On 22 May, the Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training (hereafter the Centre) organised an eight-day training programme titled “Strategic Tourism Planning and Management for a Sustainable Future”. It is the third time of training held by the Centre, followed by two professional training programmes for representatives from Asia-Pacific countries and regions last year. Twenty one representatives from Myanmar, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Mainland China and Macao SAR participated in the programme. In addition, ten representatives from Portuguese speaking countries namely Angola, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique and Timor Leste organised by the Macao Government Tourism Office also joined some sessions of the programme.
On 26 May, the faculty and participants of the training programme had a meeting with Dr. Alexis Tam, Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture of Macao SAR Government. During the meeting, the Secretary recounted that Macao SAR Government and United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in Macao in October 2015. The objective was to enhance cooperation between the two parties in improving the quality of human capital and increasing the competitiveness of tourism destinations in order to achieve sustainable tourism development. The Global Centre for Tourism Education and Training, which was officially set up by the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) in 2016, has organised several training and education programmes for tourism officials and industry representatives in collaboration with UNWTO. He also added that the Macao SAR Government supports and encourages IFT’s Global Centre for Tourism Education to organise more training programmes for different countries, especially those along “One Belt, One Road”. Apart from education and training, he hoped that Macao could further collaborate with “One Belt, One Road” countries and regions in other areas including tourism, culture, healthcare, sports and social services.
The training programme includes lectures, case studies, experience sharing, presentations and visits. Besides the lectures delivered by scholars and experts, IFT also invited the Secretary-General of the Talents Development Committee Mr. Sou Chio Fai, and representatives of Human Resources Department of Melco Resorts & Entertainment and Sands Macao to share their experiences in regard to nurturing talent and human resources management. The participants also visited the world heritage sites of the Historic Centre of Macao, museums and hotels in order to understand the planning and management of tourism facilities in Macao.
Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 101 universities and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has now 8 bachelor degree programmes with the Certification. Currently, the Institute has the most number of bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. In 2017, the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) becomes the first higher education institution to receive a successful International Quality Review(IQR) from the UK's Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA). IFT has been ranked by the “QS World University Rankings by Subject 2017” as the 2nd best higher education institution in Asia in the field of hospitality and leisure management and the 18th best higher education institution in this field in the world. In addition, IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
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