employment results and graduates' positive assessment of their education provide useful evidence for continued curriculum development, stronger industry partnerships, and initiatives designed to improve employability.
Unemployment Has Multiple Causes
The 75 graduates who were not employed did not all face the same circumstances. Fifteen respondents, or 20%, cited the end of a contract. Another 15 were pursuing further education, while 15 reported a lack of job opportunities.
Fourteen respondents cited health-related reasons, 11 were not looking for work, and five identified family concerns.
This suggests that graduate employment cannot be assessed solely through qualifications. Contract conditions, further education, labor-market opportunities, and personal circumstances can also influence whether graduates are working at a particular point in time.
Implications for Tourism Education and Industry
The researchers recommend that Gordon College continue updating its BSTM curriculum to reflect changing tourism-industry requirements. They also recommend stronger partnerships between the college and tourism or hospitality organizations, expanded internship and job-placement opportunities, and access to industry-recognized certifications.
Regular graduate tracer studies can provide another mechanism for monitoring whether curriculum changes lead to better employment outcomes. Alumni engagement and career-development programs can also help institutions maintain connections with graduates after they leave campus.
For the wider tourism industry, the findings highlight the value of combining academic preparation with practical experience and recognized credentials. For higher education institutions, the study demonstrates how graduate employment data can be used as evidence for curriculum and quality improvement.
The researchers caution that the findings represent graduates from a single local college and rely on self-reported information. Future research could compare graduates from several higher education institutions and examine employer satisfaction, competency gaps, career progression, job satisfaction, and the longer-term effects of curriculum changes.
Author Profile
Jenny Mae Lagman, Lizette Ann Sia, Mychale Williams, and Leandro Dasig are affiliated with the College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Gordon College, Philippines. The article identifies Jenny Mae Lagman as the corresponding author. Their research addresses tourism management education, graduate employability, career outcomes, academic preparation, and the connection between higher education and tourism-industry requirements.
The source article does not provide the authors' individual academic degrees or detailed personal fields of expertise, so those details are not added here to avoid introducing unsupported information.
Research Source
Article: Employability, Career Outcomes, and Academic Preparation of Bachelor of Science in Tourism Management Graduates: A Tracer Study of a Local College in Olongapo City, 2020 and 2022–2025
Authors: Jenny Mae Lagman, Lizette Ann Sia, Mychale Williams, and Leandro Dasig
Affiliation: College of Hospitality and Tourism Management, Gordon College, Philippines
Journal: Formosa Journal of Multidisciplinary Research (FJMR)
Publication: Volume 5, No. 8, 2026, pp. 2679–2690
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