Share50 Years of Excellence
Fifty years ago, in the Spring of 1962, Glion Institute of Higher Education was born. At the same time, the world was entering a period of transformation that revolutionized the hospitality industry, molding it into the dynamic world of big corporate hotels, luxury dining and leisure activities we know today. At that critical turning point, Walter Hunziker and Frédéric Tissot, envisioned the future need for qualified professional managers and set out to create the finest hospitality management school in the world.
The 1960s was a remarkable decade for hospitality and the world in general. The development of highways and commercial flights made it easier to travel than ever before, triggering the massive expansion of hotel chains and tourism.
In 1962, the Club Med was just founded, Four Seasons was building its second hotel, and the Holiday Inn chain opened 800 hotels in the last 10 years. In the same year, the Beatles recorded their first album, James Bond movie became a hit, and a wave of social change was pushing the Civil Rights Movements around the world.
Glion’s creation as an international hotel school heralded in a new era recognizing hospitality education as a pathway to a professional career that could not be reached through job-experience alone. The Centre International de Glion, as it was then named, had a first cohort of 15 students and a handful of teachers.
50 years later, hospitality and tourism is the world’s largest service sector industry, employing more than 258 million people worldwide. Today, Club Med has 1.2 million clients, Four Seasons operates 86 luxury hotels in 35 countries, and Glion welcomes more than 1600 students and employs more than 100 faculty members. The founders were right, the growth of hospitality has brought innumerable opportunities to Glion’s students and graduates.
Over the years, the Alumni have grown in number filling top management positions and raising the level of hospitality management as a profession. Their professionalism has built Glion’s reputation as an institute that grows strong leadership talent as it maintains a close relationship with industry partners, alumni and students, for decades on end.
Today we celebrate the famous Glion Spirit that is going strong after half a century thanks to the dedication of Glion’s teachers, staff, alumni, students and industry partners around the world!
To 50 Years of Excellence!
Arie A.J. van der Spek
Interim CEO / Directeur Général Glion Institute of Higher Education
Credit: Alumni Association Glion
