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 ChamberOman.com hosted an online chat with Mr. Robert
MacLean, Principal, National Hospitality Institute, on
August 08, 2004. As the topic of the chat was Business
Opportunities in Hospitality Industry in Oman’, the chat
session drew excellent response from the business
community as well as students looking at hospitality
industry as a career option.
Robert opinions that though Oman is in the evolving
stage of in terms of international market of tourism and
hospitality industry when compared to other GCC
countries like UAE and Qatar, there have been phenomenal
growth in a last couple of years and a lot more can be
achieved by investing in projects meant for drawing
tourism and training manpower to provide excellent
customer.
To a suggestion as to candidates from NHI (www.nhioman.com)
being self employed after their training, Robert proudly
said a couple of his ex-students have opened their own
restaurant and are doing extremely well! The institute
has an excellent track record of placement with 84% of
the candidates being employed in various hotels and
restaurants in Oman. He was proud to point to the fact
that there are currently 34 women candidates along with
others who are getting trained with emphasis on
practical knowledge to ensure they carry out the tasks
being trained for.
Robert observed in the chat that though there are some
very good hotels in Oman , few of them leave a lot to be
desired in the delivery of quality service to their
customers. This he said, could change with more
competition and suggests customers should point out
areas of improvement to the hotel management so that
service could be improved.
The opening of Shangri la, the new 3 hotel complex being
built at Barr al Jissah, is a pointer to the wave of
change sweeping over the hospitality industry in Oman.
What Oman needs is to come out of the image of being the
backwater in business tourism, the latest concept which
UAE and Qatar are cashing in on. It is not just the
right publicity or spending on advertisement but the
target of audience to whom we direct these, is a key
deciding factor. Robert is optimistic that the high
target for Omanisation, set by the Ministry of Manpower
for the Hospitality Industry can be met by selecting
good candidates and providing proper induction by the
employer. He said NHI is working closely with the
Ministry of Manpower to promote the hospitality industry
as a prime choice of employment among Omanis.
“We should encourage online exchange of views and ideas
like the chat session on ChamberOman.com”, said Robert.
He appreciated the initiative by ChamberOman.com and
said online discussion helps in drawing international
views and hoped to see such informative exchange of
ideas happening more on the portal.
Newspaper coverage:
::
Hospitality industry offers ample avenues for youth
(Oman Daily Observer, August 18, 2004)
:: Hospitality industry offers venues for
self-employment (Times of Oman, August 15, 2004)
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