Orlando,
Florida, August 2011—The American Hotel & Lodging
Educational Institute
(AHLEI) and the Azerbaijan Tourism Association (AZTA) recently signed
an
international representation Memorandum of Understanding, whereby AZTA
will
promote and market AHLEI’s training and educational products with the
private
and public sector in an effort to raise the regional and global
competitiveness
of Azerbaijan.
AZTA was established in 2009 by the
help of Ministry of Culture and Tourism of the Republic of Azerbaijan,
and has
been an affiliate member of the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
since July
2011. Its overall goal is to develop the tourism sector in Azerbaijan
and to
create healthy, strong inbound and outbound tourism.
The relationship with AHLEI will
assist the association with one of its main goals, which is to help its
members
to develop the quality of service offered to tourists by organizing
seminars,
workshops, and training for staff in several subjects (through joint
programs
with its local partner, the Azerbaijan Tourism Institute). For
the
future, AZTA plans to increase the number and quality of training
offerings,
applying AHLEI’s international experience to Azerbaijan’s hospitality
sector.
“Our partnership agreement comes at an opportune
time as Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev signed an order earlier
this year
declaring 2011 as the Year of Tourism in Azerbaijan,” said Robert L.
Steele
III, CHA, AHLEI’s president and chief operating officer.
“Azerbaijan is
emphasizing the need for developing tourism and creating favorable
conditions
for visitors, and AHLEI is honored to be the education and training
provider of
choice. We hope our contributions will assist Azerbaijan in meeting
their
tourism goals.”