Tourism’s biggest night of the year, the Qantas Australian Tourism Awards, brings together the best of Australia’s tourism and hospitality providers and recognises those who excel within the industry. The 2009 awards were held on February 26 in Hobart, Tasmania with the Hon Martin Ferguson AM MP, Federal Minister for Tourism in attendance.

The awards night is the culmination of a year’s dedication and effort to provide the best services, attractions and facilities to the 5.6m visitors arriving into Australia during 2009 . Hosted by the National Tourism Alliance the award categories include attractions and accommodation but also education, tourism services and tourism marketing.

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School was honoured to win the Tourism and Education Training award. The School was nominated for the Australian Tourism Awards after winning the Gold award for Tourism and Education Training at the New South Wales Tourism Awards in November last year. Blue Mountains is a leading provider of hotel and resort management education in New South Wales and Australia with over 2500 graduates working in senior management positions around the world.

“This is a remarkable achievement for all the faculty, staff and students of the School. To win such a prestigious award at a national level is a great honour and we are proud of such an accomplishment. We have worked hard in the last year to continually improve what we offer our students and being recognised after successfully completing the Australian Universities Quality Agency audit is a fantastic reward to all involved. It is also an accolade for the Australian International Hotel School (AIHS) in Canberra as AIHS is the sister school to Blue Mountains. ” said Mr. Guy Bentley, Chief Executive Officer.

To win an award demonstrates the Schools commitment to meet award criteria such as innovation, sustainability, academic rigour and building active relationships with the tourism industry.

The finalists included Canberra Institute of Technology, Challenger TAFE, Griffith University, University of South Australia, SkyCity Darwin, Holmesglen, Eco and Adventure Guide Training. Mr. Bentley continued “to see a range of quality education providers being nominated demonstrated the strength of tourism and hospitality education in Australia and we congratulate them on being recognised as leaders in their States”.

Recognition of the accolade has also been received by the wider industry with Melinda Larkin, Executive Officer (NSW) of the Australian Council for Private Education and training saying “All of you at the School have worked tirelessly. A big congratulations to you all”. Chairman of Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism, Mr. Randall Walker, congratulated the School and stated “The Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School is a worthy winner delivering truly world class education and being a long time participant in and supporter of the regional tourism industry.”

“No doubt all of us at Blue Mountains will continue to strive for excellence in 2010 and hope to have the honour of being nominated again at both the State and National level” said Mr. Bentley.

For more information on Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, please visit www.hotelschool.com.au or call +61 2 9437 0300. Details of the awards can be viewed at www.tourismalliance.org.

ENDS

Media Contact:
Scott Noble
Marketing Manager
Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
Phone: +61 2 9431 7919
Email: scott.noble@hotelschool.com.au
Australian International Hotel School CRICOS Provider No: 02697A
Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School CRICOS Provider No: 00911E

On Friday, February 5th 2010, Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School students hosted a fundraising dinner for the Blue Mountains Rural Fire Service. The dinner marked the launch of Red Balloon Season, which was created in direct response to the Victorian bushfires (Black Saturday). The night included a three course dinner and an auction which together raised over $13,000, a record amount for 80 guests at one of the many charity events that have occurred over the past few years. The money raised will go towards buying a mini bus to transport volunteers to and from muster points.

Maurice Cooper, OAM, and vice chairman of Blue Mountains, Lithgow and Oberon Tourism, was delighted at the success of the evening, “I would like to thank all those who attended the dinner, those who bid in the auction, the generous donations from the Bendigo Bank and the Sydney Credit Union SCU (formerly known as Blue Mountains Credit Union), and of course the students from the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School who provided the service on the evening and without whose assistance the evening wouldn’t have been possible.”

From left: Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
students James Waire, Tom Lade, Tamara Fischer and George Robson

Tourism and hospitality leaders, together with the New South Wales Minister for Tourism, came together at the Sydney Convention Centre on November 19 to recognise those businesses and individuals who are at the forefront of the industry.

This prestigious event celebrates tourism in New South Wales which provides over AUD28 billion in revenue per year, and employs over 162,500 people throughout the State. The awards set out to recognise the importance of the sector and to receive an award is considered one of the highest accolades in the industry.

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School was honoured to receive the prestigious Gold Award for Tourism and Education Training, and this was the first time the School had entered the awards. Blue Mountains is a leading provider of hospitality management education in New South Wales and Australia with over 3000 graduates working in senior management positions around the world.

“The Gold Award is an outstanding achievement not only for the School but also faculty, staff, students and alumni. To win gold demonstrates the Schools commitment to meet award criteria such as innovation, sustainability, academic rigour and building active relationships with the tourism industry,” said Mr. Guy Bentley, Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Bentley also acknowledged Mr. Phil Hammon, Owner and CEO of Scenic World in the Blue Mountains, who received an award for Outstanding Contribution by an individual. “He is no doubt one of Australia’s leaders in eco tourism and the School has benefited from Mr. Hammon providing valuable guidance through its Industry Advisory Board” said Mr. Bentley.

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School is now a finalist for the National Tourism Awards to be held in February 2010.
For more information on Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, please visit www.hotelschool.com.au or call +61 2 9437 0300. Details of the awards can be viewed at www.ticnsw.com.au or by clicking here.

ENDS

Media Contact:
Scott Noble
Marketing Manager
Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School
Phone: +61 2 9431 7919
Email: scott.noble@hotelschool.com.au
Australian International Hotel School CRICOS Provider No: 02697A
Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School CRICOS Provider No: 00911E

Final year students from the Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School hosted a ‘Not Far East’ degustation evening in the School’s Chambers Restaurant on Sunday night, raising over $10,000 in support of Sala Bai Hotel School in Cambodia.

The five course degustation menu including matching wines, was the creation of guest Executive Chef, Glen Ballis of Nedal’nij Vostok, meaning Not Far East, in Moscow. The recent Best Chef, Moscow made the journey from Russia to kindly donate his culinary expertise at the request of his son Daniel, who will be graduating from Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School next month.

“This is a great example of what our School is all about - the development of young managers with high level business and practical skills, and a keen sense of corporate social responsibility which makes them sought after by industry worldwide,” said Jane Adams, Campus Director.

Funds raised by this event will translate into scholarships for young Cambodians to receive practical and theoretical hospitality training at Sala Bai, which is completely funded by voluntary contributions. The diploma awarded on completion of their studies will enable them to take part in the development of the economy and tourism in their country, and provide them with independence and a key to a future of exciting career opportunities.

“It was inspiring to see students and the tourism industry so readily embrace the concept that such little money helps underprivileged Cambodian youth to study hospitality and tourism and change their lives forever,” stated Randall Walker, Chairman, Blue Mountains Tourism Limited (BMTL).

BMTL member, Maurice Cooper worked closely with the School’s final year students to organise the event that was sponsored by local and national tourism businesses including Swiss Hotel, Four Seasons Sydney, Toga Hospitality Group and Taronga Zoo. The event was also widely supported by the Blue Mountains community with several key local tourism operators such as Scenic World, The Carrington Hotel, Rooster Restaurant, Bygone Beautys, Blue Mountains Holiday Lets and Explore The Blue Mountains in attendance.

To find out more and how you can support Sala Bai Hotel School, please visit www.salabai.com . For more information on Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School, please visit www.hotelschool.com.au or call 02 4780 1600.

Blue Mountains International Hotel Management School is pleased to announce the launch of the new hotelschool.com.au

In response to the needs of new students, parents and current students the School recently made the new site development a key priority so content, navigation and functionalities would meet your needs. Navigation is now greatly improved with information being easily located in the four main sections of Courses, Student Life, Career and Industry. In addition, the use of sub-menus enables you to easily locate the information you require.

New content includes virtual tours of the campus, so you can experience some of the facilities, and you can also view testimonials from students, parents and from industry. Of course the School is available to answer any questions with all pages linking to an easy to use online enquiry form.
Don’t forget to visit the site again as it will continue to evolve over the coming months with new content and capabilities.