Two high hotel schools have been created in the Republic of Cameroon. The Prime Minister Ephraim Inoni signed a decree creating two high schools for hotel management and tourism in the coastal resort towns of Kribi and Limbe. It is an important move for this central African country as tourism industry becomes more and more important for Cameroon. The industry could become a vital foreign exchange earner for local economy.
Facilities like these two schools are needed as the industry lacks trained professionals. In fact this is the first time ever that government has opened high schools to cater for the training of junior and intermediate professional staff. There is the school for hotel management in a Cameroon city of Ngaoundere but it trains only high level tourism management. This development should improve the situation where there are not enough junior-level personnel for hotel management positions. The lack of professionals has resulted in hotel proprietor hiring unskilled staff. This has subsequently caused poor quality of services in Cameroon hotels. The schools, however, should train not only managers but also other indispensable personnel.
The creation of the two schools is very important for the tourism industry. Nevertheless, it is not enough. There are many other problems in the country’s tourism industry that need to be dealt with. The government needs to address other related problems like the development of tourism sites, security concerns, advertisement of tourism potentials, an aggressive public relations policy as well as the development of an efficient communication and transport infrastructure. It is also necessary to deal with cases of corrupt officials who may harass visitors for bribes.
Speaking of tourism potentials, Cameroon is a colorful destination that could be very attractive for tourist. The country’s wildlife draws both safari-goers and big-game hunters. There live many of Africa"s iconic animals: cheetahs, chimpanzees, elephants, giraffes, gorillas, hippopotami, and rhinoceroses.