KAILUA-KONA, Hawaii — Mundus Institute of Honaunau, Hawaii, and China National Tourism Administration have agreed to launch a joint venture to utilize Mundus educational software, textbooks, and curricula in colleges, universities, and training centers throughout China. The cooperation agreement will be formally signed at a public ceremony to be held in Beijing, China on November 7. The announcement was made by Dennis Foster, chairman of Mundus Institute.
Mundus Institute, a division of Dennis L. Foster, Inc., a Hawaii corporation, was founded in 1973 and is presently the largest global developer of educational software, textbooks, and training media used in the hotel, airline, and travel industries. China Travel & Tourism Press, the publishing branch of the China National Tourism Administration, will place Mundus software in universities and colleges, and also translate textbooks authored by Dennis Foster into Chinese for publication in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. Mundus and CTTP will also cooperate in conducting on-the-job training program for hotels, airlines, and travel agencies throughout China.
According to Magiel Venema, president of Edutour B.V., a tourism education research group based in the Netherlands, approximately 900 of China’s 2,000 universities and colleges have tourism education programs, representing a market of over $30 million for Mundus intellectual properties. “With the backing of the Chinese government, Mundus software and textbooks should be in place in every university in China within two years,” Venema predicted.
Mundus is an ancient Latin word for “world.” Mundus software and textbooks are in use at more than 18,000 sites worldwide, including colleges, universities, private schools, airlines, governments, and travel distribution companies in 90 countries. Dennis Foster, who is also chairman of the board of directors of Franchise Associates International, Inc., is a well known authority on tourism technology, computer science, educational systems, business, and finance. He is the author of 35 published books on tourism and hotel management, franchise development, computers and software, and artificial intelligence.
China Travel and Tourism Press is the official publisher of software and textbooks for the hospitality and tourism fields in China. “On behalf of President He Li, we are looking forward to cooperating with Mundus,” Wang Chunfeng, assistant president of CTTP, stated from Beijing. “I hope the cooperation agreement will be signed by all parties before the upcoming Travel Symposium Asia conference in Bejing.” A public signing ceremony is planned at the conference to commemorate the joint venture.
“This historic joint venture has the potential to produce vast and rapid advances in hospitality and tourism throughout mainland China,” Dennis Foster stated. “It’s crucial in these fields to do more than merely training people to perform specific jobs. We must also help learners understand social, organizational, and technological systems; allocate resources; make effective decisions; apply technology to meaningful tasks; and work, communicate, and interact with people from culturally diverse backgrounds.”
Web:
http://www.mundus.com
http://www.travelsymposium.com
Photo Link:
Photo Caption: Dennis Foster meets with Chinese officials He Li and Wang Chunfeng at the Moana Surfrider Resort in Honolulu
[tags]Dennis Foster, Mundus Institute of Honaunau Hawaii, China Travel and Tourism Press, China National Tourism Administration, Mundus educational software[/tags]
