According to a study brought out by the World Travel and Tourism Council,today the industry accounts for 11 per cent of the world GDP. Over eight percent of all jobs worldwide depend on travel and tourism. And the potentialfor future growth is enormous. To cater to the opportunities in thehospitality industry, the Kohinoor group has set up the Kohinoor-IMI Schoolof Hospitality Management at Khandala. The group, headed by chairman andmanaging director Umesh Joshi, has recently signed an agreement with theinternationally renowned Interna- tional Hotel Management Institute (IMI)based at Lucerne for the purpose. The Kohinoor-IMI School of HospitalityManagement will offer a three-year higher diploma in hospitality management.The programme has been designed in close collaboration with the IMI atLucerne, one of Switzerland's top five institutes. Here the student is alsoat liberty to opt for the acquisition of a BA in hospitality management fromIMI, which would be given after transferring the students credits from theKohinoor-IMI. The institute being located in the picturesque town ofKhandala offers an excellent location with good residential and trainingfacilities, which simulate real life industry.

The school has set its standard in accordance with IMI and the syllabus hasalso been designed with inputs from Swiss and Indian sources. The instituteoffers flexible and constantly updated programmes, which will prepare thestudents for a wide range of careers in the hotel industry. The facultywould be using a wide range of traditional and non-traditional teachingtechniques.

These techniques include extensive use of case studies and group projects,individual classroom and interactive sessions, field trips and inputs frompractitioners.

Says Ravi Kapila, dean of the institute: "Today's hospitality industry needswell-trained, experienced managers and staff who have the appropriate skillsand know how to relate to cultural differences and will be able toincorporate ethnic diversity as positive contributing factors for the goodof the business. This is exactly what we at the Kohinoor-IMI will strive toinculcate in our alumni at the outset." In accordance with internationalstandards, the hotel school will have a 110-room hotel managed by theKohinoor group to train the students.

The focus of Kohinoor-IMI is " On the job training", which is an essentialpart of the course and will be at the groups' hotels and other main hotelchains. And this would be put to test at their one-week training in one ofthe finest hotels in Switzerland.