SLTDA plans to upgrade tourism education in Sri Lanka: Four-year Hotel School Diploma to be converted to a degree

By Anjali Caldera

The current Hotel School Diploma, that takes four years to complete, is being reviewed to be converted to a Degree, according to the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA).

SLTDA, with the assistance of Asian Development Bank, is currently mapping the syllabus and conducting a gap analysis to achieve degree status. The plans are also in progress to study comparative hotel school syllabuses with the support of the Swiss Embassy. 

SLTDA also wishes to develop partnerships with International Hotel Schools to conduct joint courses and provide opportunities for local students to gain exposure overseas.

In addition, steps are being taken to upgrade the syllabus and allow students after Ordinary Level and Advanced Level to enter the tourism industry through Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management (SLITHM).

Meanwhile, the Authority stated that to upgrade tourism education in Sri Lanka, a series of short courses and boot camp style programmes will be developed, which are less theoretical and more in keeping with current requirements, which also allow a larger number to be trained using existing resources.