I wonder how it will rank as far as the world’s tourism schools go?
This was my first thought as well... Some years ago a member of my family headed up the food preparation department of a leading hospitality training center in Jamaica... But it was a struggle to produce top-rated graduates, as the view of the government (who it was under the purview of) was that it be operated as a sort of tourism industry low-income job personnel production line... Which was the demand of the many private hoteliers.
Kind of like a tail-wagging-the-dog scenario... Albeit, in this case, over the years the tail provided 20%-30% of Jamaica's GDP.
You said... "These places should become the “Ivy Leagues” of their fields."
And that should be the goal... But the goal of Ivy League schools is to produce the top people in the workforce... Not the low-income workers... Typically, top people in the tourism industry tend to be trained in foreign institutions, not local ones... And are often foreigners.
Yet, the world of education is certainly changing, and high-level training is more easily available to all... Or should be... And governments should take the lead in propagating a best-in-class education system for the citizens they work for... Which requires that the government realize that they do work for the citizens, and not the other way around.
And I understand that not everyone is cut out to be a top-level worker... And that there aren't tens of thousands of top-level worker jobs available... But the facility should be there for those who aspire to a higher level, and unfortunately, government initiatives usually fall short in this.