Canadian tourism, hospitality expertise now here

MANILA, Philippines - The Canadian Tourism & Hospitality Institute (CTHI), the country’s first international franchise of the Vancouver-based Canadian Tourism College, officially opened its doors to offer high-quality tourism and hospitality training in the Philippines.

CTHI inaugurated its offices at the second floor of the strategically-located Paragon Plaza at the corner of EDSA and Reliance Street, in Mandaluyong City last Friday.

Samie Lim, CTHI president, said that the CTHI will not only cater to Filipino students, but also to the youth of other countries in Asia wanting a career in tourism and hospitality.

Lim said that CTHI will address the strong need to upgrade the standards of tourism and hospitality schools in the country.

“We aim to become the training center in Asia,” Lim said.

Lim said that CTHI will lead the way in upgrading the current standards to international level in terms of course curriculum, training and facilities. This way, foreign students in the tourism and hospitality courses would be encouraged to enroll here.

Lim said there are over 1,000 schools in the country offering tourism courses, including culinary and English language courses. Most of these schools, however, do not observe international standards that would equip students for the jobs after graduation.

Imposing standards on these schools could mean purging those who are there only for the money, but do not produce quality graduates. Tourism and hospitality are now the most favorite courses in the country.

CTHI plans to put up schools in other tourist destinations such as Boracay, Bohol, Davao or Cebu on a franchise arrangement.

CTHI will offer diploma courses on Hospitality & Resort Management, Travel & Tourism Management, Hospitality & Tourism Management, and Hospitality Cruise Management.

They will also have certificate courses on Flight Attendant Pre-Employment, Airline Customer Service Representative, Hotel Sales & Marketing, Front Office Operations, Food & Beverage Services, Bar Operations, Barista Operations, Professional Housekeeping, Travel Agent, and Adventure Tourism.

They will also include professional development courses on English for Global Tourism, Advanced Hotel Sales & Marketing, Advanced “5-Star” Waitstaff, Advanced Hotel Operations, and Advanced Restaurant Operations.