According to the MOTC, the NT$30 million (US$946,300) “2010 Overseas Training Project for Selected Tourism Workers” has an open registration system.
“We encourage anyone in the industry who might be interested in the project to submit an application,” a Tourism Bureau official said.
Aspirants can apply to one of two categories, entertainment services or accommodation management. Places such as hotels, B&Bs and recreational resorts all fall under the tourism accommodation management category.
Of the 100 chosen ones, 20 will take part in the International College Program at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, in June 2010. To qualify, participants must have passed at least the basic level in the General English Proficiency Test.
It will be the first time that Disney World has ever collaborated with a non-U.S. government agency in providing training for professional tourism workers.
The 50 recipients in the accommodations category will attend special courses at the Adelaide School of the renowned Le Cordon Bleu in Australia, which prides itself in solid international hotel and restaurant management courses. The recipients will depart Sept. 4, 2010.
These 50 selected trainees will also intern at an ecological tourism hotel at the local German village Hahndorf, the Tangalooma Island Resort in Brisbane and the Palazzo Versace Hotel at the Golden Coast.
The remaining 30 spots will be offered to teachers of tourism-related subjects and business owners in the tourism sector. Winners will be free to choose wherever they wish to go, provided that costs remain within limits. Flight tickets, tuition fees and visa fees will all be covered, with maximum subsidies reaching NT$300,000 per person. (TYH-HZW)