The Bhutan Middle Management Hotel Program (BMMHP), is pleased to announce the arrival of Professor Daniel G. Fuchs, International Hospitality Expert, Consultant, as guest lecturer and visiting professor between 13th and 17th February, 2012.

The Bhutan Middle Management Hotel Program is a small program for existing personnel of the Bhutanese hotel industry, in and around the country. This program is sponsored by Jacobs and Elysium Foundation from Switzerland and in partnership with the HWZ University of Applied Science Zurich, also based in Switzerland and is under the patronage of the Tourism Council of Bhutan. It offers the course to 30 in-service personnel of the Bhutanese hotel industry, free of cost to the candidates. This program, albeit, is offered at the Royal Institute for Tourism and Hospitality (RITH).

There are 30 participants from different hotels from Bhutan. Some are from 5 star hotels and some are from 4-2 star hotels. The participants are selected, but still have differences in their capacity to learn in the class. The backgrounds of these Middle-Management participants are primarily from Housekeeping, Front Office, F&B and Accounting.

Dr. Fuchs will give lecture in Food and Beverage Management for a week, starting from 13th -17th February 2012.

Professor Daniel G. Fuchs is very excited about his involvement with this very unique program and he is saying: "To be selected for such a prestigious and innovative program is an honor. I sincerely believe that this is right way to empower local managers to grow and develop which in turn facilitates the development of the country. This will ultimately benefit the people of Bhutan. Tourism handled and managed the right way is such an excellent engine for growth, especially when managed in a sustainable way. To visit Bhutan has been a dream of mine for a very long time and I am sure my time in the Kingdom of the Thunder Dragon will be exciting and hopefully rewarding for the participants of the program."

Dr. Urs Dürsteler, Pro-Rector HWZ University of Applied Sciences for Business Administration Zürich, Switzerland is being quoted, that this is an innovative Approach to train Bhutanese Hotel Managers.

Dr. Urs Dürsteler says:" Tourism is and will remain a very important foreign currency provider for Bhutan’s economy. The number of tourists visiting Bhutan is relatively small, but has been increasing over the last few years. In spite of the different annual growth path in the sector, the hotels and tourism provide interesting long term career opportunities for young Bhutanese, such as heads of food and beverage, front desk, accommodation, operational management, finance, recreational activities, etc. To cope with the present and future needs in the four and five star hotels, as well as to upgrade the management of family operated hotels, Bhutan needs a new generation of highly skilled local hotel managers."

As a Swiss national himself, Professor Daniel G. Fuchs is proud and honored to have been invited to join this great program and he is very thankful to the following persons, who do play a major role in this unique program and helping the Hotel and Tourism Industry of Bhutan, by educating Middle Management Staff of various Bhutanese Hotels and moving this industry forward.

Ms. Marianne Frei, President of the Society Switzerland-Bhutan (SSB) / Lecturer, Counselor and Officer for Admissions, University of Teacher Education, Zurich, Switzerland.

Prof. Dr. Urs Dürsteler, Head of Faculty for Business Administration of HWZ University of Applied Sciences, Zurich, Switzerland.

Mr. Dhurba Chhetri, Program Administrator for the Bhutan Middle Management Hotel Program at the Royal Institute for Tourism & Hospitality in Motithang, Thimphu.

As an incentive and recognition for the outstanding graduates, the Program will be sending the three best participants to Switzerland or in one of the regional countries on an exposure trip in their professional areas.

Let us hope, that future visitors of Bhutan might have an enjoyable encounter with one or the other graduate of the Bhutan Middle Management Hotel Program.