BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 22. Investing in human capital development is essential for enhancing tourism sector, Turkish Kayseri University's Rector Kurtulus Mustafa said during panel discussions within the 1st meeting of higher education institutions specializing in tourism education within the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC), Trend reports.
“So, Türkiye embarked on tourism investment since the establishment of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in the early 1960s. Over the next two decades, the country established institutions for the development of this sector, including the Ministry of Culture, founded in 1963, and education institutions that trained professionals in tourism.
Laws incentivizing investments in the early 1980s spurred physical investments in tourism infrastructure. We understand that for tourism development, it's crucial to invest primarily in workforce growth," he emphasized.
Karamustafa added that education plays a crucial role in this success, emphasizing that curriculum development should be based on the real needs of industry and life.
The Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC) was established in 1992 with the active support of Türkiye and the permanent international secretariat of the organization is located in Istanbul. BSEC was established to promote cooperation, peace, stability, and prosperity in the Black Sea region.
Baku hosts the first meeting of BSEC tourism higher education institutions to discuss cooperation, perspectives and challenges in the field of tourism education.
The meeting is attended by official representatives of states and tourism educational institutions from 11 member countries of the Organization, including Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Russia, Albania, Bulgaria, Georgia, Greece, Moldova, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, as well as representatives of the UN World Tourism Organization.
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