Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism Hosts BU Tourism Futures Forum at World Travel Market 2012
Once again, Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism experts organise the BU Tourism Futures Forum at World Travel Market 2012. Chaired by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis the forum will engage leading tourism practitioners from around the world on an interactive discussion to examine the future of tourism.
The global challenges and opportunities for both tourism destinations and suppliers around the world require innovation in management and operations, calling for a major rethinking of both strategic and tactical Tourism Management. The Tourism Futures Forum will provide an insight into the future dimensions of the tourism industry. It examines major trends in tourism demand and supply and explores the strategic changes that lead to the international tourism industry restructuring.
Bournemouth University in partnership with the World Travel Market and the TravelDailyNews are organising this forum to facilitate debate about the key strategic changes and to engage in a discussion about the successful response of the industry. The event will involve two short research-based presentations to stimulate discussion. Chairman Prof Dimitrios Buhalis will encourage all participants to contribute to the debate and discussion.
There will be a brief presentation from Jean-Claude Baumgarten World Tourism Travel Council (WTTC) before the forum opens for discussions. Confirmed Panellists for the forum currently include:
The Honourable Mr. Stephen Cadiz Minister of Tourism for Trinidad and Tobago
Nicolas Hall, SE1media
Barbara Avdis, Historic Hotels of Europe
Gerard Brown, UBM Aviation, Routes UK
Sofia Panayiotaki, Mediacofss
Claire Steiner The Institute of Travel and Tourism
Chairman of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation
Theodore Koumelis, TravelDailyNews
Steve Page Bournemouth University
Philip Alford Bournemouth University
The Forum takes place on Thursday 8th 14.00-16.00 in the South Gallery Room 19 & 20.
The event is FREE by registration on http://buatwtm.eventbrite.co.uk/
You will need to have access to World Travel Market – Please register in advance http://www.wtmlondon.com/
Read MoreThe Director of the UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Department confirms his attendance at the International Conference on ‘Tourism, Climate Change and Sustainability’ (13-14 September) at Bournemouth University
We are delighted to inform that Mr Luigi Cabrini, the Director of the Sustainable Development of Tourism Programme of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has confirmed his attendance at the conference.
The Sustainable Tourism Programme contributes to one of the strategic goals of the UNWTO with special focus on the Millennium Development Goals.
The Programme undertakes research, develops manuals and provides guidance and training to the Member States and other tourism stakeholders on sustainable tourism policies and their application to tourism destinations.
Its specific areas of work include: green economy, climate change, biodiversity, poverty alleviation, cultural and natural heritage and their relations with tourism.
More information can be found on the UNWTO Sustainable Development of Tourism website.
For more information on the international conference please visit: www.bournemouth.ac.uk/climatechange2012
Read MoreBournemouth University School of Tourism and the National Costal Tourism Academy
On Tuesday 13th August Eric Pickles, MP, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced the allocation of a Coastal Communities Fund grant to the National Coastal Tourism Academy in Bournemouth. The grant of £2 million will create the world’s only specialist coastal tourism academy, with the aim to turn local expertise into knowledge to share with towns across the country and internationally.
Bournemouth was chosen due to its unique position in the tourism industry. Eric Pickles said: “We want Bournemouth to be a catalyst in development. The town already has the infrastructure and resources like Bournemouth University specialising in tourism for this to be a success and to be able to communicate to struggling towns.”
Pickles continued “Bournemouth is a lively and modern coastal resort, but the introduction of this unique and innovative academy could raise its status to one of global significance. Like all good ideas”, I’m astonished it hadn’t been thought of before.”
Professor Alan Fyall, Dr Philip Alford and Dr Philip Long from the School of Tourism worked with Bournemouth Borough Council in ensuring a strong and successful bid emerged.
The School of Tourism will receive a large proportion of the grant and there will be many opportunities for School of Tourism staff to engage with the project, work with the local tourism sector and generate data and research for peer-review journal publications.
Under the Bournemouth and Poole Joint Tourism Management Board, the Academy will be a combined project involving Bournemouth University, Bournemouth County Council and members of the Poole and Bournemouth Tourism industry. In addition to the economic benefits, Dr Keith Wilkes, Dean of the School of Tourism at Bournemouth University has been celebrating the opportunities the project will bring: “Bournemouth will be host to the first specialist Coastal Tourism Academy anywhere in the world – reflecting Bournemouth’s status as a major coastal tourism destination and the School of Tourism’s national and international reputation as a centre of research excellence and major provider of tourism, hospitality and event management undergraduate and postgraduate education”.
The National Coastal Tourism Academy is a ground breaking knowledge transfer institution, designed to accelerate tourism growth. The project shall be split into three growth initiatives: a Coastal Activity Park, a resort wide visitor experience programme and coastal tourism product research and development programme. Within the next few years, the National Coastal Tourism Academy will provide world-class educational and professional training to coastal tourism businesses, as well as producing a central sharing database and communications link for teams and individuals looking to expand their knowledge or businesses.
Read MorePhD Success for Maeve Marmion
Last week, after a successful defence of her thesis, Maeve Marmion was awarded her PhD subject to some minor amendments.
Maeve’s PhD titled “Understanding Heritage: Multiple Meanings and Values”, aimed to explore the ways in which people understand and value heritage through a focus on the lay rather than the expert view.
Maeve conducted focus groups for her research into the lay perspective of heritage in order to compliment the academic and industry definitions of heritage that already exist.
Maeve intends to disseminate her findings through conference papers and journal articles, and she aims to develop her research into interpretations of heritage by targeting a different population from that used in her doctoral study.
She is also intending to publish a journal article on the practical use and pitfalls of focus groups research.
Lorraine Brown , Masters framework leader, who was the 3rd supervisor on Maeve’s PhD commented that “Maeve gave an excellent defence of her thesis, and was passionate and engaging throughout” Maeve was further praised for how well written her thesis was.
For anyone interested in undertaking a PhD at Bournemouth University School of Tourism please click here.
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Greek Euro crisis, does it mean a cheap holiday?
With Greece in the news recently regarding their position in the Euro, Professor John Fletcher, Director, International Centre for Tourism & Hospitality Research at BU discusses the effects of this on tourism with the potential of cheaper holidays.
Prof Fletcher said: ‘The economic crisis has already had a dramatic effect on tourism in Greece with the industry’s contribution to the Greek national economy falling significantly from its 2007/8 high. The current situation is a double-edged sword in that the strong £1 means that the tourist offer in Greece is more attractive than it has been for many years, not so much in terms of the cost of the packages, but in terms of the tourists’ spending once they arrive – things are currently much cheaper!
’However, its not all olives and sunshine – first, attracting more tourists can create greater environment and social stresses without bringing in greater revenue if it attracts tourists that are spending less per head. To add to this, the civil unrest witnessed recently tends to deter tourists from travelling to places that are perceived to have an enhanced level of risk – even though the unrest tends to be confined to the urban areas rather than the tourist resorts which are well away from the protest areas – but tourists still find such events unsettling and there are alternative destinations they can go to where the perceived risks are not so high. Finally, the Euro crisis in part being driven by the turmoil in Greece can have major repercussions on the UK economy which is already hurting from the global financial crises. This means that UK tourists may travel less often in the next year or two until matters are stabilised and this could add further pressures to faltering Greek economy. The end result is that the Greek tourist industry is likely to be in for a roller coaster ride over the next few years.’
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