A press conference to announce the launch of the Swiss Executive Hospitality Training (Swiss EHT) programme (Photo: nongnghiepmoitruong.vn)

The programme, implemented in the city from 2025 to 2027, aims to enhance professional competence, ethics, and international competitiveness for personnel in the tourism and hospitality sectors, thus contributing to sustainable development.

It is designed to meet the growing demand for high-quality human resources as the tourism industry recovers and integrates globally. It comprises three levels: Basic for newcomers to the industry, Intermediate for mid-level managers and small business owners, and Advanced for future executives and leaders.

The programme is expected to provide a high-quality workforce of 400 to 500 trainees through 20 to 25 classes over three years. In 2025, six classes are planned. To bridge the gap in tourism workforce training, the ST4SD project has invited EHL Hospitality Business School - the world’s top-ranked hospitality management institution founded in 1893 in Lausanne, Switzerland and recognised as the first hospitality management school in the world - to participate in designing and delivering a flexible training programme tailored for Viet Nam.

According to Olivier Messmer, the project’s team leader, this programme is a Swiss Government initiative for Viet Nam’s tourism sector. Tourism has long been one of Switzerland’s key service industries for centuries. With its extensive experience and knowledge, Swiss institutions have consistently been global leaders in training hospitality and tourism professionals. Through this programme, the project aims to provide a highly skilled, internationally qualified workforce to support Ho Chi Minh City's spearhead economic sector.

Bui Thi Ngoc Hieu, Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Tourism, appreciated the Swiss Government's support in promoting sustainable tourism in Viet Nam through this programme.

She shared that the quality of human resources is a key factor determining the sustainable development of the tourism industry. Programme implementation will provide professional training and lay the foundation for a comprehensive transformation in management thinking and service quality in the tourism sector.

It will contribute to ensuring that tourism remains a highlight in the city’s economic landscape and to enhancing the quality of human resources in the coming years - an important factor in achieving sustainable tourism development, she added.