By Dr. Susan Tinnish, Dean of the School of Hospitality Management

Walter Vasconcelos, the director of marketing for the Brazilian Tourism Board recently announced that 147 new hotels will open in the country in time to host World Cup travelers. Brazil will host the 2014 FIFA World Cup, a 30-day soccer tournament that will travel to 12 cities in Brazil.

Sixteen major global brands will be represented including Sofitel, Hilton and Marriott. Brazil also has invested US $16.5 billion to build seven new stadiums, expand airports, and enhance transportation and telecommunications. Most of the stadiums that will host the games are equipped with green technology, including seven that use solar power as an energy source.

Why is this news important to Kendall’s School of Hospitality Management and Kendall students?

Five things to take away from this article:

1. This infrastructure expansion demonstrates the importance of hotels to support tourism.  This event will trigger an expansion of hotels and hotel jobs which is directly tied to two of our concentrations – Hotel Lodging and Food & Beverage concentrations.
2. This event verifies the importance of sports as business, which will be showcased in our new Sports Management concentration.
3. The supporting infrastructure necessary to sponsor an event is enormous – in terms of jobs and economic impact.  Event management is a concentration at Kendall as well as a focus on events certain classes within the Sports Management concentration.
4. The emphasis on environmental resource use (solar power, green technology) demonstrates the need for hospitality sector and events to be more focused on sustainability – the center of another Kendall concentration, Sustainable Management in Hospitality and Tourism.
5. Destination marketing associations are another source of career opportunities in the hospitality industry such as the Brazilian Tourism Board, Choose Chicago or the DuPage Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Hospitality is a global business with opportunities in the United States and throughout the world.  We are excited to watch the situation unfold in Brazil as it plans both the World Cup and the 2016 Olympics.

Source:  Edelstein, L. (2013).  Brazil to Open 147 New Hotels Before FIFA World Cup 2014.  Meetings & Conventions May 15, 2013.  Retrieved May 15, 2013 from http://www.meetings-conventions.com/article_ektid54742.aspx?cid=eltrMidWeek.