Allameh Tabatabaei University in Tehran is planning to launch Iran’s first hotel management school in Fereydoun-Kenar, Mazandaran Province.
Despite hotel management courses at several universities, Iran is still without a specialized educational institute which teaches both theoretical and practical aspects of managing a lodging facility.
Over the past decade, there has been a lot of talk about establishing a hotel school, with some stakeholders proposing special projects, but none materialized, ISNA reported.
As such, Iran — which aims to attract 20 million tourists a year by 2025 — is still devoid of a hotel school that delivers.
Establishment of such a facility is welcome news for both travelers and professionals involved in the tourism and hospitality industries. Iran’s ambition to become a top destination is hampered by the lack of an efficient and modern hospitality industry. Many hotels are run by under-qualified managers and guests have to tolerate untrained staff.
However, the school may have some competition, which can only be good for both the travel and hospitality sectors.
Last December, the Iranian Hoteliers’ Association announced that Hotelschool The Hague — known by its Dutch name Hotelschool Den Haag — will establish its third international branch in Iran. Listed as a vocational university, Hotelschool The Hague will set up its school in cooperation with the Tehran-based Homa Hotel Group.
Furthermore, the prestigious Swiss hospitality school Ecole Hoteliere de Lausanne (Lausanne Hotel School) announced in February that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with an Iranian firm to open a campus in Isfahan.
In January, during President Hassan Rouhani’s visit to France, Tehran and Paris signed several agreements, one of which calls for training Iranian hotel managers and staff by French experts.
