502 Tourism Students Graduate From Bandung's National Hotel Institute
The graduates are expected to become skilled entrepreneurs in their fields and contribute towards the government's target of attracting 20 million foreign tourists to Indonesia annually by 2019.
"The graduates are expected to become professionals in the field of tourism as a national asset with international quality, especially now that the tourism sector has been established as one of the leading sectors of the national economy," NHI chancellor Anang Sutono said.
He added that the Bandung-based NHI has been cooperating with many tourism stakeholders to improve graduates' skills and expand their networks.
Cooperation occurs with many companies, industries and universities engaged in the tourism and non-tourism sectors such as Box West Java International Airport, Hill Institute Australia and the government of the Australian state of Victoria.
During the graduation ceremony, chancellor Anang also signed a memorandum of understanding with the dean of the School of Business and Management at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) for 2017-2019. The agreement involves cooperation in six sectors and it is expected to increase the NHI's brand value.
Research has shown that up to 11.8 percent of NHI graduates became entrepreneurs in their fields in 2015 and that this number increased to 14.3 percent last year.
Tourism Minister Arief Yahya meanwhile expressed hope that 10 percent of NHI graduates will choose to become entrepreneurs in the tourism sector. In support of this goal, the minister promised to provide guidance by establishing a business incubator for fresh graduates who are committed to start their own businesses.
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