In response to the rapid growth of the tourism and hospitality industry, Montgomery County Community College recently launched a new Tourism & Hospitality Management Program to prepare students for careers in these high-demand fields.

MCCC announced the launch of its new program during a celebratory event held at its Culinary Arts Institute in Lansdale on Nov. 6. Professionals from the tourism and hospitality industry, including keynote speaker Megan Miller, the national director of sales at Hersha Hospitality Management, spoke about the increasing employment opportunities.

“Hotels provide 1 in 25 jobs in the U.S. and contribute to more than $660 billion annually to the country’s GDP, and annual sales have increased 44 percent since 2015,” said Miller to the students and audience members. “Your future in the hospitality space is going to be bright.”

The other guest speakers echoed similar growth statistics about the tourism and hospitality industry, including Rachel Riley, director of communications for the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board. According to Riley, tourism accounts for more than $1.65 billion in spending and 20,000 jobs in Montgomery County.

MCCC’s two-year, associate degree Tourism & Hospitality Management Program will prepare students for a wide variety of entry to mid-level leadership positions in the tourism and hospitality industry and to continue their education at a four-year institution. The program includes courses on conventions and conference management, sales, sustainable management, entrepreneurship, and nature, sport and destination tourism management, among others.

In addition, MCCC offers a 30-credit Tourism and Hospitality Certificate Program, which may be completed in as little as two full-time semesters. The certificate program provides a credential for students who may already be working in the industry and/or have their bachelor’s degree.

“We take a holistic approach in developing educational and career pathways to enable students to obtain employment in careers that provide family-sustaining wages,” said Dr. Victoria Bastecki-Perez, MCCC’s Interim President. “We work closely with our business and community partners in developing programs that have market value and to provide experiential learning experiences for our students through internships. With our faculty’s involvement and innovation, our rigorous curricula is parallel to that of four-year institutions.”

Three MCCC students – Joceline Kane, Samantha Markovic and Tessa Robinson – served as emcees for the event and introduced the guest speakers. Throughout the evening, the students enrolled in the program networked with various hotel and tourism industry professionals.

In addition to Miller and Riley, speakers included Kenny Johnson, manager of community engagement for the Philadelphia Phillies, and Dominique Goss, vice president/senior manager of strategy and social impact of the Office of Charitable and Community Giving for TD Charitable Foundation.

Audience members included representatives from area school districts, career and technical schools, colleges and universities, hotels, and businesses.