AP Tourism, MoT To Jointly Set Up Tourism & Hospitality Training Centre

Andhra Pradesh (AP) Tourism department in association with ministry of tourism, government of India (GOI) is setting up a tourism and hospitality training centre christened National Institute of Tourism & Hospitality Management (NITHM) in Hyderabad, While the funding will be shared at central and state level, leading corporate houses are being approached to participate in building of NITHM.

NITHM will offer graduate and post graduate courses in various specialised fields related to tourism and hospitality management. The objective is to offer market driven courses with emphasis on practical and contemporary education. For in-service officials who wish to upgrade their skills, short-term training courses would also be made available. There will be another division, which will offer consultancy and research services. Entrance for the bachelor course will be through a national level exam called Tourism Aptitude Test (TAT).

The institute has applied to the ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) for recognition as a ’deemed university’. NITHM and Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University (JNTU), as an interim measure, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for issue of certificates and diplomas for the courses conducted by NITHM. Phase 1 of the campus would be ready by August 2004 and the academic sessions are scheduled to commence from September 2004. The total cost of the project is estimated at Rs 35 crore.

The 3.50 lakh square feet campus will have well-equipped classrooms, state-of-art computer centre, an up-to-date furnished library and comfortable and spacious accommodation for men and women. A 40 room executive guest house, faculty housing, landscaped leisure areas, sports grounds, a natural lake spread over three acres, an amphi-theatre and an open-air auditorium, health and recreation centre, shopping centre, bank etc are part of the campus.

Since NITHM is an institute conceived and managed by the industry, tie-ups are being sought from the tourism and hospitality industry stakeholders like Taj Group, Kuoni International etc, who would provide the much needed academic and industry inputs. For faculty members, tie-ups have been initiated with renowned universities and institutes in tourism and hospitality management from Switzerland, UK, USA, Australia etc. Eminent faculty members from these institutes are expected to visit NITHM regularly as a part of academic exchange programmes. At present, the recruitment procedure for faculty is in progress. 40 per cent of faculty is scheduled to be sourced from the industry.

NITHM will have a state level arm, Tourism & Hospitality Training Centre (THTC), which is an autonomous education society set up under the Andhra Pradesh Tourism and Culture Department (APTCD) offering short term job oriented certificate courses ranging from one week certificate courses to one year diploma courses.
THTC is expected to be merged with NITHM, once it is operational.