In a press conference held earlier today, the Institute of Tourism Studies (ITS) together with the Ministry for Tourism and Consumer Protection, announced that a recent survey, confirmed that ITS students are extremely satisfied with how the Institute handled the current covid-19 situation, most especially online lectures.
Responding to survey questions, it has been found that 99.1% of students are following online lectures and 85% of students are satisfied with how the situation with covid-19 was handled by ITS.
Following announcement of campus closures, thanks to the foresight and planning of the ITS team, the Institute was one of the first institutions to continue with the students’ academic program online. In fact, 88% of the students said that they had no difficulty in following lectures and are managing to access the material through the provided platforms.
Minister for Tourism and Consumer Protection Julia Farrugia Portelli said that never like today did we realise how important tourism is to our economy and the multiplier effect it has in reaching niches of our society. She explained that the Government is using this trying time as an opportunity to continue to prepare workers of tomorrow in the best way possible. Farrugia Portelli said that this survey continues encouraging us to continue on improving and investing in our youngsters, whose role will be crucial as we emerge from the present situation.
ITS also announced various measures the Institute has taken for both current and prospective students. These include measures related to examinations, local and international internships, and practical modules. At the moment there are 161 modules which are being delivered from two different platforms.
ITS CEO Mr Pierre Fenech said that these mitigated measures are being taken in view of the current situation which has affected everyone including the tourism and hospitality industry. Following in depth discussions over a number of weeks, these measures have been approved by the Board of Studies and the Programme Quality Validation Board to ascertain that the measures taken put the students’ well-being and education first.
ITS Chairman, Mr Carlo Micallef, said that undoubtedly this is a testing period for all those that have made the tourism industry their career and lifeline but stressed that he is confident that as soon as social distancing measures and travel bans are lifted, tourism will bounce back with a vengeance. He said how this will be the moment when Malta has the opportunity to reshape its future tourism industry and ITS plays an important role as today's industry will need more than ever better trained workers to give the best possible experience to tourists looking for quality tourism.
