Tourism is one of the hottest fields in Southern California and what better place to learn about careers in travel and tourism than Huntington Beach, a resort community with beautiful beaches and annual visitor counts of up to 14 million people who come from all over the USA and globe.

Teacher Connie Warbrick leads the Entertainment and Tourism Academy's tourism division with hands-on "fam" familiarization trips to restaurants, hotels, theme parks, museums and the Entertainment Capitol of the World, Hollywood. Pictured above are students touring the busy kitchens of  Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort in Huntington Beach, California, also known as Surf City.

Students are provided opportunities to view the actual daily routines and behind-the-scenes activities of a variety of people in tourism jobs that range from food preparation to hotel reservations.  One of the few such programs in the United States, the Tourism Academy partners with companies such as Hyatt Regency Huntington Beach Resort and Spa, Hilton Waterfront Beach Resort, Disneyland, Knotts Berry Farm, Orange County Airport, South Coast Repertory and many more. A strong tourism base in local Orange County where Huntington Beach is located 35 miles south of Los Angeles and 90 miles north of San Diego makes this type of program possible.

Students taking courses in the tourism academy program are assisted in furthering their formal education with partner programs at local community colleges and universities.

Only accepting Huntington Beach Union High School District students, the program still is worthy of attention for its model of preparation, similar to such tracks used in the European educational system. With its success and popularity, the program will likely be adopted by other schools in the U.S.

For information you can write to: Entertainment and Tourism Academy at Huntington Beach High School, 1905 Main Street, Huntington Beach, California 92648