Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality

The Lao National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality (LANITH) was established in 2013 as an independent, not for profit Institute with College status as per Ministerial Agreement 5401/MoE.O. The LANITH Curriculum was also formally accredited in 2013 by the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports (MoES) as per Ministerial Agreement 3275. LANITH is an institute of excellence created to champion and lead education and training in the tourism and hospitality industry in the Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR). Conceived as part of Project LAO/020, a Luxembourg government driven initiative in partnership with the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports (MOES), LANITH serves as a national beacon for the strengthening of human resource capacity in the tourism and hospitality industry. The LANITH Diploma has been developed specifically to respond to the needs of the tourism and hospitality industry in Laos. The curriculum and course content were written after close consultation with key stakeholder groups in the public and private sectors – including development partners, the Lao government, hospitality and tourism operators, industry associations and education and training providers. The curriculum was formally accredited by the Lao Ministry of Education and Sports in August 2013 – becoming the first such course of its kind in Laos. Indeed, so well regarded is the LANITH Diploma that elements of it have since been approved for introduction into technical vocational schools in several of Laos' 17 provinces. It is anticipated the LANITH campus will expand – in both student numbers and facilities – as demand grows. On 16 December 2013, LANITH was established as an independent, not for profit technical college under the Ministry of Education and Sports. LANITH's other main stream of training is through its Passport to Success program, which targets workers already employed in the industry. To date nearly 1,000 hospitality and tourism staff have collectively completed almost 2,000 ASEAN competency based modules – of 3-4 days training each – on subjects as diverse as customer service, food and beverage operations, management and communications. Passport to Success has helped to consolidate LANITH's direct connection with the hospitality and tourism industry, by giving paid training to employees from hotels, restaurants and other tourism ventures. Efforts to transfer international good practice have also been underway in Luang Prabang. A separate stand-alone training centre was built there in 2012 and includes four guest rooms, a functioning restaurant and bar (‘The Balcony'), training kitchens and a meeting room. The centre has a dual function – to train people in hospitality and tourism using the Passport to Success and also to operate as a social enterprise to generate revenue that can be directly reinvested into these facilities. Six-month internships at the Rembrandt Hotel in Bangkok were also introduced to provide on-the-job training in kitchen and restaurant operations for LANITH employees at The Balcony. LANITH's longer term sustainability is assured – thanks to the on-going revenue from the Passport to Success program (a user-pays industry program), income from the Balcony Restaurant in Luang Prabang, plans for a similar training restaurant at the Pakpasak site in Vientiane and tuition fees for the LANITH Diploma. All incomes are reinvested in LANITH and will fund scholarships for under-privileged Lao people Pacific Asia Travel Association Grand Award 2012 and World Travel and Tourism Council Tourism for Tomorrow Award Winner in People Category. To achieve best practices in sustainable tourism, LANITH is working with development agencies (the Asian Development Bank, Swiss Cooperation and International Labour Organisation); partnering with Hong Kong Polytechnic University's School of Hotel and Tourism Management, Macao's Institute for Tourism Studies, and the Dublin Institute of Technology; and obtaining recognition through accreditation from organisations such as the International Centre for Excellence in Tourism and Hospitality. LANITH's cooperative agreement with the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health (CIEH) and the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation makes the Luang Prabang training centre Laos' only CIEH-accredited program, allowing it to function as an operating body for the “Safe and Green Tourism Mark, Luang Prabang”, a campaign for ecologically sound tourism. LANITH stands at the forefront of branding, marketing and demystifying development projects, which it does via a communications campaign and merchandising LANITH branded food products and souvenirs. The campaign also includes the LANITH website, an active Facebook page and regular coverage in in-flight magazines and mainstream media, including numerous front-page articles in the Vientiane Times and a multi-page spread in Laos' premier employment publication. Contact : Peter Semone Related event : Lanith Symposia