The article deals with key problems and contradictions of training of university graduates for the tourism and hospitality industry in Russia, primarily associated with the setting of educational goals. The article formulates the discussion points related to the updating of the existing educational standards for the enlarged "Service and Tourism" group. A systematic approach to the formulation of goals of higher education in the sphere of service and tourism is introduced. It features the designing of a multi-level system of both invariant and variable targets. The proposed approach generalizes the best domestic and foreign practice of training for the industry; in setting the objectives of the industry development trends it allows to take into account issues in the global and regional scale, the labor market requirements of specific businesses of tourism and hospitality industry, the specifics and possibilities of an educational institution and individual characteristics of future specialist, to induce him to self-design his professional career; improve the quality of higher education. Article submissions may be used for the improvement of higher education for the tourism and hospitality industry, the establishment of productive cooperation of the educational organizations and enterprises in the sphere of tourism and hospitality.