All the news about Israeli tourism

With tourism expected to grow in the coming years and the need to train a new generation of tourism professionals, the Ministry of Tourism is working in cooperation with the Ministry of Education to introduce a tourism program into high schools in Israel.

Currently tourism is taught in 20 high schools throughout the country, a course that not only rewards the student with 5 credit units towards the matriculation certificate, but also a professional certificate in either hotel administration or in the operation of incoming tourism.    

A meeting to be convened with 50 tour guides and with representatives of the Ministries of Tourism and Education will evaluate the tourism course with the aim of approving its content.  The Ministry of Tourism said that tour guides successfully completing the course would be approved by the Ministry of Education in running tourism courses at schools close to their homes and that should already be possible by the start of the next academic year.

According to the Ministry of Tourism, in recent years a number of educational establishments have understood the importance of tourism and have started teaching tourism courses to first and second degree level.  Among the institutions teaching these courses are Ben Gurion University, the Hebrew University, the University of Derby and the Jordan Valley College.

Shaul Zemach, the Director General of the Ministry of Tourism added that the training of future tourism professionals, starting in high school and proceeding to university would help the Israeli tourist industry gain significant achievements in the coming years.