Minister says gastronomy increasingly important to tourism

Tourism Minister Gari Cappelli on Tuesday underlined the importance of gastronomy and excellence in gastronomy professions in enhancing the quality of tourism. Speaking at Open Day of Aspira college in Zagreb, Cappelli said that today it was perhaps even more honourable to be a chef because gastronomy increasingly motivated people to travel. He said Aspira and its gastronomy study programme in Zagreb and Split as well as the 100 students who enroll in it every year confirmed the validity of such studies.

Cappelli recalled that the Tourism Ministry had awarded 370 scholarships this year in cooperation with more than 20 tourism companies and chambers, saying jobs in tourism were increasingly in demand in Croatia and abroad.

The minister said he hoped more schools, both private and public, would offer gastronomy programmes in the future, especially in about two years when competency centres, teaching tourism and gastronomy, among other things, with more practical work, became operational.

The Aspira college operates in Split and in Zagreb, where a gastronomy study programme was introduced two years ago. The college also teaches tourism and other programmes. About 450 students enroll at the two schools every year, including 100 to study gastronomy.

The annual tuition fee at Aspira is HRK 30,000 for the tourism study programme and HRK 40,000 for the three-year gastronomy programme. (EUR 1 = HRK 7.4)
(Hina)

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