Laureate Hospitality Education CEOs to Speak at Women in Hospitality and Tourism in Asia Conference

Singapore, March 3, 2014 - Three CEOs of Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) schools will be in Singapore this week to speak at the inaugural Women in Hospitality and Tourism in Asia conference. Judy Hou, CEO of Glion Institute of Higher Education; Sonia Tatar, director general/CEO of Les Roches Worldwide; and Emily Williams Knight, president of Kendall College are participating in the conference because of their role and leadership in educating new generations of women for the hospitality industry.  

A leading hospitality management education group, LHE comprises four institutions: Glion Institute of Higher Education, Les Roches International School of Hotel Management, Kendall College, and Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School. These institutions span four continents, with locations including the UK, Switzerland, Spain, Australia, China, and the United States.

Women represent two thirds of the global tourism industry labour force; however, Asia has the lowest average participation of women in the global hotel and restaurant sector. That women are educated in this region is critical because the UN World Tourism Organization asserts that tourism helps women break the poverty cycle. According to The World Bank, women and girls reinvest an average of 90% of their income in their families, compared to a 30 to 40% reinvestment rate for men. Furthermore, some 44 million jobs are expected to be created in Asia Pacific over the next 10 years, presenting a huge opportunity to up‐skill employees in the hospitality sector.

LHE has a strong presence in the region with two of their schools having branch campuses in Shanghai and Suzhou.  Additionally, Judy Hou says “We continue to see traction and interest in the region for our programs in Switzerland, the US and our branch campuses.  Our presence in this conference acknowledges the roles of Singapore and China, among others, as pivotal to the hospitality industry growth, not only in the region but worldwide.”

Students from Asia represent a considerable percentage of each LHE school’s population.  Hospitality management programs in Les Roches and Glion, among the three top schools in hospitality in the world, continue to attract students from the region, particularly through innovative offers such as Les Roches’ Global BBA program that allows students to pursue their academic studies in China, Spain and Switzerland. 

“International hotel companies – which have excellent potential for growth, especially in Asia – are looking to hire graduates who are not only used to a multicultural work environment, but who also have expertise acquired in different parts of the world,” said president Tatar.  “The Global BBA program gives students a unique and differentiated exposure to countries where the hospitality sector is in full and rapid expansion, providing them a competitive edge to enter this professional market.”

Kendall College, the number one school in Chicago, USA, for careers in hospitality and culinary arts, has seen increased interest from Asia and China due in part to the vibrancy and promising tourist and culinary scene of Chicago.  “Kendall has seen a 60% increase in culinary arts students from Asia, with women representing more than 80% of those new students,” said president Knight.  “This diverse pool adds to the unique and global experience of our academic approach.”

Glion also offers students based in Asia a fully online MBA program. In Singapore, Glion has students from Marina Bay Sands and Sofitel participating in this online course. Hou says, “These students are well supported by their management teams at work, and we expect the degree to position them to fast track their career in hospitality management.”

“I chose Glion’s online MBA program for its excellent reputation,” said Kim Sung Wong, Director of Public Area Department at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.

Laureate Hospitality Education (LHE) is a member of the Laureate International Universities network, which is made up of more than 75 accredited campus-based and online institutions of higher education, serving more than 800,000 students in 30 countries.