Today we are having a cup of coffee with a pioneer of tourism business in the Red Sea, Mr. KAMEL ABU ALI, hotelier and founder of HIHTM, the Higher Institute for Hotel & Tourism Management – Lucerne - Hurghada.
Mr. Kamel Abu Ali, you own & manage 4 hotels in Hurghada as well as 4 hotels in Sharm El Sheikh, all of 4 and 5 Star hotel standard. Beside that you operate in both cities the worldwide famous 1001 Night Show, a must for travelers coming to the Red Sea. Now you bring a new standard of education in the field of hospitality to Egypt. How did you manage to build this Empire in such a short time? Please tell us how you started your business in the hospitality field?
With the age of 19 I went to Switzerland to work as an employee in a restaurant, small money in the pocket but with the dream to come back to Egypt and establish my own business with the knowledge I would gain in Switzerland. After learning the restaurant business from scratch I opened my first restaurant in New Chatelle, others followed and after some years I was operating a chain of restaurants serving all kinds of food.
When and why did you decide to return to Egypt and open your first hotel?
It was in the early 90th when I found the chance to buy a beautiful plot in Hurghada, located directly at the virgin Red Sea and I realized my dream to build my first hotel, Beach Albatros. The project was finished after 2 years and was from the beginning under Swiss management. The boom of the Egyptian tourism, a lot of effort and the knowledge gathered during my stay in Switzerland made it possible to reach the dimensions you mentioned at the beginning of our interview.
After all this success, what made you decide to establish a hotel management institute in Hurghada?
If you look at the hotels in the Red Sea you have to commit that there is maybe no place in the world with such a concentration of 4 and 5 star hotels, and the Red Sea with its rich underwater live and 365 sunny days a year is a perfect ground for tourism business.
The difficult part is to run the hotels and restaurants with a high standard of services. Egypt was always a destination for travelers and famous for its hospitality. But the volume of tourism now requires more and more well educated staff, which is not available at the moment and has to be trained during the coming years. For this reason we opened The Higher Institute for Hotel & Tourism Management in Hurghada. We want to attract foreigners and Egyptian to get their education here in a co-operation with IMI, the International Hotel Management Institute, and the worldwide famous Institute for hospitality education, based in Lucerne - Switzerland.
The Institute is located in an impressive building with excellent facilities. It must have been a huge investment?
Yes, I believe we were able to establish here an environment for students in a standard that can hardly be found anywhere else. The institute itself offers 16 classrooms with state of the art educational equipment and audiovisual aids. The institute also hosts 2 language laboratories and a computer lab, a library and an assembly hall as well as all facilities for practical training of the students, such as 2 restaurants and kitchens that students use for their practical learning. Our students are accommodated in nice apartments at the premises of the Institute.
Where do the teachers come from?
Most of the teachers lecturing in the hospitality field are European experts, with excellent experience and training skills.
Do the students have opportunities to be trained in the travel industry?
Yes, of course. Training is an integrated part of the program and all the students have to undertake a training period of 3-4 month at the end of each academic year and the institute uses its network of connections with many companies worldwide that welcome our students for the internship. Mostly our students go for their training to European countries as we would like to give our students the opportunity and experience to work and interact with different cultures which will definitely improve their technical and communication skills.
How many students do you have and from which countries are they?
We are proud to say that we are hosting more than 120 full time students from all over the world, like from Lebanon, Syria, Germany, Holland, Sweden, France, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Denmark, Tunisia, Morocco and even from the United States and Canada.
Why did they decide to get their education in Hurghada?
Because of the exceptional facilities, professional education programs, the fees, which are about half of comparable education in Europe, and last but not least the friendly and safe environment they find here at the Red Sea. Students can enjoy their studies, get their experience in a hot spot of the tourism industry and enjoy weather and the sea during their free time.
How long do the studies take and which certificate will the students receive?
Studies take four years and upon the successful completion of the 4 years program the students get a Bachelor Degree in International Hotel Management from IMI Switzerland.
Mr. Kamel Abu Ali, we are really impressed by the possibilities students can find here in Hurghada and thank you very much for this interview. Is there anything more you would like to say?
When we started to think of lounging a superior level hotel management college here in Egypt we knew that we are bringing a new concept and level of education. We knew that it will take time for people to realize the efficiency and the importance of such a prestigious institution and we were very determined to maintain the highest possible educational standards for our students to prepare them for the challenges of their future and for leading this field. Now we are so proud of what we achieved as we will have our first group of graduates in June 2004.
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