“I hope the cooperation agreement will be signed by all parties before the upcoming Travel Symposium Asia conference in Bejing,” said Wang Chunfeng, assistant president of the China Travel and Tourism Press.
BY BOBBY COMMAND
WEST HAWAII TODAY
bcommand@westhawaiitoday.com
The largest global publisher of travel industry related software, textbooks and training media is launching a joint venture with the Chinese government to provide educational materials and curricula in China.
Mundus Institute, based in Honaunau, has reached the agreement with the China National Tourism Authority following discussions in Honolulu and Beijing, according to Dennis L. Foster, chairman of Mundus.
China Travel and Tourism Press, a branch of the government’s Tourism Authority, will distribute the Mundus software and translate textbooks authored by Foster into Chinese for publication there.
Mundus and the press will also cooperate in conducting on-the-job training programs for hotels, airlines and travel agencies throughout China.
“This historic venture has the potential to produce vast and rapid advances in hospitality and tourism throughout mainland China,” Foster said.
“Educators have a higher obligation than merely training people to perform specific jobs,” he said. “We must also help learners understand social, organizational and technological systems; allocate resources; make effective decisions; apply technology to meaningful tasks; and work, communicate and interact with people of culturally diverse backgrounds.”
About 900 of China’s 2,000 universities and colleges have tourism education programs, representing a potential market of $30 million for Mundus software and textbooks, according to Magiel Venema, president of Edutour B.V., a tourism education group based in the Netherlands.
“With the backing of the Chinese government,” Venema said, “Mundus should be able to achieve a 50 percent market within two years.”
Mundus is an ancient Latin term for “world.” Mundus software and textbooks are in use at more than 18,000 sites worldwide, including colleges, universities, private schools, airlines, governments and travel distribution companies in more than 80 countries.
Foster is also chairman of the board of Franchise Associates International, an authority on tourism and hospitality, computer science, educational technology and finance. He is the author of 35 books on the visitor industry field as well as computer science and artificial intelligence.
“I hope the cooperation agreement will be signed by all parties before the upcoming Travel Symposium Asia conference in Bejing,” said Wang Chunfeng, assistant president of the China Travel and Tourism Press.