John Carmichael Deputy Director National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) is a Bournemouth University graduate

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John Carmichael Deputy Director National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) is a Bournemouth University graduate : “I have had a long and varied career in tourism since graduating in 1994.   Immediately after graduation, I was taken on by the English Tourist Board (the organisation with which I did my university placement year) to work on their national tourism awards and travel trade show. On leaving that role and travelling across the United States for a short period I then worked for the Heritage Lottery Fund assessing applications for funding. From there I moved into the area of visitor attraction sales & marketing working at The White Cliffs Experience (Dover) and LEGOLAND Windsor. I then moved out of the tourism industry for a period, taking on a corporate marketing role at Yellow Pages, developing sales materials and branding for the emerging Yell.com platform. The lure of tourism brought me back to the industry and I moved into destination management and marketing at VisitBath, (as Membership Manager, then Business Development Manager) and then onto VisitBrighton where I led the city’s destination marketing for over eight years.

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I applied for my current role as  Deputy Director National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) after seeing an advert on a Tourism Alliance e-communication. Having completed the various selection procedures I was offered the role as Deputy Director of the National Coastal Tourism Academy (NCTA) in early 2016. The aims of the NCTA are to accelerate growth in the coastal visitor economy focussing on improving the visitor experience, supporting industry and bridging gaps in research for coastal tourism development. My role is to help deliver these aims through engagement with the coastal tourism communities around England and to guide the development of the Academy as we move into our next phase.

I am definitely still using the skills & knowledge gained from my degree in my current role; not least due to the fact that the NCTA is a partnership between Bournemouth Borough Council and Bournemouth University!   Throughout my career I have applied my degree learnings to my job roles – having an understanding of tourism theory, the principles of marketing and the national framework for tourism have been particularly useful.

  • Throughout my late teenage years I completed a BTEC National Diploma in Leisure Studies at my local college and tourism was a module within this course that I very much enjoyed. I had also gained some basic practical work experience in the tourism industry by working as a room attendant / tour guide at a National Trust property. As I wanted to progress my education in tourism, I looked for suitable courses and Bournemouth (Polytechnic as it was then) seemed to be the perfect place to study.   Where better to study tourism than in a great tourism destination?! Going into the course I just wanted to increase my knowledge and understanding of the tourism business world, with the hope that it would lead me into a career than I enjoyed and found interesting. It soon became apparent that choosing Bournemouth as a place to study tourism was a wise move; several of my lecturers were clearly academic leaders in this industry having published papers and books on various aspects of tourism.
  • My course was varied.   In the early 1990’s there were very few places in the UK to study tourism so it was good to be part of something ‘unique’. The course itself covered several core disciplines including marketing, law, finance etc. but each of these were tailored to the tourism industry. In addition to these core disciplines were more specialist subjects embracing different aspects of tourism. The mix of the two was great. Like many others, going to university was the first time I had lived away from my family home. Living and studying by the sea provided something special that you simply couldn’t get inland. As a holiday destination Bournemouth provided everything you could want as a student; a friendly atmosphere, plenty of things to do and lots of places to eat, drink and dance!

My experience at Bournemouth University provided the ‘bedrock’ from which to build my career in tourism. Leaving university with a solid theoretical knowledge of tourism disciplines helped me greatly in my first jobs after my degree. I was fortunate enough to be given a job immediately after my graduation by the organisation at which I did my placement year, so the University provided my first ‘proper’ job too! Being from the Midlands studying in a town that had an amazing beach was very exciting! Bournemouth and Poole are towns that are great to get around by bike too, so I enjoyed exploring the area on two wheels.   The countryside around Bournemouth is also beautiful and gave great opportunities to explore whether on foot, bike or by public transport. I enjoyed the seasonality in Bournemouth too, whilst there were never many really cold winters it was always good to feel spring in the air and know that summer days were on their way!

My degree is definitely relevant to my current job and has been relevant to many of my job roles throughout my career. Since graduation, I have now worked in the tourism industry for over 20 years and I still recognise the role my university studies played in my life. Particularly in the early stages of my career, having a tourism degree gave me a certain level of confidence in that I knew that I had a good knowledge to build upon. To me, the benefits of the course after graduating were holistic in nature. Having a mix of theoretical and practical knowledge (through my work placement year) provided me with ‘tools to work with’ in developing my career.  It may be a cliché, but my years at Bournemouth University were probably the happiest of my life!

At university I participated in a number of sporting teams and developed new friendships outside of my course network as a result which made my university experience more rounded. Whilst studying for my degree I continued to work at a visitor attraction in the summer months and offered my support to the marketing department in my free time; this enabled me to put into practice some of the things I learnt on my course. In one sentence please sum up your experience of Bournemouth University. It may be a cliché, but my years at Bournemouth University were probably the happiest of my life! Have you gone on to do any further study since graduating from BU? Since graduating from Bournemouth University I have completed various professional marketing courses.

I would advice recent graduates to take the opportunity to gain experience in whatever way you can. Do not be deterred from taking a job in an organisation / industry area that you want to work in if it is a short-term contract or part-time position. As someone who has moved into senior management and involved in recruiting staff, I always look for those graduates who have taken the opportunity to gain experience in whatever way they can. When applying for a job take time to show how the knowledge and skills you have developed at university can help the organisation you are applying to.   Be specific, open and honest; show your willingness to be flexible and continued desire to develop and learn.

Irena Paszkiewicz represents BU students at 2016 LARASA World Leisure Congress in South Africa

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Irena Paszkiewicz represents BU students at 2016 LARASA World Leisure Congress in South Africa

conferences, Global engagement, international, student research, Uncategorized

MSc Irena Paszkiewicz (Faculty of Management) was representing BU students at the first World Leisure Congress on the African continent which was hosted by the Leisure and Recreation Association of South Africa (LARASA) in Durban, from 27 – 30 June 2016. Bournemouth University was also represented by two members of academic staff, Dr. Lenia Marques and Dr. Dorothy Fox.

pic1The aim of the 2016 WLO Congress was to explore “Challenges, Choices and Consequences” by creating a platform for professionals from diverse fields to interact, share and present a context for leisure services and opportunities. Speakers and delegates represented many countries, communities and academic fields. The benefits of leisure has been widely documented and the congress highlighted the importance of an integrated approach using leisure services to improve the human condition, transform spaces and boost the econpic2omy (www.larasa.org.za).

Irena presented her MSc research, supervised by Dr. Lorraine Brown, with the topic “Food as a Leisure Social Practice among Polish Immigrants in the UK’, receiving positive feedback. The event also served as a good platform for Irena to increase her network around these topics (in the photo, Irena with Maliga Naidoo – President of Larasa and Chair of 2016 WLO Congress and Prof. Miklos Banhidi, responsible for many youth-related projects worldwide).

pic4Another important part of the experience, was the interaction with the international field school (with students from South Africa, Canada, Brazil and The Netherlands) about the Green Hub Project in Inanda Dam. The project involved a range of cultural tourism and ecotourism products in the area. The field school students, hosted by the Durban Grpic3een Corridor (DGC), organization that offers adventure and eco tours along the uMngeni River Valley, presented their recommendation for the Inanda community development at the congress.

Finally, on the 2nd of July Irena visited Durban July Races, a very colourful and important event in South Africa. This allowed the close involvement to research and data collection of a project lead by Dr Lenia Marques on the social dimensions of the event experience.

Altogether, it was a very challenging and valuable experience which hopefully will add to Irena’s future research work, but also professional and personal skills. This professional journey was only possible with the support of Global Horizons Fund from Bournemouth University.

(text by Irena Paszkiewicz)

ITT Research Student of the Year 2016 is again going to a Bournemouth University student : Well done Sarah Pyke

Posted . Filed under Featured, Research, Student Experience.

Another year with awards for Bournemouth University Department of Tourism and Hospitality students awards by the Institute of Travel and Tourism. ITT Research Student of the Year 2016 is again going to one of our students. Sarah Pyke pictured here with supervisor Professor Heather Hartwell.
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The award was presented at the annual ITT Summer Party on 20th July held on the Terrace at the Houses of Parliament. A fantastic evening and amazing opportunity to network with senior industry figures and the other award winners.

Tourism Research Seminar: Prof Metin Kozak :Consumer behaviour and travel narratives: implications for tourism research and Dr Dilya Woodward : Development of Digital Tourism Platform for Kazakhstan

Posted . Filed under Guest speakers, Research.

Wednesday 27th July 11:00-13:00 CREATE LT Fusion Building BH125BB
 
Welcome to Professor Metin Kozak, Dokuz Eylul University, Turkey to the Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Bournemouth University. He will spend two months with us working with Professor Dimitrios Buhalis on a research project funded by the Turkish government The Establishment of Joint Cross-border Destination Marketing. The study objectives include 1) the identification of potential instruments/organisations taking place in a cross-border collaborative destination marketing between Greece and Turkey; 2) suggesting solutions for any possible barriers that may hinder a successful implementation of cross-border collaborative destination marketing; and 3) the discussion of possible benefits/advantages for both parts in order to be successful for marketing in international tourism.
 
Metin is a specialist in quality management, benchmarking, destination management and marketing, consumer behaviour, competitiveness, and branding. He holds a Bachelor’s degree from Cukurova University (Turkey), Master’s from Dokuz Eylul University (Turkey) and Ph.D. from Sheffield Hallam University (UK); all relating to tourism and hospitality management. He has published a wider range of articles in top-tier journals such as (i.e. Annals, TM, JTR, IJHM, Cornell Quarterly, JTTM), conference papers in more than 40 countries and books released by Elsevier, Routledge, CABI, Emerald, Cambridge Scholars Publishing among others. He is the co-editor of Anatolia and serves an editorial board member of over 25 journals including Annals, JTR, JTTM, JBR and TA. In addition, he was a Research Fellow in 2005-2006 at the University of Namur (Belgium) and as Visiting Professor at Hong Kong Polytechnic University (Hong Kong SAR).kozak
 
He is involved in several tourism-based national and international research projects, particularly with his partners based in Europe and the US. Developing such partnerships has resulted in publishing quality journal papers, conference presentations and book chapters. As of September 2015, his works have received over 300 citations in ISI-referenced journals and over 6,000 citations counted by Google Scholar. Recently, he was ranked among the top 25 prolific tourism researchers in terms of the number of publications from 1985 to 2004 (Zhao & Ricthie, 2007) and from 2000 to 2009 (Park, Phillips, Cantr & Abbott, 2011). He was also ranked among the top 50 prolific scholars in terms of the frequency of cited articles (McKercher, 2008). He was elected as the Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism (Hong Kong) and Tourist Research Centre (Austria).
 
In addition we will have the pleasure of a seminar by Dr Dilya Woodward (Associate Professor, Faculty of Tourism and Recreation Geography, Department of Geography and Environmental Sciences, Al-Farabi Kazakh National University, Almaty Kazakhstan) who will also speak on the Development of Digital Tourism Platform for Kazakhstan.

Kara Birrell graduated from Bournemouth University to become the General Manager at the Passford House Hotel at the New Forest

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Kara Birrell graduated from Bournemouth University to become the General Manager at the Passford House Hotel at the New Forest. Kara says “I studied Hotel, Catering and Institutional Management at Bournemouth University.  I am now the General Manager of the Passford House Hotel, a 50 bedroomed Country House Hotel in Lymington. My studies gave me a great grounding to the basics of hotel management.  It was great to get hands on experience in both the kitchen and the Thomas Hardy restaurant.  The accountancy part of my course still rings true to this day when I’m working with chefs and managers with regards to costings and GP targets. The course was varied and interesting, never boring, just like the industry itself!  I very much enjoyed the varied aspect of this course, especially the mix between hands on learning and learning in the class room.  I also got a great deal out of my placement in outside catering.

KARADuring the course I had too many part time jobs in hotels (3 different ones to be precise!) to pay for my time at Uni to have time for much else. The course gave me great confidence when I stepped into the real world of employment.  I was very lucky to have worked with the Roux brothers restaurant manager in the Thomas Hardy restaurant, I found this hands on coaching from a professional in the industry priceless with my first position as Restaurant Manager at the Master Builders House Hotel in Bucklers Hard.

I would suggest to recent graduates to go into a new position at ground level, and work your way up, don’t expect to walk straight into a management position.  It is a much easier way to understand the business and the team in place, it is very hard to manage a team of staff if you don’t fully understand their jobs, what is expected of them and what hurdles they face.  I also feel you will get a greater respect from your team if you have proved that you are happy to muck in with the team and get your hands dirty when needed.

 

Stuart David completes his BA in International Hospitality Management at Bournemouth University and reflects on his global experience

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usa16Stuart David completes his BA in International Hospitality Management at Bournemouth University and reflects on his global experience

Back in 2012, choosing to study International Hospitality Management at Bournemouth University was a long and difficult decision to make, however the progression and transition from School to University was smooth. The first year program included a variety of new and interesting topics naturally following on from my A-level studies.

In my second year of study, I was offered the chance to study abroad in the US on the semester exchange program, something that always appealed to me. The opportunity to experience the ‘college culture’ of Montclair State University is something that I shall remember for the rest of my life.

Choosing such an internationally focused degree, the chance to take place in the exchange program seemed a natural advancement, enhancing my learning experience. International Services, both in Bournemouth and Montclair helped make the whole experience enjoyable and stress free, allowing me to enjoy everything that Montclair and New York had to offer. The semester abroad Exchange Program is something that I would recommend to anyone, as it improved my university experience, made friends with people from all around the world and had the opportunity to travel. usa9_n

The mixture between academic teaching, practical application, international travel and industry exposure has given me the best possible start to my career in the Hospitality Industry. Reflecting back at my 4 years at Bournemouth University, I have learnt countless skills, made friends for life and ultimately increased my confidence in all aspects.

TMI Annual Convention taking place on 11-12 October in Bournemouth.

Posted . Filed under Featured, Guest speakers, News, Research, Student Experience.

TMI Annual Convention taking place on 11-12 October in Bournemouth.

Booking is now open for this year’s Annual Convention taking place on 11-12 October in Bournemouth.  Join us totourism-management-institute learn more about working with OTAs, hear the experiences of those who have run BIDs, and get insights into the latest tourism research/trends and the tourism landscape post Referendum. A range of activities are hosted and facilitated by Bournemouth University Department of Tourism and Hospitality.

Confirmed speakers include:
• Bernard Donoghue, Chair of the Tourism Alliance – Tourism post Referendum
• Tim Gardiner MBE, Chair of Tourism for All – Accessible tourism
• Tom Moore and Jowanna Conboye, Stephens Scown Solicitors – all you need to know about data protection
• David Gardner, Partnership Manager, GWR – packaging rail with attractions/accommodation and case studies
• Andrew Daines, VisitFlanders – Increasing the economic value of tourism to Flanders – how visitors are inspired and working with partners including carriers and OTAs to deliver an economic impact
• Samantha Richardson, Coastal Tourism Academy – Coastal Tourism in 2016 – Turning the Tide – new research findings highlighting the opportunities for tourism growth in coastal destinations
• Amanda Lumley, Destination Plymouth – Mayflower 400 – working in partnership with destinations in the UK, US and Holland and aspirations for 2020 and the legacy for UK tourism
• Cathrin Wurst, Hilton Bournemouth Hotel – Hilton Hotels Loyalty Programme
Early Bird rates for TMI members start at £97.50 plus VAT  and we are once again offering a special guest rate so that you can bring a non member colleague from your team or organisation. Book now to secure the best rates for the convention, and accommodation at the new Hilton hotel or next door Hampton by Hilton.

Brexit Andrew Bateman FTMI reflects
It’s been a couple of weeks since the nation narrowly voted for Brexit and the political fallout has been both rapid paced and quite astonishing.  A bit like living and breathing a national soap opera.  No doubt the headlines will settle down as the major political parties settle out their leaderships and the agenda moves on to more technical stuff like triggering Article 50 and international trade agreements.  As Visit Britain have recently highlighted, British tourism is currently in a good place, with strong performance in the domestic and international markets.  And as international tourism tends to be more heavily influenced by exchange rates, the ability of visitors to enter countries easily and perceived welcome, rather than the level of trade agreement tariffs that other service and product exporters may have to contend with, then there is no reason why there shouldn’t be optimism for the future. However, whilst the level of demand for domestic and international visits should hold up, there could be an impact on levels of investment in our tourism product if capital flows are constrained and there is a loss of confidence from investors and developers.  The tourism and hospitality sector’s reliance on freedom of movement of workers is also a key issue, particularly in light of negotiations around access to the EU single market.  There’s no doubt that politicians need to provide clarity as soon as possible so that we have more certainty to plan.

The implications of Brexit will be featured at the TMI Annual Convention , 11-12 October, and it will be fascinating to gauge local impacts, debate the known unknowns, and maybe by then we may be a bit clearer on the unknown unknowns!

Anuschka Heid is studying on the MSc in Tourism Management and Marketing at Bournemouth University

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Heid_Anuschka_pic-408d29e010246d969e98580df0cc5432Anuschka Heid is a German student studying on the MSc in Tourism Management and Marketing at Bournemouth University . She is explaining her experience this year: ” The things I enjoy the most about this programme are the various insights into the tourism and hospitality industry we get through collaborations with organisations and also through field trips. Besides, studying in a group of mostly international students from all over the world is a fascinating experience. I chose Bournemouth University because of its good reputation in tourism studies and also because of its location in the south of England and on the coast. My course provides a thorough insight and understanding of the tourism and hospitality industry with a particular focus on the challenges and opportunities arising from the shift towards managing and advertising organisations in an online and digital environment. I am convinced that the projects and studies we work on as our coursework will give me a more “hands-on” education and valuable experience of an actual working environment which will eventually make me more employable.

My BU experience has been amazing. I am looking back at a fantastic year where I met so many different and immensely interesting people, made new friends for live and learned a lot about things I had no idea of before. Overall, I can say that BU has broadened my horizons and I would not want to miss a single day of my experience at this university. If you are interested in learning about tourism and enjoy an almost family-like study experience BU is definitely a great choice for you. Besides my studies I have also been working as a Student Ambassador which has been an incredible experience. They offer lots of different specialist roles (like working with primary or secondary school pupils) that help you to acquire new skills. Also, SUBU offers a bunch of volunteering opportunities that you can participate to make your free time count, learn new things and make friends.