In October 2015, the Technical and Scientific Council of the School of Tourism and Maritime Technology of the Polytechnic Institute of Leiria (IPL), Portugal approved the recognition of the five 4-year bachelor degree programmes of the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT), namely Culinary Arts Management, Tourism Business Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management, which are considered as equivalent to the similar programmes of IPL. Students graduating from these programmes can apply for and obtain the academic qualifications recognition from IPL, in which an equal sign is put between the recognition obtained from IFT and that from the European Union countries. As early as in 2004, the higher diploma programmes and bachelor degree programmes in Tourism Business Management and Hotel Management of IFT have already been recognised by IPL. The recognition of the five 4-year bachelor degree programmes by IPL this time demonstrates once again the high-quality education of IFT. By obtaining these recognised academic qualifications, IFT bachelor degree programme graduates specialised in Culinary Arts Management, Tourism Business Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Event Management and Tourism Retail and Marketing Management can choose to enroll in the master’s degree and doctoral programmes or even work in EU countries, thus their future career opportunities will be broadened. Furthermore, IFT students can participate in overseas student exchange programmes in many partner institutions of EU countries for 1 semester during the 4-year programme, which allow them to broaden their horizons, experience different cultures as well as get along with people from different cultures and backgrounds. It is believed that this will be of great help to their future engagement and career development in the tourism and service industry. Established in 1995, the Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao (IFT) offers the most extensive selection of tourism and hospitality related bachelor degree programmes in Macao, and about twenty thousand participants attend its vocational and professional training courses annually. IFT collaborates with 85 institutions and tourism organisations around the world, and builds strong links with 500 leading tourism and hospitality corporations to offer internship opportunities to its students. Being the first institution accredited by the UNWTO.TedQual Certification System for tourism education, IFT has the most bachelor degree programmes certified under the System of any tertiary education establishment worldwide. IFT has received the Medal of Merit in Tourism from the Macao SAR Government, and won twice the Gold Award in ‘Education and Training’ from the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA).
