Institute Jointly Established By China National Tourism Administration And Beijing International Studies University#
Tourism is big business in China, with domestic and inbound tourism revenues hitting a record $185 billion (1.26 trillion yuan) in 2009 and increased spending by Chinese tourists picking up the slack for more frugal international visitors. And much like other red-hot industries like art or luxury, in tandem with the growth of the tourism market there has been a growing interest among many Chinese students in looking to study fields like tourism development at the few specialized programs offered at universities in China. This week, the newest institution offering a number of dedicated programs in the field of tourism, the Chinese Academy for Tourism Talent Development, opened in Beijing.
A joint venture between the China National Tourism Administration and Beijing International Studies University, the academy's stated focus is on domestic talent development. According to China.org.cn, this somewhat vague focus includes several areas of study:
[T]he main functions of the academy include: study the needs and development rules for Chinese tourism talent to provide planning and policy advice services to tourism departments at various levels and in various tourism enterprises institutions; to establish a national tourism talent information database and network to publish supply and demand information regularly offering tourism talent information service to tourism departments, enterprises and institutions; and to undertake high-level tourism talent development and training work commissioned by tourism departments, enterprises and institutions.
In addition to training students, the academy will also publish an annual "China Tourism Talent Development Annual Report," and plans to launch a national "tourism talent information network" to link professionals in the field.
What's interesting about this story is that the work of the Chinese Academy for Tourism Talent Development probably won't affect international tourists in the least. The academy -- like many other observers of the Chinese tourism industry -- understands that domestic Chinese tourists have become a far more lucrative and stable source of revenue than inbound foreign tourists, and that training talent nationwide to understand how best to cater to these domestic travelers as well as international visitors is key.