Virginia Tech researchers begin project to help improve Morocco’s hospitality and tourism management sector
With Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) funding, Virginia Tech will support the Government of Morocco in implementing a public-private partnership that helps improve hospitality and tourism through private sector engagement in the governance, financing, and academic relevance of vocational training. Specifically, Virginia Tech will work with a pilot program at the Institute of Hotel and Tourist Applied Technology in Ouarzazate.
As part of the project, Virginia Tech will provide technical assistance in curriculum development and implementation, advancement of continuing professional education, and support for gender and social inclusion, among other related areas. In addition to the innovative new governance structure, Virginia Tech will assist with development of new programs in cultural heritage tourism, ecotourism,
restaurant and culinary management, renewable energy, and entrepreneurship. Through the program, VT will assist tourism and hospitality education providers by creating a model that meets the growing demand for tourism professionals within Morocco, with a special focus on gender and disadvantaged youth. In January, Kristin Lamoureux, visiting professor of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech, accompanied by Philippe Duverger, hospitality and marketing expert, University of Maryland, and Youseuf Samihi, finance and business consultant, traveled to Morocco to begin the curriculum analysis required for this program. The team met with representatives of both the Ministry of Tourism and the tourism private sector as well as local faculty members, students, and industry professionals. As a result of these meetings, VT will formulate a plan for curriculum development that is aligned with the needs of the local tourism sector. The Institute of Hotel and Tourist Applied Technology is the leading vocational education program for hospitality and tourism in the Ouarzazate region. The public-private partnership that is emerging through this project represents an innovative, more flexible model of education and training, which paired with the technical assistance of the VT team, can have a long-term impact on workforce development for the region and Morocco.