A public Montréal institute founded in 1968 that trains students in tourism, hotel management and restaurant services.
The Institut de tourisme et d'hôtellerie du Québec (ITHQ) is a public institution located at 3535, rue Saint-Denis in Montréal. Its mission is to provide high-calibre training in tourism, hotel management and restaurant services, and to conduct research, provide technical assistance, produce information and provide services in this field. The ITHQ describes its vision as a hotel school of international calibre, unique in Canada.
The Government of Quebec founded the ITHQ in 1968 to develop the province's tourism and hotel industry, replacing the École des métiers commerciaux. Paul-Émile Lévesque was its first director general. In 1988 the Government of Quebec adopted the Loi sur l'ITHQ, making it a state corporation administered by representatives of the tourism, hotel and restaurant industry. In 2018 the GastronomiQc Lab, a joint research unit with Université Laval, was launched.
The ITHQ offers 24 study programs specialized in the hospitality field. It is the only school in Canada offering professional, technical and university programs under the same roof. The ITHQ became the first institution in Quebec accredited by the Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) to offer its intermediate-level training. It has 2 research units, in Quebec gastronomy and customer experience.
The ITHQ has 21 000 m² of premises and about 1 500 students, with 300 staff members including 110 professors. It operates one teaching hotel, described as unique in the country, and two teaching restaurants. Facilities include a student café, an experimental kitchen, sensory analysis and food science laboratories, and a culinary demonstration room. The teaching hotel offers high-speed Wi-Fi, indoor parking, and a gastronomic bar and restaurant.