The Bongde Institute of Hospitality and Tourism is a 40-student hospitality school and training centre in Bhutan by the Bhutan Learning Exchange Foundation (LEF), a Dutch and Swiss NGO together with BIHT ( Bhutan). The project goal is to sustain and profit from tourism with protection of the cultural heritage and worldview of Bhutan. BIHT offers a professional “front-line” training of 40 students every year. The initiative is to tap into local knowledge and the school can guide young people (next to teaching a vocation) how they can become entrepreneurs and starting to create a structure for (social) entrepreneurship.
The school offers real guest experience, 12 hotel rooms and one restaurant where supervised students deliver quality service. The training is carried out by Lausanne Smile, a Swiss foundation set up by Mme Blanc a former professor from the Lausanne Hotel School. The additional lectures and internships guarantee real learning opportunities for the +18 years old students. This winning relationship maximises both economic and social benefits.
Learning Exchange Foundation 