Kerala tourism institute earns UN-backed academic accreditation
The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies has received UN Tourism TedQual certification for its MBA programme in Travel and Tourism. The accreditation is intended to recognise quality standards in tourism education, training and research as Kerala works to develop the institute into a centre of excellence.
The Kerala Institute of Tourism and Travel Studies has received UN Tourism TedQual certification for its MBA in Travel and Tourism programme, according to the Kerala Tourism Department. KITTS operates under the State department of Tourism. The international academic accreditation is based on the TedQual framework established by UN Tourism to assess quality standards in tourism education, training and research.
Tourism Minister P. C. Vishnunadh, who is also chairperson of KITTS, said the recognition reflected the importance Kerala places on travel and tourism education.
He said it also indicated the quality of the programme offered by the institute. The certification comes as the Tourism Department works on a project to elevate KITTS into a centre of excellence, Vishnunadh said. The source material did not provide details about the project’s funding, timetable or proposed structure.
TedQual certification gives the institute an international accreditation for the specified MBA programme. The source material identifies the certification as a quality framework rather than a change to the programme’s curriculum or admissions process. KITTS’s programme is focused on travel and tourism, a field that combines academic study with the management and development of tourism-related activities.
The certification therefore applies specifically to the MBA in Travel and Tourism rather than, according to the information provided, to every course conducted by the institute. The Tourism Department described the recognition as significant for Kerala’s tourism education sector. No comments from UN Tourism officials, students or independent education experts were included in the source material.
The announcement was made in Thiruvananthapuram on October 3. It places the institute’s programme within an international quality-assurance framework while the State considers a broader plan to strengthen KITTS. The department did not state how long the certification would remain valid, identify the assessment process used in this instance, or announce any immediate changes to the institute’s operations.
The available information establishes the accreditation and the State’s stated ambition to develop KITTS further.
This independently written report is based on information supplied by the named publisher. Vertrix News has not independently verified the source report.