Meeting the HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul Minister of Tourism for Thailand
Meeting the HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul Minister of Tourism for Thailand again was an incredibly emotional experience for Professor Buhalis Head of Department for Tourism and Hospitality Bournemouth University. Not only she is one of the most dynamic Tourism Ministers in the world I have ever met but she is incredibly effective and humble at the same time.
At the recent WTTC Summit she made sure that each single delegate, from Ministers from around the world to each delegate received a royal welcome to the land of smiles Thailand. All efforts resulted to the best WTTC Summit I have ever attended and the outgoing President and CEO David Scowsill and Chairman of the World Travel & Tourism Council Gerald Lawless thanked her profoundly for all her support.
She delivered such an emotional farewell speech that she made every single person in the room a passionate supporter for Thailand and its Tourism. Meeting the HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul Minister of Tourism for Thailand is an incredible leader and the best tourism global ambassador that any country can wish for.
Thank you minister for your vision and commitment and your leadership. As I explained the Department of Tourism and Hospitality Bournemouth University will support tourism in Thailand through a whole range of activities and knowledge cocreation for the benefit of all stakeholders.
— at Centara Grand and Bangkok Convention Centre.
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| HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul Minister of Tourism for Thailand with Professor Dimitrios Buhalis Bournemouth University |
HE Kobkarn Wattanavrangkul Minister of Tourism for Thailand with Professor Dimitrios Buhalis Bournemouth University
New research Eric Tchouamou Njoya and Neelu Seetaram 2017, Tourism Contribution to Poverty Alleviation in Kenya: A Dynamic Computable General Equilibrium Analysis,
Journal of Travel Research, 1–12 doi.org/10.1177/0047287517700317
Abstract
The aim of this article is to investigate the claim that tourism development can be the engine for poverty reduction in Kenya using a dynamic, microsimulation computable general equilibrium model. The article improves on the common practice in the literature by using the more comprehensive Foster-Greer-Thorbecke (FGT) index to measure poverty instead of headcount ratios only. Simulations results from previous studies confirm that expansion of the tourism industry will benefit different sectors unevenly and will only marginally improve poverty headcount. This is mainly due to the contraction of the agricultural sector caused the appreciation of the real exchange rates. This article demonstrates that the effect on poverty gap and poverty severity is, nevertheless, significant for both rural and urban areas with higher impact in the urban areas. Tourism expansion enables poorer households to move closer to the poverty line. It is concluded that the tourism industry is pro-poor.
Keywords
Kenya, tourism development, poverty, dynamic computable general equilibrium, CGE, microsimulation, Foster-Greer-Thorbecke Index
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis exceeds 20000 citations on Google Scholar making him the #3 author in the world for tourism and #1 for hospitality
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis exceeds 20000 citations on Google Scholar making him the #3 author in the world for tourism and #1 for hospitality.
https://scholar.google.co.uk/citations?user=KW2ZrvUAAAAJ&hl=en
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis Google Scholar Citations
Building resilience in Research and Knowledge Exchange
Workshop: Building resilience in Research and Knowledge Exchange 27/4/17
Professor Heather Hartwell will be delivering a workshop on April 27th 2017 that will help participants gain insight into how it is possible to build resilience in the area of Research and Knowledge Exchange.
This session will explore how it may be possible to build resilience in the area of research and knowledge exchange, where rejection for funding and from publishers is common. The speaker will offer their views of how resilience can be built and how to overcome obstacles. There will be the opportunity for discussion around the topic.
For those interested in booking onto the course, please follow the link here.
If you would like further information about the workshop, please contact Ehren Milner (emilner@bournemouth.ac.uk)
What hospital catering could learn from the prison system – BU published in the Conversation
What hospital catering could learn from the prison system – BU published in the Conversation
Prisoners eat better than hospital patients in Britain. Our research found that prisoners consume around three times more calories than patients and their diet is more in line with government nutritional recommendations. 
Eating more isn’t always healthier, but when you consider that malnutrition is a big problem in hospitals, it can be. We found that the average male hospital patient consumes just 1,184 calories a day – even though the NHS recommends 2,500. Male prisoners, however, consume an average of 3,042 calories. The situation is similar for women. Female patients consume on average 1,134 calories (the recommended amount is 1,940). But female prisoners consume 3,007 calories, on average.
The patients’ food intake was measured three days before they were discharged from hospital, so we can be fairly sure that they weren’t consuming less due to ill health. And they weren’t consuming less because they were served fewer calories. All menus could provide for dietary recommendations, but it simply wasn’t eaten.
Malnourished patients have a weakened immune system, delayed wound healing and muscle wasting. There are also psychological effects from malnutrition including apathy and depression leading to loss of morale and the will to recover. Studies have also shown that inadequate nutrition can lengthen patients’ hospital stays by 50% (an average of six days) and triple mortality rates.
Hospitals face a number of difficulties in providing high-quality food. Dishes are prepared on a tight budget. They are cooked at a central hospital kitchen and often have to travel a considerable distance to the wards. But prison food is also prepared on a tight budget and often has to travel considerable distances from the kitchen to the prison wing.
Four years of data gathering
During our four-year study, we visited four prisons for men and two for women. In each, we carefully noted how food was prepared, delivered to the prison wing and served to the prisoners. We analysed the menu and interviewed prisoners and catering staff. We conducted four hospital studies with a similar method of data collection, which helped us to assess and compare the dietary intakes of hospital patients and prisoners. Through this we were able to identify the main differences in catering.
In hospitals, kitchen staff prepare the meals and hand them to porters who complete the delivery when they have time, between doing other tasks. Once the food reaches the ward, the responsibility for serving the food is handed to nurses. The various teams have to cooperate to ensure that food is delivered while it’s still fresh. However, providing food is not the main priority of a hospital. We noted tension between catering staff, who cared about food quality, and medical staff, who didn’t consider it a priority.
Adrian Reynolds/Shutterstock.com
We found that the food prepared by hospital and prison kitchens – although not fine dining – has a similar nutritional quality and is presented in a similar manner. (Typical fare might include meat and two veg, a pudding or yogurt, and a piece of fruit.) In prison, food was transported quickly and food quality was maintained up to the point of service to the prisoners. The food arrived hot, comparatively fresh and could be consumed immediately without distractions. By contrast, hospital food was delayed between kitchen and patient.
A fragmented process
In the hospitals that we studied, getting food from the kitchen to the patient was a fragmented and badly coordinated process. Meals were often delayed and disrupted by medical ward rounds, tests and treatments.
The result of these delays? Food was left for too long in warming trolleys prior to being served. Hot food cools down and cold food warms up to the temperature of the ward. Food dries out and discolours. Meat curls and gravy congeals. Compared with prisons, the temperature, texture and appearance of food were all worse in hospitals by the time the food was served. Nutrients may also have diminished and the food became less palatable. Differences that are likely to account, at least in part, for the marked difference in intake between prisoners and patients.
But this is not inevitable. Delays could be reduced. Hospitals could adopt a more coordinated approach and have a dedicated team responsible for the preparation, delivery to the ward and service to the patient. The team responsible for catering would not have the conflicting priorities that clinical teams have. Although a few hospitals do have a dedicated catering team that delivers food directly to the patient, this is the exception, not the rule.
In many hospitals, nutrition is often an afterthought. Priority is given to medical tests and treatments and often ignores the role that food plays in improving the patient’s health. One governor told us that if meals were delayed or missed in prison there would be a riot.
Jeff Bray, Principal Academic Consumer Behaviour, Bournemouth University and Heather Hartwell, Professor, Bournemouth University
This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
– See more at: http://blogs.bournemouth.ac.uk/research/2017/04/09/what-hospital-catering-could-learn-from-the-prison-system-bu-published-in-the-conversation/?utm_source=digest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=daily#sthash.QKugEDf5.dpuf
Be a Global BUddy Leader
Be a Global BUddy Leader
Enjoy learning about different cultures, or keen to share your own culture with others?
Being part of our Global BUddies programme will give you the opportunity to do all of that, and more. Our Global BUddies programme matches new students with current students, in small groups made up of different nationalities. As a group leader, you’ll play an important part in helping our new students from the UK and overseas to settle in to life at BU, using your own experience of studying at BU to help them adjust to life at BU.
What will I be doing?
As a group leader in the programme, you will contact your assigned group before the start of term and keep in touch via email and social media until they arrive. The students in your group would be different nationalities to you and your role would be to organise activities and, importantly, encourage your group to be curious about each other’s cultures. You’ll be paired with at least one other Group Leader (a current BU student, like you) and your group will be about 15 students in total.
There will be a big social event for everyone on the programme during the week our new students arrive, followed by a series of varied events throughout the term. You’ll be expected to organise regular meetings for your group. Training workshops will be provided, where you’ll get involved in activities designed to get you talking about cultural differences.
How will I benefit from this experience?
This opportunity is open to all current students from all cultures and backgrounds, including the UK, meaning you’ll being develop a network of new friends from all over the world.
When you become a Global BUddy, we hope you will improve your understanding of cultural differences and learn how to communicate effectively with people from diverse cultural backgrounds.
This experience will build up your transferable skills, such as cultural awareness, cross-cultural communication, leadership, event planning and more – which all goes towards enhancing your employability and CV.
You can also earn credits towards the Global Talent Programme.
Where can I find out more?
Registrations close at midnight on Sunday 14 May and we will contact you within seven days. If successful, you will be invited to a training session in late May/early June.
Get more information, FAQs, and register on our webpage.
The economic of tourism at the Visitor Economy conference at Bournemouth University
The economic of tourism at the Visitor Economy conference at Bournemouth University http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/visitor-economy
It is fairly obvious that the number of tourists that visit and explore our towns have a significant impact on the economy. Places where tourists can be seen left, right and centre are bound to have a higher rate of employment of people in the tourism and hospitality industries. Understanding the tourism economy is essential in managing and maintaining sustainable visitor influx and destination appeal.
The developing world of tourism means that original models and practices need constantly to be refined. Models of tourism demand were one of the first to be developed in order to recognise what factors influence the drive of visitors in and out of certain destinations, and more recently, research has expanded into areas such as tourism competitiveness, the effects of touristic policies and taxes, as well as the econometric relationship between tourism and economic growth.
Bournemouth’s International Conference on The Visitor Economy: Strategies and Innovations taking place September 4-6th 2017 will contain presentations focused on the developments and key issues in relation to this topic. Subjects covered will include but are not limited to:
- Tourism competitiveness
- Economic models of tourism demand
- Tourism policy and taxation
- Tourism and poverty alleviation
In a buzzing world where tourism is becoming more accessible and apparent, understanding the economics of tourism is an important issue that will ensure tourism will continue to strive and develop, without damaging the economy of the destination in question. Make sure you don’t miss out on this incredible opportunity and book your tickets now.
Last date for early bird registration: 14 July 2017
- Early Bird: £345
- Full Delegate: £475
- Student Early Bird: £190
- Student: £240
http://www.bournemouth.ac.uk/visitor-economy
Graduate Maris Kuklis is MICE & Groups Account Manager at Etihad Airways
Graduate Maris Kuklis is MICE & Groups Account Manager at Etihad Airways 
He says “I studied BA (Hons) Tourism Management. Graduated in 2008. I’m working now for Etihad Airways. My degree helped to set the stage for the start of the career in business tourism. It was very relevant as offered a great choice and relevant subjects studied, to mix of people we met and made lifetime friends with some of which we are working in my day to day job. Without this course, I would not be where I am today.
Previous jobs included 
Senior Manager – UK & Europe Dubai Business Events c/o Hills Balfour 
Creative Producer and Editor, Travel and Tourism Research Association, 
Senior Marketing Executive, MICE Hong Kong Tourism Board, 
Product and Commercial Executive Cosmos Holidays.
A combination of group work, presentation and variety of subjects from finance, to accounting to small business management. As well as fantastic lecturers, the field trip to Cyprus in year 2 and wealth resources available through at the University from books to online reports. My BU experience was live changing, and motivating for my career and life in general. I was also involved in BU Athletics Club and setting up the Student Entrepreneurship Club called Business Mania.
I would advice recent graduates looking for work to:
- Talk to family and friends if they know of any job openings through friends – ask for recommendations.
- Join key industry Associations where potential employers may attend – have a business card ready.
- Gain as much work experience as possible through various paid and charity work.
- Update your CV and Linkedin Profile with most recent information – ask someone to proofread the profile. Have a professional looking headshot profile picture.
Smart Tourism and Agile Destination Management – Tuesday 11 July 2017
Bournemouth University Festival of Learning 2017
Smart Tourism and Agile Destination Management
https://smart-tourism-and-agile-destination-management.eventbrite.co.uk
Tuesday 11 July 2017 10:00 – 17:00
eTourismLab, Bournemouth University, Share Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, BH12 5BB
The internet of things, big data, wearable technology and augmented reality are just a handful of the technological innovations driving change in our business and personal lives. To stay competitive, the tourism industry needs to understand, respond and harness these opportunities. Research from BU into Smart Tourism destinations can help organisations to take advantage of new developments and strengthen both their strategies and competitiveness.
Smart systems take advantage of interconnectivity and interoperability of integrated technologies to reengineer processes and data in order to produce innovative services, products and procedures towards maximising value for all stakeholders. Smartness reengineers economies and industries, and shapes products, actions, processes and services in real-time. Agility engages different stakeholders simultaneously to optimise the collective performance and competitiveness and generate benefits for all involved in the value system. To achieve that, smart systems use innovative robust technology, the Internet of everything, cloud computing, big data, advanced data analytics, and a robust and ever expanding communications infrastructure.
Based on Smart Cities research and methodologies, a Smart Tourism Destination successfully implements smartness and agility to ensure that everybody is interconnected and processes are integrated towards value generation, through dynamic co-creation, sustainable resources and dynamic personalisation and adaptation to context. All suppliers and intermediaries, the public sector, as well as consumers and various interested parties are networked, dynamically co-producing value for everybody interconnected in the ecosystem.
Smart Tourism and Agile Destination Management
Tuesday 11 July 2017 10:00 – 17:00
eTourismLab, Bournemouth University, Share Lecture Theatre, Talbot Campus, BH12 5BB
09:30-10:00 Registration
10:00-10:30 Welcome and Smartness and Agility in Tourism
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis Head of Department Tourism and Hospitality and Director eTourismLab
10:30-12:00 Smartness and agility : technology towards a connected world
Dimitrios Buhalis and Malvika Nighojkar eTourismLab Smart Tourism: Case Study of Bournemouth
Ruth Spencer, Manager Creative & Digital, Bournemouth Borough Council Digital Transformation in Bournemouth
Sam Merrick, Digital & Social Media Consultant, Social Media Strategy for Bournemouth as a Destination
12:00-13:00 Break
13:00-14:30 Smart Business and agile innovations – Case Studies
John Marsh Oceana Hotels
Andy Gribb and Matt Lawrence, Urban Guild
Andy Lennox Koh Thai
Peter Collett, Bournemouth Pier and RockReef
14:30-15:00 Break
15:30-16:30 Smart Destinations and building agile ecosystems
Jon Weaver, Bournemouth Tourism – Smart Bournemouth
Dr Philip Alford Bournemouth University, Building digital capacity for small tourism business
16:30-17:00 Smart Futures, ways forward and conclusions
Professor Dimitrios Buhalis Head of Department Tourism and Hospitality and Director eTourismLab