- February 1982
The Macao Government launches the Tourism and Hotel School, a vocational and training unit
- September 1993
The Macao Government sets up a committee to establish a publicly run higher education institution solely focused on tourism, based on a proposal by António Salavessa da Costa (pictured), then Secretary for Communication, Culture and Tourism
- August 1995
IFT is officially established, absorbing the Tourism and Hotel School and the Macao Polytechnic Institute’s School of Tourism
- September 1995
Classes start, with just two higher diploma programmes on offer – Tourism and Hotel Management. The institute is headed by Virginia Trigo (photo)
- March 1996
The IFT logo is launched
- December 1996
The Tourism Business Management bachelor degree programme is established
- April 1997
The Institute receives the PATA Gold Award in “Education and Training” to acknowledge the quality of its programmes
- August 1998
The first IFT International Summer Programme takes place, on “Cultural Heritage as a Tourism Product”
- May 1999
The Macao-Europe Centre for Advanced Tourism Studies (ME-CATS), a partnership between IFT and the European Union, is launched
- November 1999
The Institute produces a set of English language cassette tapes for self-study learning by the city’s taxi drivers, to help them to improve their language skills
- December 1999
IFT students are requested to assist in the ceremonies of the handover of Macao to China
- March 2000
The Institute becomes the first institution accredited by the United Nations World Tourism Organization UNWTO.TedQual Certification System, which certifies tourism education
- February 2001
IFT begins producing the radio show “One Minute with IFT”, broadcast daily in Cantonese on Radio Macau and focusing on Macao’s tourism. A second season in 2002, highlights mainland China’s history and heritage
- October 2001
IFT produces a music video for the IFT Anthem
- November 2001
Fanny Vong takes the helm of IFT
- December 2001
Presentation of the first certificates under the Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System (MORS), a joint effort between the Macao tourism industry and the Institute to introduce a training and certification scheme for several job categories
- April 2002
The Institute is again presented the PATA Gold Award in “Education and Training” for having set up the “Macao Occupational Skills Recognition System” (MORS)
- September 2002
The IFT Alumni Association is officially established
- October 2003
The ‘Macao Tourism and Casino Career Centre’, jointly established by the Macao Polytechnic Institute and IFT, is inaugurated
- November 2003
The Inspiration Building is opened
- June 2004
IFT becomes a member of the Asia Pacific Tourism Association
- August 2004
The Institute becomes the first and only approved programme provider in Macao for the Wine and Spirit Education Trust (WSET)
- September 2005
IFT celebrates its 10th anniversary
- September 2005
IFT launches two new bachelor degree programmes: Heritage Management and Tourism Event Management
- June 2007
The Institute signs a partnership agreement with the Tourism Research Centre of the Chinese Academic of Social Sciences, from mainland China
- March 2008
IFT’s Pousada de Mong-Há is one of the awardees in the first edition of the Macao Green Hotel Award. It retains its accolade to this day
- December 2008
The Macao Government honours IFT with the Medal of Merit in Tourism in recognition of the Institute’s contributions to the industry
- December 2008
IFT’s two training units, the Educational Restaurant and Pousada de Mong-Há, get recommendations in the inaugural 2009 Michelin Guide Hong Kong Macau guide. They are featured in all subsequent editions of the annual guide
- September 2009
IFT launches one more bachelor degree programme: Tourism Retail and Marketing Management
- September 2009
The Taipa campus starts operations
- December 2009
The Community Education and Development Programme Training Centre, offering Macao residents access to a wide range of free basic training courses related to the service industry, opens its doors
- April 2010
IFT forms a partnership with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (Singapore Campus), to offer a Master of Hospitality Administration – Executive Programme
- September 2010
Launch of the evening bachelor degree programmes in Hotel Management and Tourism Event Management, with instruction in Chinese
- September 2010
IFT celebrates its 15th anniversary
- March 2011
The Institute starts a food waste collection programme
- September 2011
The bachelor degree programme in Culinary Arts Management is introduced
- December 2011
A group of IFT students creates the largest postcard mosaic ever recorded, a feat that qualifies for the Guinness World Records book
- September 2012
Taleb Rifai, the Secretary-General of the World Tourism Organization, visits IFT
- November 2013
The Institute receives ISO 20000 certification, the international standard for IT service management, becoming the first higher education institution in Macao and Hong Kong to get this accreditation
- November 2014
The first group of undergraduates moves into the new IFT Student Hostel