Hanoi (VNA) – Sun Group on August 25 officially signed a strategic partnership with EHL Hospitality Business School (EHL) – the over 130-year-old Swiss institution often hailed as the “Harvard of hospitality education” – to jointly develop a world-class international tourism academy in Vietnam.
Accordingly, the strategic partner EHL – the world’s No. 1 education group in hotel and service management training from Switzerland – will accompany Sun Group to develop the Sun Tourism Academy (STA), in order to cultivate a generation of international-class human resources in the field of entertainment and leisure, contributing to comprehensively improving the quality of Vietnam’s tourism service industry.
With a history of more than 130 years, EHL has produced generations of top leaders and experts in the hospitality-service industry, and is known as the “Harvard of the global hospitality industry”. This group has held the No.1 position worldwide in the prestigious QS World University Rankings for Hospitality & Leisure Management for many consecutive years.
The signing ceremony marked an important milestone in the journey of developing Sun Group’s ecosystem, affirming a strong commitment to long-term investment in training and developing high-quality human resources to meet the growing demand of Vietnam’s tourism service industry, especially in hotels and entertainment.
Accordingly, the Sun Tourism Academy, with the companionship of EHL, will build training programmes according to international standards, closely linking theory, practice, and real-life experience. The academy is expected to become a pioneering model, where young Vietnamese generations can access modern knowledge, advanced technology, and global service thinking.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Nguyen Vu Quynh Anh, Deputy CEO of Sun Group and CEO of the Entertainment & Hospitality Division of the Group, affirmed that the companionship of EHL is the factor ensuring that the Sun Tourism Academy becomes an international-standard, distinctive, and high-class training centre.
Quynh Anh emphasised: “Throughout the development journey, Sun Group has always been consistent with the philosophy of creating works, products, and services with timeless imprints. But for each work to become an icon, people always play the decisive role. Therefore, we consider training and developing high-quality human resources as one of the top important missions. And the establishment of the Sun Tourism Academy is the clearest evidence of that commitment. We will accompany Vietnam’s tourism industry in training and developing a team of high-level human resources, meeting international standards while still understanding Vietnamese identity, to raise quality, and contribute to bringing Vietnam to become a leading tourism service destination in the region.”
Bao Chen, Regional Director and Head of Business Development of EHL, affirmed that the Sun Tourism Academy will nurture job opportunities for the entire Vietnam tourism service industry. (Photo: Sun Group)
From EHL’s side, Bao Chen, Regional Director and Head of Business Development of EHL, emphasised: “EHL works closely with Sun Group in this project with the ambition to build and develop a sustainable workforce, while nurturing job opportunities not only for Sun Group but also for the whole industry. This is our core goal. We also see Vietnam as having great potential for talent development and career opportunities. Therefore, this project will become a catalyst between EHL and Sun Group, contributing to both the country and the industry.”
In nearly two decades of formation and development, Sun Group has risen to become one of Vietnam’s leading private economic groups, operating in core fields: leisure travel, entertainment, luxury real estate, infrastructure investment, and finance. With the mission of “Beautifying lands,” Sun Group has created a series of iconic works, international-class tourism–resort complexes and achieved many world records such as Sun World Ba Na Hills (Da Nang), Sun World Fansipan Legend (Sa Pa), Sunset Town (Phu Quoc)... and international-class hotels managed by the world’s leading hotel brands.
For Sun Group, “Charming the lands” is not only through iconic works, but the creation of the Sun Tourism Academy also demonstrates the aspiration of “beautifying lands with knowledge.” The Sun Tourism Academy aims to train high-quality human resources in tourism–service, opening the door to sustainable jobs for local people in destinations where Sun Group sets foot, especially in remote areas. Accordingly, the Sun Tourism Academy not only provides the young generation with the baggage for international integration, but also contributes to raising the intellectual level of communities in localities.
Students at the Sun Tourism Academy will “learn by doing” right in professional environments at entertainment and resort complexes developed by Sun Group. Thanks to this, they will not only be equipped with knowledge, skills, and advanced service thinking, but also guaranteed output quality, ready to work at Sun Group’s service facilities. This will also be a supply source of international-standard human resources for the tourism–hospitality industry, contributing to raising Vietnam’s position on the global tourism and service map.
In 2024, Vietnam welcomed more than 18 million international visitors, and in just the first seven months of 2025, the number exceeded 11 million, an increase of more than 23% compared to the same period. Tourism continues to affirm itself as a spearhead economic sector, with the demand for high-quality human resources increasing, especially in hotels and services.
Therefore, the cooperation between Sun Group – EHL not only aims to meet the internal needs of Sun Group’s ecosystem but also contributes to forming a team of highly skilled human resources, “service ambassadors” of international stature, capable and courageous to spread Vietnamese pride to the world. From this foundation, the country will increasingly affirm its position as an attractive, professional, and experience-rich destination on the global tourism map./.
