On April 22-23, Baku hosted the first meeting of tourism education institutions from the member states of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), organized jointly by the State Tourism Agency and BSEC. The event aimed at discussing cooperation, perspectives, and challenges in tourism education.
The meeting brought together official representatives and tourism education institution delegates from 11 BSEC member states, including Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Serbia, and Ukraine. Representatives from the UN Tourism also participated.
In his address, Fuad Naghiyev, Chairman of the State Tourism Agency, emphasized that this meeting within the BSEC framework serves as a valuable platform for facilitating knowledge and experience exchange among higher education institutions specializing in tourism.
He also highlighted the increasing number of job opportunities in the tourism sector each year and encouraged Azerbaijani youth to prioritize tourism-related fields when choosing their profession.
Lazăr Comănescu, Secretary General of BSEC noted that this event marks the first-ever gathering dedicated to tourism education within the organization. He stated that hosting the event in Baku is yet another demonstration of Azerbaijan’s contribution to fulfilling BSEC’s goals and objectives.
Comănescu underlined the crucial role of education in shaping the future of the tourism sector, especially at a time when the industry is experiencing rapid growth.
He expressed confidence that the topics discussed during the event would foster greater cooperation among member states and contribute to solving key challenges in the sector.
Ilham Madatov, Rector of Azerbaijan Tourism and Management University (ATMU) noted that ATMU holds a unique position within the Azerbaijani education system. As the first specialized state university offering tourism-related degree programs, ATMU is ranked among the top five universities in the country in terms of employment rates.
As part of the event, panel discussions were held on topics such as "Government, Academia, and Industry Coordination: Best Practices in Tourism Education" and "Curriculum Design: Enhancing Tourism Education to Meet Future Needs". A roundtable discussion was also conducted on "Quality Assurance and Accreditation in Tourism Education".
Discussions covered key areas of cooperation and partnership opportunities, challenges in fostering collaboration, potential solutions, ways to ensure that graduates meet the demands of the tourism sector, and the integration of industry trends into educational programs.
