The opening of the Cabinda Hotel and Tourism School on 1 November marks the first moment in the internationalisation of tourism training provided by Turismo de Portugal through its network of 12 schools. Resulting from the protocol signed in 2024 with the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), this school in Angola is the first to open, certified and monitored by Turismo de Portugal.
The new Cabinda School, which has the capacity to train 240 students a year, was inaugurated by the Angolan Minister of Tourism, Márcio de Jesus Lopes Daniel, in the presence of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Tourism, Trade and Services, Pedro Machado, Carlos Abade, Presidente of the Board of Directors of Turismo de Portugal, and Catarina Paiva, member of the Board of Directors of Turismo de Portugal.
Turismo de Portugal's intervention involves supporting:
_ the definition and implementation of a management model for a Hotel and Tourism School, both at an administrative, financial and human resources level, as well as at a pedagogical level;
_ the design and management of a portfolio of courses adapted to local specificities, maintaining Turismo de Portugal's global quality standards, but acting locally;
_ training and certifying trainers;
_ organising activities to attract young people to tourism (such as the Tourism Olympics, Tourism Boot Camp, Open Day, among others), encouraging school attendance and preparation for professions in the sector;
_ exchanging and sharing knowledge and experiences.
Whenever possible, training will be on-the-job, with a theoretical and practical component, both in a school and business environment, covering, among other things, courses in the areas of Kitchen Technician, Restaurant/Bar Technician and Housekeeping Technician. In this way, students will have the opportunity to acquire all the technical skills needed to practice their profession and, at the same time, gain experience and knowledge of the business environment, facilitating their transition to the labour market.
Angola, as part of the diversification of its economy, has been investing in infrastructure for training in hospitality and tourism, specifically in converting hotels into school hotels, an opportunity that Turismo de Portugal considered ideal for internationalising its network of schools.
Turismo de Portugal supports tourism training in the CPLP
Turismo de Portugal's training internationalisation strategy involves, first and foremost, partnerships with the CPLP countries.
This internationalisation strategy is based on a model of alliances and partnerships with these countries, for the establishment of local Hotel and Tourism Schools, which benefit from Turismo de Portugal's experience and know-how, thus becoming Hotel and Tourism Schools Certified by Turismo de Portugal.
Over the last two decades, Turismo de Portugal has been involved in co-operation projects in this field, supporting various countries around the world, including the CPLP member countries, both by sending Portuguese trainers to schools abroad and by opening up its schools to trainers and students from other countries for training.
