Tourism, hotel and restaurant business abroad are promising areas that have high activity and continuous development. According to some reports, the scale of the tourism industry can be compared with oil refining or auto industry.
However, a career in hospitality does not always mean that you can work only in travel agencies or hotels. An international diploma from a prestigious university of hospitality will help an international student to build a successful career in restaurant business, event industry, sports management.
The main task of the student here is to get a high-quality professional education that will meet the criteria of the leading companies in this direction.
Switzerland: institutes of hotel business for foreign students
According to the research center TNS and the international portal for employment Global Hospitality Portal, leading corporations working in the tourism sector, allocate from all universities some of the best ones. The list is based on feedback from representatives of companies such as Four Seasons, Hilton, Marriott, Radisson, Ritz Carlton and other well-known brands.
- Ecole Hôtelière de Lausanne
One of the oldest public universities from the hospitality industry. This institution together with the Glion University was the basis for the creation of an educational model for preparing tourism industry specialists. Annually more than 2,000 foreign students come here. Ecole took the first place in the ranking of TNS (2013) and the Global Hospitality Portal (2016).
- Cornell University (Ithaca, the USA)
This American university belongs to the educational institutions of the Ivy League and ranks 19th among the higher schools of the world. About 20,000 students are taught in this multidisciplinary university every year. Students can take internship in the own hotel. For immersion in the subtleties of the hotel business, emphasis is put on issues related to management - this is marketing, financing and development strategies.
- Glion Institute of Higher Education (Glion, Bulle, Switzerland)
Swiss private university, founded in 1962 on the basis of the Bellevue Hotel. More than half of owners of hotel networks prefer to hire graduates of this university. They are sure that students have all the necessary skills and can perform their work qualitatively right after graduation. The university has many awards and repeatedly falls on the top positions in the best educational institutions ranking.
- Les Roches, International School of Hotel Management (Bluesch, Switzerland)
No less famous is the university in Switzerland, which specializes in the direction of tourism and hotel management. In 2014, Les Roches received the honorary title of the best university in the world. More than 50 companies, leading in the market, invite university students first to an internship, and then hired. The university has a campus not only in Switzerland - the other two are located in China and Spain.
- Hotel School The Hague (the Netherlands)
The leading school of hotel business appeared in Holland in 1929. It was founded by the company HORECAF - an organization for teaching specialists in occupations from the direction of hospitality. In this university students can finish accelerated educational programs provided that they already have an education in the tourist or hotel direction. In 2013, the Higher School of The Hague ranked 5th in the TNS rankings, and in 2016 - the sixth rank of the Global Hospitality Portal.
- Les Roches International School of Management (Marbella, Spain)
This campus of the Swiss University is located on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The educational services offered here meet the high standards of Les Roches. This is the only institution with such an orientation in Spain, where education is held in English, which gives graduates additional advantages - in this case, students get excellent Spanish proficiency.
- Oxford Brookes University (Oxford, UK)
British multidisciplinary high school, which includes the school of hotel business, recognized as the best in the United Kingdom according to the rankings. The higher school offers foreign students over a hundred courses in various specializations. Also the school is actively engaged in various scientific researches.
- Hotel School Vatel (Paris, Lyon, Nimes, Bordeaux, France)
This French school of higher education specializes in preparation of senior and middle managers of hotel networks. In more than 36 years of operation, the educational institution has opened more than 30 branches around the world. Hotel School Vatel is famous due to its graduates who receive favourable career offers and begin a career within a year after graduation.
- César Ritz Colleges (Le Bouvre, Brig, Switzerland)
Also quite famous is the network of universities in the hotel and restaurant business. The school is certified by the UNWTO (World Tourism Organization), and its name is due to the famous hotelier Cesar Ritsu. In 2013, the university got 10th place in the TNS ranking, and in 2016 the same position in the GHP ranking.
- Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School (Lura, Sydney, Australia)
According to the TNS ranking, higher education is the leader in education in the hospitality industry in all countries of the Asia-Pacific basin. This school was the first in Australia, where you can get a diploma in the tourist or restaurant business. The university has a very good campus location, and the comfortable Australian climate and landscapes invariably attract many international students. All these factors make Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School an excellent place to get hands-on experience.
As you can see, quite a few schools from the list of the best and prestigious are in Switzerland. This is not accidental, because many years ago first universities of hospitality - Glion and Les Roches were opened. Swiss educational methods are based on internships and practical experience on a par with the theoretical basis. This model has repeatedly proved its effectiveness, therefore it is used by schools of hotel business and tourism around the world.
One academic year at the university is divided into 2 parts: semester theory and semester practice. At the same time, students are taught not only in classrooms, but in conditions that are as close to reality as possible. Often, students are sent to practice in the operating companies from the tourism and hotel business: The Ritz-Carlton, Four Seasons, Hilton and not only. At the output, ready-made specialists are obtained, many of whom receive work at the place of the internship.
Studying hotel business in Switzerland and Europe - tuition fees, ranking
The prices for educational services in the universities of tourism and hospitality depend primarily on the chosen country and the ranking of the chosen university. So, in many European countries the cost of one semester will be from 7,000 € - 10,000 €. In Swiss high schools, the price ranges from 25 Swiss ₣ to 35,000-40,000 Swiss ₣ per semester. Depending on the university, the cost may include food, accommodation, uniform, educational materials.
