Knowledge

IFT hosts forum on regional tourism education development

中文摘要 / Summary in Chinese

IFT held in November 2018 a forum to discuss the potential for regional tourism education cooperation, particularly within the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. Participants included representatives of education-related departments in a number of Mainland Chinese provincial and city governments, as well as from Macao-based higher education institutions.

The event, titled “Forum – Regional Tourism Education Development and Mainland College Entrance Examination Reform”, took place on November 12 at the IFT Mong-Há Campus. Other topics discussed included a recent reform of the Mainland’s college entrance examination, and recruitment of Mainland students by Macao higher education institutions.

IFT President Dr. Fanny Vong told participants that nurturing new talent was of paramount importance for the development of the tourism industry, as qualified professionals could contribute to improvements in the quality of the overall experience of tourists. She added that IFT, in particular, could play “a bigger role” in helping to train quality tourism professionals, namely to work in the Greater Bay Area.

According to information provided by representatives from IFT at the forum, Guangdong Province – next door to Macao – was the main source of Mainland students to the Institute, followed by Shanghai.

Strong appeal

Mr.Liu Yuxiang, Deputy Director of the Shanghai Municipal Educational Examinations Authority, said on the sidelines of the forum that reasons contributing to IFT’s popularity among students from Shanghai included the Institute’s reputation as a top provider of tourism education, and also promotion work carried out over the past 2 years.

In April 2018, a delegation from IFT led by President Dr. Vong visited Shanghai to hold a talk about admission to the institution, and to promote to prospective students and their families the quality of tourism education at IFT. The group also visited local secondary schools.

“The areas of talent nurturing by IFT align with the development of Shanghai,” Mr Liu said, adding that the Institute could help train qualified professionals to meet the development needs of the Mainland city. “Compared with other Mainland institutions, IFT has unique advantages, namely the language used for teaching and its international outlook,” he added.

Daytime bachelor degree programmes at IFT are taught in English.

Tourism alliance

Mr. Gu Zhongpeng, Party Member of the Guangzhou Bureau of Education, was also a guest speaker at the forum. He said IFT could further its links with educational institutions in Guangzhou, to nurture more tourism professionals. “The answer for upgrading and ensuring the development of the tourism industry is more qualified professionals, and education is key for that,” he said.

IFT and institutions in Guangzhou could make use of opportunities arising from the development of the Greater Bay Area, to help train different types of qualified professionals for the tourism sector, Mr. Gu added.

Mr. Kurma Mac, Coordinator for Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System and Hospitality Courses at IFT’s Tourism and Hotel School, told forum participants that the Institute was preparing to push forward an alliance in tourism education for the Greater Bay Area.

“The alliance will facilitate the improvement of tourism education and vocational education [in the region] and strengthen regional exchanges and cooperation, thus nurturing quality industry professionals,” he explained.

The alliance would welcome education institutions, associations and tourism-related companies to join as members, he added.