Date:31/07/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/07/31/stories/2008073151980300.htm

Kerala - Kozhikode

Hospitality institute to be opened

Special Correspondent

Classes to begin on August 4; inauguration on August 11

Institute set up with Central aid
To function from Yatri Nivas at
West Hill

Kozhikode: Classes at the State Institute of Hospitality Management and Catering Technology (IHMCT), established by the State government with funds from the Centre, will begin on August 4.

The formal inauguration of the institute will be on August 11, Tourism Secretary V. Venu and A. Pradeep Kumar, MLA, said at a press conference here on Wednesday.

The Centre’s share in the project is Rs.10 crore and the State government’s contribution, Rs.5.65 crore. The institute aims at generating professionally trained manpower for the tourism sector, they said.

Admission to the 60 seats in the three-year BSc course in hospitality and hotel administration would be through an all-India entrance test conduced by the National Council for Hotel Management and Catering Technology under the Ministry of Tourism.

As many as 48 students had joined the BSc programme. The remaining seats are expected to get filled shortly. The students would pay an annual fee of Rs.50,650 which is reasonable for a course of international standards and less than what is charged by similar institutes in the private sector, Dr. Venu said.

Temporary location

The IHMCT would temporarily function from the Tourism Department’s Yatri Nivas at West Hill. Five acres of land, now with Kerala Soaps and Oils Limited, near Kozhikode Beach, will be used for setting up a building. Steps had been taken to transfer of the land, Mr. Pradeep Kumar said. The building is expected to come up in three years, he said.

The IHMCT represents the LDF government’s keen interest to develop tourism in the northern districts of the State, he added.

Dr. Venu said the institute, by providing trained manpower, would give a fillip to tourism in North Kerala. It would also have a consultancy division to serve new investors in the hospitality industry.

A government-supported institute in Kovalam was also conducting a BSc course in hospitality and hotel management. Both these institutions were of international standards, he said.

The institute would also offer short-term refresher courses and training programmes for staff of business houses in the hospitality sector.