Created in 1988, Excelia, first located in La Rochelle, France, has a solid presence in the local region but also on an international level, supported by a major network of partner universities and companies both within France and worldwide. It has also widened its national presence with two more campuses, in Tours and Orléans.

The Group is independent and autonomous in its decision-making as well as being multidisciplinary and multi-campus, and today boasts 5 different schools, sharing a strong identity, focusing on employability and responsibility. 

It includes Excelia Business School, Excelia Tourism School, Excelia Digital School, Excelia Academy and Excelia Executive Education.

Since 2007, Excelia has been a member of the Conférence des Grandes Écoles, an association grouping some forty State-recognised Management Schools. Membership is based on stringent criteria relating to the school’s structure, recruitment methods, pedagogical approach, international dimension, relationship with the corporate world, student support and guidance, and the type of qualifications on offer.

Excelia Business School is AACSB, Equis and AMBA accredited, boasting the so called triple crown only held by 1% of business schools worldwide.

For students and parents, this is a guarantee that the School is delivering high quality education. For businesses, it is proof that the School’s graduates are competent. It also benefits all stakeholders (graduates, local authorities, partners etc.) by confirming the School’s strength and commitment as well as promoting the local region.

In 2009, Excelia Tourism School obtained UNWTO.TedQual certification for all of its programmes, the first French school of tourism to have done so. This ensures that the School is recognised in the tourism industry on an international level. The UNWTO.TedQual Certification System, created in 1999 by the World Tourism Organization with the support of the United Nations, is a quality assurance system for high-level education and training in the tourism, hospitality and the food and beverage industries. It is based on the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism and establishes standards of quality and excellence in education, training, savoir-faire and social skills at an international level. Its criteria also include research and teaching in tourism management and hotel management.