Model tourism and hospitality program to be set up in Aqaba
Amman– To boost tertiary-level tourism and hospitality education in Jordan, an initiative was launched today to upgrade the Faculty of Hospitality and Tourism at the University of Jordan in Aqaba into a model tourism-specialized faculty, which can then be replicated at other universities in Jordan. The USAID Jordan Tourism Development Project is working with the University of Jordan to revamp the faculty and its programs, train staff and improve facilities so that Jordanian students have access to a world-class hospitality and tourism education. This initiative was officially launched today through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Jordan and the USAID tourism project, which was witnessed by the Minister of Higher Education, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA) Chief Commissioner and the USAID Acting Mission Director.
“The people who tourists meet and interact with during their trip play a huge role in the experience that those tourists have, making it bad, good or unforgettable,” explained H.E. Dr. Haifa Abu Ghazaleh, Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, adding that, “By introducing the means to educate Jordanian students according to world-class tourism standards, we can increase the likelihood of offering unforgettable experiences.”
According to the Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, H.E. Dr. Wajih Owis, “Universities always strive to enhance global competitiveness, and initiatives such as the one we are witnessing today are important as it will attract high caliber students and meet local labor market demand, as well as demand from the Arab world, and therefore enhance competitiveness.”
"Having a well-trained and educated young workforce specialized in tourism and hospitality will contribute to achieving ASEZA’s strategic goals, which include completing 50% of its tourism investments," commented Dr .Salim Al Moghrabi, ASEZA Commissioner for Environment Affairs. "Over the past 10 years ASEZA has worked to increase the number of hotel rooms to 4000 and we look forward to raising this number to 8500 as part of our five-year plan, and this will secure suitable jobs for well-trained youth," he added.
"The MoU is of great importance to UJ students and faculty members in hospitality and tourism as they will be exposed to specialized training which will enhance students’ employability after graduation. This will ultimately contribute to the development of one of the main economic sectors in Jordan, tourism,"said Dr. Adel Tweisi, University of Jordan President.
“With over 60,000 new young entrants into the job market every year and an unemployment rate of 13.1%, creating jobs and market demand driven workforce development remains the biggest economic challenge facing Jordan,” said Dr. Kevin Rushing, USAID Jordan Acting Mission Director. “USAID supports the tourism sector in Jordan because it is one of the most important sectors of the economy. In spite of the regional circumstances, our technical experts indicate that tourism and hospitality have a huge potential for a robust return even more growth in the future.
Several physical and academic enhancements will be made at the University of Jordan in Aqaba to transform it into a model faculty with specialized education programs that will be competitive on a global level. International standards will be adopted in introducing state-of-the-art training facilities and training equipment, and integrating a specialized IT program in order to create an excellent learning environment.
With regards to teaching, the USAID tourism project will help the university build the capacity of its lecturers for the tourism and hospitality programs through targeted training. Also, an annual conference on tourism and hospitality will be introduced to encourage exchange of knowledge in this area and maintain development and keeping up-to-date with new teaching methods, programs, training material, etc. The initiative will also include upgrading the curricula currently in use for the university’s tourism and hospitality program and introducing new programs in events management and sustainable tourism destinations, which will be done in cooperation with industry professionals.
The USAID tourism project will also organize tourism awareness campaigns aimed at councilors, students and graduates to promote hospitality and tourism as a career of choiceand encourage more students to join the upgraded program in Aqaba.