Understanding student choice from an innovative knowledge-based student profiling perspective: An application of branding theory

Understanding student choice in hospitality and tourism higher education from the perspective of students’ knowledge-based profiles remains largely unexplored in the literature. This study fills this research gap with contextual evidence of a unique sports tourism-related subject in Hong Kong as an example. A qualitative approach on the discussion forums with 45 undergraduate students was applied. Applying branding theory, student profiles consisting of their sports interests, sports brand attitudes, and awareness of athletes, along with sports tourism destinations and sports incidents were effectively reported. The common features and unique student profiles were discussed. A conceptual knowledge-based student profile model was developed for the benefit of quality assurance in higher education.