Academe aims to bolster ties with tourism players

CEBU, Philippines - The academe hopes to nurture a long-term relationship with the tourism industry to be able to provide students taking up tourism-related courses the best quality education they deserve.

With Cebu becoming more aggressive in terms of the promotion of tourism, more of the younger generation are seeing their bright future in the industry. Universities and colleges offering hospitality management courses sees the big role that the private and public sector could play in this aim for success through helping the students learn more on what they would be facing in the field.

Dr. Edgar Detoya, Dean of the College of Commerce and Graduate School of Business Management and Administration of the University of San Jose-Recoletos said that partnering with those in the industry will be an advantage for the students.

Detoya pointed out that while they are also doing their best to give their students the best education they could offer based on the curriculum, those who are in the tourism industry would be the best authorities to impart to the students the “latest trends and updates of the global tourism industry.”

“It is important that tourism students are also updated on what is happening in the global tourism industry, not just on what is written on books,” said Detoya.

Detoya recently met with Robert Lim Joseph, the founding chairman of the Tourism Educators and Movers Philippines and the League of Tourism Students of the Philippines to discuss various means of collaborating with each other.

Team Philippines is a private sector-led initiative made up of representatives from the Department of Tourism, Deans and Professors of member schools and universities and some representatives from the private sector that aims to guide students and teachers “to enhance and improve their skills to be globally competitive in today’s challenging tourism market.”

According to Joseph, only a small percentage from the thousands of tourism graduates every year are absorbed by industry players because most tourism curriculums being offered in universities are not updated.

“We have to teach the students the latest trend to make them world-class,” Joseph said.

Joseph recently also authored and distributed to different schools an operational manual on conventions planning which contains a lot of information students would need on seminar, conventions and events planning.

Joseph emphasized that the students should know the importance of practicing social graces and protocol and their fluency in the English language since this is very significant protocol which are very essential skills needed especially when entertaining important tourists such as royalties.

“We have realized that our tourism students lack the proper skills needed to be accepted in the industry and their attitude, values and inculcated culture also needs to be improved.”   (FREEMAN NEWS)