China’s Ministry of Education has recently approved the establishment of the Hainan Lausanne Tourism University (HLTU), a college independently run by Switzerland’s EHL Hospitality Business School.

The approval was announced on the official website of China’s Ministry of Education.

This approval is in line with China’s opening-up policy on education, which allows qualified overseas universities to set up campuses and operate independently in the Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP) without a Chinese partner. HLTU will become the second independently-run overseas university in the Hainan FTP, following the Hainan Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences.

The HLTU campus will be located near Sanya’s Haitang Bay and built by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) Ocean Investment Holding Co. Ltd. The university will offer four tourism and hospitality tracks for undergraduate education, including Hospitality Management, MICE Economy and Management, Tourism Management and Service Education, and Culinary and Nutrition Education.

Haitang Bay, a popular travel destination in Sanya, features several luxury attractions such as the Atlantis Resort. (Photo: Hainan Daily)

The HLTU curriculum is in alignment with the global academic framework and education standards set out by EHL. Students will benefit from the presence of EHL's international staff and faculty, as well as the university’s unparalleled global industry network. EHL's worldwide reputation guarantees students unrivalled access to internships with the world’s leading companies in the tourism, hospitality, wellness, retail luxury, and service sectors.

Founded in 1893, EHL is a global leader in hospitality education and has been ranked as the world's best hotel management school by the QS World University Rankings for Hospitality and Leisure Management for seven consecutive years. With main campuses in Switzerland's Lausanne and Passugg as well as in Singapore, the school offers century-old hospitality education excellence to more than 4,000 students from around 120 countries and regions.

The approval of HLTU is a significant achievement in the context of the China-Switzerland Year of Culture and Tourism, which marks the 75th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. This new university is set to play a pivotal role in aligning China's tourism education with international standards, while injecting talent-driven momentum into the development of the Hainan FTP.