Alexandria University was asked about the issue of establishing Faculty of Tourism and Hotels that belongs to Alexandria University. This is for achieving the correlation between Universities and completing various faculties.
On 31st March, 1982, the University council approved on the establishment of a new Faculty of Tourism and Hotels. This was followed by the issuance of a presidential decree No. 239/1983 for the establishment of the Faculty. Work has started therein since its inauguration in October 1983. This is in order to provide the market of tourism and hotels in Alexandria and the rest of governorates with the necessary specialists and qualified cadres to work in tourist and hotel buildings, specially, that Alexandria forms 60% of beach tourism. This is in addition to graduating tourist and hotel promotions. Hence, felt that the establishment of Alexandria University Faculty of Tourism and Hotels would contribute in the enrichment of scientific research in the field of tourism and hotels.
In January 1990, a new statute was issued for Faculty of Tourism and Hotels by a ministerial decree No. 12. It included many amendments that go with modern touristic developments. Highlighting the most remarkable amendments thereto issued the new statute, is this one regarding year of specialization to be in the second academic year instead of the third one, identifying the first and second foreign language starting from joining the Faculty in the first academic year and introducing new curriculum in the statute of the Faculty three departments.
In order to achieve the continual ambition of the Faculty, seeking improving the educational process to maximize efficiency and modernization to catch up with what the science of tourism and hotels has reached in the world. As a desire for developing the scientific material taught to students, including the benefit desired, and to achieve the aim that the Faculty was established for, which is preparing a number of academically and professionally qualified cadres to be able to meet the needs of the country tourism sector and providing exceptional service to the regiments of tourists, it was felt that this is the time for preparing a new statute serving this thinking. It was also felt that, in the light of the two-semester system, this would be more effective to reach the objectives required.
This statute has regulated that the academic year shall be divided into two semesters where all the academic courses shall end with a final exam in the semester it is therein. This is except for foreign languages, which are the base of the Faculty study, and the (project) subject as they are extended to the second semester. Each semester shall take fifteen weeks and end with the semester exam.
The Faculty has taken, since it was established, some of the Faculty of Arts’ halls as its offices. It remained in the hospitality of Faculty of Arts from 1983 to 1985. In the academic year 1985/1986, the Faculty was moved to occupy one of the two buildings assigned to the center for public services at the theoretical faculties in Suter Street and it remained there until it was moved to its current building on 4/2/1992. An administrative building was assigned for the Faculty next to the theoretical faculties building of exams’ halls and three of the exam halls were assigned to be a place for lectures. These rooms were divided into smaller ones for lectures.
Faculty of Tourism and Hotels works on graduating qualified workers who are able to direct tourist and hotel buildings in order to improve the level of performance therein through education and training.
The Faculty organizes training courses for those working in the field of tourism and hotel to improve the quality of service in it and spread the culture of tourism and hotels in Alexandria. The Faculty works on providing continual contact with tourism community to develop their potential in the service of tourism development.
Studying in the Faculty includes academic study as well as applied one to reach a balance that the student receives proportional amount between theoretical and applied subjects related to origins of professional knowledge. The Faculty also aims at achieving another kind of balancing between subject of specialization and elective ones through the Faculty three departments.
Foreign languages, at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotels, are the cornerstone of the academic study. Language is the balance upon which the Faculty graduates depend on, after their graduation, in the professional life. The nature of the work of the three departments’ graduates (Tourism Studies, Hotel Studies, Tourist Guiding) implies dealing with many foreign sectors.
Since the Faculty establishment and as an application for its statute, English language has been studied in the first and second years as a first language while French or German has been a second language. When the student reaches his third academic year, a form shall be prepared according to the students’ desires to choose the languages desired to be studied in the third and fourth academic years (a first and a second language)
The Faculty has witnessed the importance of languages either as a basic study being an academic course or as a language of the other courses decreed by the Faculty Council. The Faculty institute was amended that it issued studying a first and a second language without being specified starting from the first academic year till his graduation. Regarding this, the Faculty teaches the foreign languages hereunder (English- French- German as first and second languages separately). Considering the language as the way the student is introduced to the outside world and civilizations, the Faculty felt the necessity for encouraging studying languages at the Faculty as the Italian and Spanish languages, besides the aforementioned languages, as second languages starting from the academic year 1993-1994.
On 8/7/1996 a ministerial decree No. 911 was issued on the Faculty statute amendment. The most important one was inserting year working system which was applied on the first year students of the academic year 1996-1997. Each subject was considered separately and each semester was considered an independent unit of study and exams except for the project subject of the graduation of the fourth year Hotel Studies Department students whose study is extended for two semesters of exam at the end of the second semester. Of important amendment that one of adding new courses keeping pace with the global development and modern educational system for serving the tourist sector for the graduated students to be efficient in tourism, hotels and tourist guiding sectors. For instance, subjects like hotel service management, tourist and hotel information systems, tourist conferences, feasibility study of tourism projects and others, which were not taught in the Faculty for serving tourism and hotel sectors, were modernized.
On 27/7/2009, Universities Higher Council approved on “rewarding Alexandria University, subjecting to the Faculty Council suggestion, a Bachelor degree in tourism and hotels in the discipline of hotels management program from Hotel Studies Department (Open-Learning system)”
