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Chiang Mai University Launches INNO4Tourism Curriculum to Enhance Tourism Workforce Skills for Sustainability

23 September 2025
College of Art, Media and Technology
The INNO4Tourism – Innovative Curricula for Lifelong Learning of Sustainable Tourism Workforce project, funded by the European Union (EU) and supported by the College of Arts, Media and Technology, Chiang Mai University, has officially been launched under the Erasmus+ Program Capacity Building in Higher Education (CBHE Action). The three-year project (December 1, 2023 – November 30, 2026) is a collaboration between the Department of Tourism, Faculty of Humanities, the College of Arts, Media and Technology, the Faculty of Education, and the CMU School of Lifelong Education, aiming to strengthen the skills of the tourism workforce towards sustainability.
The launch event was presented over by Asst. Prof. Dr. Orawit Thinnukool, Head of the INNO4Tourism Project, along with the CMU team and Asst. Prof. Dr. Yuthasak Chatkaewnapanon, Project Manager, representing Chiang Mai University. The event gathered representatives from government and private organizations, including the Tourism Council of Chiang Mai, the Association of Northern Tourism Federation of Chiang Mai, the Chiang Mai Guide Association, as well as entrepreneurs, hotel and restaurant businesses, and enrolled students from the project’s courses.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Worawit Janchai, Dean of the College of Arts, Media and Technology, gave the welcome remarks, followed by Assoc. Prof. Dr. Suthida Chamrat, Deputy Director of the CMU School of Lifelong Education, who gave the opening remarks and introduced the CMU Lifelong Education Platform. This platform serves as a key mechanism for promoting lifelong learning in the digital era, especially the eight courses and 16 modules developed under the INNO4Tourism project to strengthen competencies for tourism and hospitality workforce.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Pattaraporn Khuwuthyakorn, Project manager of INNO4Tourism, presented the eight new courses comprising 16 modules. These modules were developed collaboratively by academic staff from four leading universities in Southeast Asia, together with experts from the European Union in Italy and Greece, focusing on sustainable tourism for entrepreneurs in Tourism and Hospitality sector. The curricula emphasize the integration of innovation, technology, and modern management to equip learners with future-ready skills that align with the dynamic of the tourism and hospitality industries.
The event also featured a workshop on “Resource management and Carbon Footprint in Hotels”, part of the course 1 - Sustainable Operations and Management in the Hospitality and Tourism, module 2 Resource management in Hospitality industry in this project, delivered by project instructors trained under the ToT Programe, and guest lecturer Mr. Naris Lapsunthornphiphak, an expert from BSI Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd.. There were more than 40 participants including entrepreneurs, business owner and employees, joined the training via enrolled the course through the CMU School of Lifelong Learning platform. The module aims to enhance the capacity of tourism entrepreneurs to transition towards environmentally friendly practices.
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