by Luis Omar Miranda
Teacher and Programmer
San Luis projects itself as an important tourist destiny, both at the national and at the local levels. For this reason, it is necessary to improve the practice of this activity; it essential to improve both the infrastructure and the quality of human resources, the last of which is of outmost importance due to the fact that those people are the ones who deal with tourists. We must give a high value to education and training in any of the areas related to tourism, especially in those involving services and entertainment. In this way, we would avoid improvising and offering low-quality tourism.
Most tourism companies are family-run busnisses; parents and children alike share tasks and responsabilities. That is why it is very important that people pursue studies –secondary, tertiary or university) in areas related to tourism. There are several educational institutions which offer courses on tourism and related fields in San Luis.
There are three secondary schools offering training oriented to tourism, namely:
1. Colegio Nº 8 Mauricio P. Daract – where students graduate with a certifícate in Production of Goods and Services, or a certifícate in Recreation and Tourism. Through an agreement with Instituto Tecnológico from Universidad de a Punta, students can be directly admitted to the Tourism and Business Management programme.
2. Centro Educativo Nº6 Subsecretario Carlos Sadoc San Martín in El Volcán - where students graduate with a certificate in Recreation and Tourism.
3. Centro Educativo Nº19 Domingo F. Sarmiento, in San Francisco del Monte de Oro - where students graduate with a certificate in Spare Time and Tourism.
At the post-secondary level, Instituto Politécnico y Artístico Universitario –which is a branch of Universidad Nacional de San Luis – in Merlo offers the following programmes: University-level Tourist Guide, University- level Technician in Hotels Management, and University-level Technician in Tourism Management. Universidad Católica de Cuyo offers a graduate programme in Hotel Management and Tourism. Universidad de la Punta offers a technical programme in tourism.
The training options in the field of tourism are quiet varied. In the next edition, we will deal with the teaching of foreign languages, an area of vital importance for tourism.
