Top Business Schools for Tourism / Hospitality / Leisure 2024

While not an MBA per se, Cornell's Master of Management in Hospitality provides a strategic overview of the business of hospitality. MMH grads tend to be snapped up by a wide range of hospitality companies, including the Hilton Worldwide, Ritz-Carlton, and Korean Air. In recent years, Cornell’s School of Hotel Administration continues to extend its reach, through partnerships with international schools.

In 2010, Nanyang launched a partnership with Cornell, and through this the school has been growing their hospitality-related MBA elective offerings. The Cornell-Nanyang Institute of Hospitality Management also offers a one-year Master of Management in Hospitality program as well as a shorter Advanced Management Program in Hospitality.

In recent years, CEIBS has been building out its MBA offerings in the hospitality space. The school currently offers an Executive MBA program in Hospitality—the school calls it the “first of its kind in China”—in partnership with the Swiss EHL Hospitality Business School. The program helps prepare students to break into China’s massive and profitable service sector.Although the program is delivered in Chinese, it’s also offered with simultaneous translation in English. 

With its casinos and countless hotels, Las Vegas is perhaps the place to be for those looking to break into the hospitality industry. MBA graduates have landed jobs with a range of hospitality companies, including the Intercontinental Hotels Group and MGM Resorts. Students can choose to pair their MBA with a MS in Hotel Administration from the university’s Harrah College of Hotel Administration.

Even though ESSEC has retired its long-standing MBA in Hospitality Management, the school still offers several other programs for tourism and leisure-oriented students, such as a two-year MSc in Hospitality Management. However, even Hospitality-driven ESSEC MBA graduates have had success in the industry, landing jobs at the Disneyland Resort Paris and in the Four Seasons, among other hospitality companies.

MBA grads at GSU – Robinson have landed jobs in tourism-oriented firms like Delta Air Lines and others. Robinson offers a one-year Master’s in Global Hospitality Management through the school’s Day School of Hospitality Administration. In this program, students can delve into an area of hospitality, such as hotel development, artificial intelligence business innovation, and others.

Students interested in hospitality can combine Bauer's MBA with an MS in Hospitality Management from Houston's Conrad N. Hilton College. Recruiters typically include a range of hotels, casinos like Harrah's, and cruise lines such as Holland America.

At George Washington, MBA grads have landed at hospitality and tourism-oriented firms like JetBlue and Interstate Hotels and Resorts. The school also offers a Master of Science in Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management (which was formerly known as the Master of Tourism Administration). Networking in the industry is enabled by GW’s International Institute of Tourism Studies, which publishes relevant research and offers a range of professional certificates.

Kyoto University has recently redesigned its MBA, which includes an optional focus on service and hospitality management, big business in Japan. Some of the courses offered focus on the role of AI in hospitality, as well as Japanese business management. Through a partnership with Cornell, the school also offers a joint International Kyoto MBA & Cornell Master in Hospitality Management Dual Degree program.

For those looking to study hospitality off the beaten track, the Croatia-based Zagreb School of Economics and Management offers an MBA in Hospitality, Tourism and Events. According to the school, this program prepares students for careers in hotel marketing, destination management, event management and others.