ITB Berlin News Review Edition

10 NEWS Developing The

10 NEWS Developing The Industry’s Talent Base A critical issue … but how can we tackle it? A very strong emerging trend – outlined at ITB Berlin this year by a number of key players, is the looming lack of educated people to cater for the ongoing massive growth in employment. At ITB Berlin, we asked Michael C. Sturman, Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Academic Director, Center for Hospitality Research at the Statler Hall School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University what he is seeing as being the key trends in the field of education and training in the hospitality and travel industries… © Messe Berlin The key trend in hospitality education is towards increased sophistication. Hospitality education is less and less about operations, and more and more about the business of hospitality. To be competitive, the future leaders of the industry need to be well grounded in business, knowing everything from sophisticated techniques in human resources and marketing, to the intricacies of finance and real estate. It still all needs to be grounded in the hospitality industry, but if schools want to be preparing the future leaders of the industry, they need to be providing a top-notch business education that is focused on hospitality and travel industries. Of course there are many career paths that young people can follow, but what are you seeing as being the most interesting or attractive fields? ITB Berlin 2015 - Training and Employment in Tourism We are seeing growth in many different career paths. The entrepreneurial space in the hospitality industry is just growing, as FINANCIAL SPECIALTIES ASSOCIATED WITH THE INDUSTRY ARE A BIG AND GROWING MARKET are a host of related career associated with on-line and social media opportunities. The financial specialties associated with the industry are a big and growing market, and we are even seeing growing demand for highly educated graduates with specialties in human resources and marketing. I think it boils down to a very high demand for highly educated graduates with state-of-the-art skills. Some geographic zones are experiencing tourism growth such that the talent just can’t be grown fast enough to meet demand. What can we do to solve this pressing issue? The growing global demand for talent in the hospitality space is making the labor market more international. Schools can’t keep up with the global demands for the highly sophisticated and well-trained graduates that we are now producing. I think the industry needs to further emphasize continuous education, and invest in the continued development of their employees. I know a lot of managers have the fear: what if I invest time and money intro training my employees and they leave? What they really need to be worried about is, what if you don’t make the investment and they stay? How is Cornell working with EHL (Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne) in terms of developing a solid educational base for the industry? Both Cornell and EHL regularly re-evaluate our own programs. Professors at both schools engage in research, remaining professionally active, and stay up to date on current research and practice, and all of that influences what gets taught in the classroom. As top hospitality programs, we don’t see our efforts as in competition. There just aren’t enough schools like Cornell and EHL to prepare enough students to meet the global demand. Anything we do is designed to help in this bigger problem. I was able to spend a year teaching and engaging in research at EHL, which was a great professional and Michael C. Sturman Associate Dean for Faculty Development, Academic Director, Center for Hospitality Research at the Statler Hall School of Hotel Administration, Cornell University personal experience for me. EHL has faculty who were graduates or former faculty of Cornell, and Cornell faculty have worked and taught with EHL faculty. EHL faculty are regular contributors to Cornell Hotel’s School journal, the Cornell Hospitality Quarterly. All of these efforts combine to increase the global knowledge base in the hospitality industry, and continues to contribute to the education of the next generation of leaders in the hospitality industry, ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015 www.itb-berlin-news.com

NEWS 11 The “New Look” Sri Lanka at ITB Berlin With a new ministry this year, this rapidly growing market is multiplying efforts to become a key tourist destination Madubhani Perera Director of Marketing for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (Ministry of Economic Development) Thinley Wangdi Marketing Officer for the Tourism Council of Bhutan Celebrate Happiness Visit Bhutan 2015 kicks off at ITB Berlin At ITB Berlin 2015, the tourism world was invited to join the Bhutanese in celebrating, and 16 travel and tourism industry representatives from Bhutan will present the wide range of tourist facilities in the country. Besides the numerous religious events, Bhutan also hosts a variety of theme-based festivals, celebrating the country’s rich culture and arcane lifestyle. 2015 was the 47 th year that Sri Lanka has been participating in ITB Berlin. This year however for the first time, the show had the pleasure of welcoming Madubhani Perera, Director of Marketing for the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (Ministry of Economic Development). We asked Ms Perera what key events have marked this year’s event. This year, after a lapse of over ten years, our Minister visited the show. After the change of government in January, we now have a minister dedicated to tourism and sports, the honourable Navin Dissanayak. The chairmen of our two key tourism authorities were also present. We have 52 companies from Sri Lanka in our pavilion – our biggest presence yet. With incoming tourism rising so fast, what are the biggest difficulties in catering for this? Of course the past few years have seen major growth in tourism since the ceasing of hostilities in our country, and we are now on track – we are achieving our targets. Last year we welcomed 1.5 million tourists; this year our target is 2 million, and next year, 2.5 million. We are on the ball and are seeing great support from the travel industry. Major hotel groups, such as Sheraton, Mövenpick, Hyatt and Shangri-La are investing heavily in Sri Lanka. The government has taken tourism as one of the main sectors that will help build our LAST YEAR WE WELCOMED 1.5 MILLION TOURISTS; THIS YEAR OUR TARGET IS 2 MILLION, AND NEXT YEAR, 2.5 MILLION economy, so we are looking at infrastructure development such as airport expansion. A new airport has been built in southern Sri Lanka and we are actively working to get new airlines to use it. The number of travel agents looking to promote Sri Lanka is enormous. From the German market alone we achieved around 100-thousand tourists last year – a 20% increase. The UK, France, the Netherlands and Scandinavian markets are very important for us as well. The show was a great success for Bhutan. According to Thinley Wangdi, Marketing Officer for the Tourism Council of Bhutan, “We have been participating in this show for many years, and compared to previous shows, we have had a really good reaction from tour operators and travel agents. The European market is very strong for Bhutan and this trend continues to grow.” The Royal Government of Bhutan has declared 2015 as “Visit Bhutan 2015” year to commemorate the fourth King’s 60 th birth anniversary. Bhutan’s fourth King His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck is accredited with initiating the concept of Gross National Happiness. (…) WE HAVE HAD A REALLY GOOD REACTION FROM TOUR OPERATORS AND TRAVEL AGENTS. THE EUROPEAN MARKET IS VERY STRONG FOR BHUTAN AND THIS TREND CONTINUES TO GROW. “Visit Bhutan 2015” year will be accompanied with the tagline “Celebrate Happiness”. To commemorate the occasion, a host of special attractions, events and festivals will take place throughout 2015 in locations all over Bhutan. An official website www.visitbhutanyear.com - has been set up in English, detailing the events, experiences, highlights and deals throughout the year. Gross National Happiness, which recently received international recognition represents Bhutan’s philosophy that prosperity results from happiness which the true development of society rather than economic growth. Many events are planned this year, among them the Jomolhari Mountain Festival 8–10 October 2015: a two‐day event celebrated in Dangojang, District Paro, at the base of Mt. Jomolhari (7326 m high) by communities located along one of the most scenic trekking routes in Bhutan. The festival celebrates the culture of the mountain villages living in close contact with the natural wonders surrounding them – particular the elusive, yet elegant, snow leopard! This endangered cat thrives in the region; several camera‐trap photos and definite signs have established the region as one of the best snow leopard habitats in Bhutan. ITB BERLIN NEWS • Tuesday 17 th March 2015