Let us celebrate together
The hospitality family has a wonderful reason to celebrate.
Saint Joseph University (USJ), in association with Institute Paul Bocuse, has inaugurated not only one, but two master degree programs relevant to the industry, namely: Hospitality Management - Luxury Lifestyle and Hospitality Management - Lebanese Gastronomy Lifestyle.
On this momentous occasion, it is worth noting that back in 1956, young men and women had little interest in hospitality as a career.
The year 1960, however, was to be a turning point, after which many international and regional hotel and restaurant chains and similar establishments began launching their activities and worked on improving the quality of their service and management.
In the ensuing decades, careers in hospitality became increasingly popular, attracting the new generations in their droves, with hundreds of hotel schools, institutes and universities established in Lebanon and across the Arab world from 1970 onwards. Let us celebrate and be proud of all these achievements and express our hope that this ongoing strategy will be adapted to reflect future changes in the hospitality industry.
Today, we look to hotel universities to continue facilitating social development by introducing new curricula covering the training skills required by an ever-changing hospitality industry. This will help to ensure that the industry retains its role as a motor of the economy.
After more than 60 years, allow me to celebrate my career, having trained, consulted and helped in the success of many of these events. I am confident that all those I have worked with across the years will continue to promote hospitality at all levels including my daughters: Joumana, Randa and Zeina.
Nouhad Dammous
Editor-in-chief Docteur Honoris Causa