Institute now marking its 40th year
IAN STALKER
School is by no means out for those planning a tourism career and wanting to be well versed in the industry before becoming part of it.
The Toronto-based International Institute of Travel & Business is this May marking 40 years of training people who decided to become part of tourism, four decades of schooling students on different aspects of travel.
School founder Rudolph Nareen — who has lived in several countries — notes that the school actually opened in May 1983 in Amsterdam, with Nareen later deciding to relocate it to Ontario’s capital, a move that took place in 1990. Classes now take place in downtown Toronto.
Nareen notes that the school offers courses on may sides to tourism, such as flight attendant training and hospitality.
Nareen says the school remains important, pointing out that many in the tourism industry are publicly lamenting that they can’t find enough employees. Shortages of the likes of flight attendants and check-in agents are hampering the airline industry, while hotels, restaurants and tour companies are also reporting it’s hard to find staff these days, with Nareen reporting that the pandemic led to a dearth of industry workers, and that problem was exacerbated by many industry employees having decided to retire.
Nareen says those staff shortages actually bode well for tourism industry students and he predicts that those who enter that industry will be pleased with their decision.
“Tourism is very rewarding!” he states. “And one needs education to improve knowledge to get a good job and to find the career that they can develop themselves into.”
The school is seeing “very strong interest from foreign students,” and placements mean they won’t be hampered by not having Canadian experience when applying for tourism work in this country,.
Students returning to their home countries are “proud to experience market economy environments based on capitalism,” Nareen adds.
Meanwhile, Nareen observes that tourism staff shortages are by no means surfacing in this country alone.
“On my recent trip to Europe, I noticed labour shortages in almost every segment in the tourism and hospitality industry,” Nareen says. “Even though technology helps the process, it is still disruptive.”
People in countries such as India and China are enjoying more disposable income, and the growing need for “quality travel staff” will continue to rise, Nareeen adds.
More information can be found by calling (416) 924-2271 or emailing [email protected] or accessing www.iitravel.com.
