Tourism and Hospitality

BU academic at United Nations expert meeting

Posted November 12, 2013. Filed under News.

Dr Maharaj Vijay Reddy from the School of Tourism was one of very few speakers invited to an Expert Group Meeting on ‘Sustainable Tourism: Ecotourism, Poverty Reduction and Environmental Protection’, at the United Nations Secretariat, New York (29-30 October 2013). This expert group meeting was organised by the United Nations Division for Sustainable Development.

Vijay’s presentation was on the topic of planning for sustainable tourism, and highlighted six emerging global challenges in sustainable tourism.

The UN General Assembly, at its 67th session (2012-2013), adopted a resolution on the promotion of ecotourism for poverty eradication and environmental protection, which further elaborated on the close linkages and potential for ecotourism to contribute to poverty alleviation and sustainable development. In this regard, the United Nations invited the UN system and other relevant international organizations, the public sector, private companies and other stakeholders to create capacity for well managed ecotourism with minimal negative environmental and cultural impacts, through dissemination of good practice, tools and guidelines. The conclusions and recommendations emanating from this meeting will be of value to UN member states aiming to develop eco-tourism potentials, including, among others, Small Island Developing States as well as other countries with coastal, mountainous or forest, lake or desert tourism resources.

Vijay commented that “the meeting was a big success and it concluded well. The participants of this expert group meeting delivered many cutting-edge presentations addressing the global challenges and the opportunities that sustainable tourism offers. The key areas we discussed at the UN include: the need for global engagement, the situation of Small Island Developing States and LDCs, developing the market for sustainable tourism services, assessing socio-economic benefits, employment generation and poverty reduction from sustainable tourism and initiatives related to Green Economy transition”.

The organisations represented include the World Bank (IBRD, IFC), UNWTO, UNEP, the European Commission, UNESCO, the World Trade Organisation and representatives from China, Costa Rica, India, Indonesia, Isl. Rep of Iran, Madagascar, Morocco, Samoa (Pacific Islands), Rep. of Korea, Thailand, or Southern Europe and the Caribbean region. The experts attended the UN NY expert group meeting aim to continue working together to advance sustainable tourism goals.

BU Lecturer wins ‘Best Emerging Presenter’ award

Posted November 12, 2013. Filed under News.

Congratulations to Emma Kavanagh, Lecturer in Sport Psychology and Coaching Sciences, who has been awarded the prestigious Celia Brackenridge Prize for the best emerging presenter at the Brunel International Research Network for Athlete Welfare (BIRNAW) Symposium at Brunel University. BIRNAW is a group of international researchers who are working together to promote athlete welfare through research and consultancy. The work conducted by the group focuses on investigating the antecedents, prevalence and consequences of abusive relationships in sport. The symposium brought together leading academics from around the world to present the latest research in the area.

The prize was awarded on the basis of Emma’s two presentations at the event. The first introduced a conceptual framework for understanding virtual maltreatment in sport and the second introduced a humanization framework for enhancing understanding of athlete welfare.

Receiving the award is great achievement given that the symposium consists of the leading researchers worldwide in the area of athlete welfare.

Winner of International PhD Student Competition

Posted November 7, 2013. Filed under News, Research.

We are proud to announce that Barbara Neuhofer, who is one of ST’s excellent PhD students and also won the ITT PhD Student of the Year 2013 Award, has been selected as one of the winners for the International PhD Student Competition 2013.

The School of Management, University of South Australia will host 15 of the top PhD students from around the world to participate in a forum on the future of management in the 21st Century in Adelaide, Australia from 11th – 13th November 2013. After receiving 107 entries from 33 countries, 15 winners have been chosen through a rigorous selection process by a panel of academic experts.

Barbara will depart on her trip this Friday 8^th November to participate in the forum, network with academics and strengthen the existing collaboration between Bournemouth University and the University of South Australia. While Barbara is in Australia, she will also take the opportunity to visit and meet academics at the University of Wollongong and the University of New South Wales.

Barbara said: “I feel very honored to have been selected as one of the winners in the competition to travel to Adelaide and participate in the interdisciplinary management forum. It will be a fantastic opportunity to share my PhD research and discuss cutting-edge management issues of the 21^st century with other top PhD researchers in the field and visit a total of three Australian universities for networking and future collaboration. I look forward to a great experience.”

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis as Barbara’s supervisor, commented “I am delighted that Barbara was selected through tough competition to participate in this sponsored workshop. This is a recognition of the excellent work that Barbara is doing for her PhD and is well deserved. I am delighted that the work we do at the School of Tourism eTourismLab in Bournemouth University is recognised externally. Traveling to Adelaide is a great opportunity for Barbara to extend our existing partnership with the University of South Australia and winning the competition is a real accolade for Barbara and the school.”

Below is the abstract of the research paper Barbara submitted to enter this competition, entitled:

“The Experience Economy of the 21^st Century:

Innovation Through Technology-Enhanced Tourism Experiences”

The creation of unique, meaningful and memorable consumer experiences constitutes a key concept in today’s business environment. With products and services having become increasingly interchangeable, the consumer society has undergone a shift, away from material commodities towards the pursuit of experiences. The experience economy of the 21st century is however currently undergoing a dramatic change. Experiences are transforming as a) active consumers have become increasingly empowered to co-create their own experiences and b) information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become implemented as a catalyst of change revolutionising experiences. In order to act upon this change, a rethinking in strategic management is needed for businesses to embrace these opportunities and take experience creation to a new level. By implementing the plethora of ICTs, experiences will become more dynamic, interconnected, social and ubiquitous and technology will be the driving force for innovation and competitiveness of consumer experiences of the 21st century.

For more information about the International PhD Student Competition 2013, visit:

http://www.unisa.edu.au/Business/Management/International-PhD-Student-Competition/

ST Careers Fair 2013 13th November

Posted November 6, 2013. Filed under Guest speakers, News, Student Experience.

STUDENTS RESEARCH CLOSE FINN-ISH!

Posted November 5, 2013. Filed under News.

The prestigious British Rally Championship was decided in favour of Finland’s Jukka Korhonen and Marko Salminen in Poole last Saturday in their Citroen DS3 R3T.

Behind the scenes final year Sports Management students of the School of Tourism were undertaking an economic impact survey on behalf of the organisers of Rallye Sunseeker, the final round of the 2013 British Rally Championship.

Such surveys are vital to the organisers and competitors as a justification for sponsorship deals and to gain the support too of the local community.

Lecturer in Sports Management research supervisor Paul Boyce said, “Consultancy projects such as this allow the application of academic areas, such as research methodology, to the benefit of real-life industrial partners. We have been very lucky over the years to have had the close co-operation of the Rallye Sunseeker organisers, headed by Event Director Rick Smith. He has personally gone out of his way to make it possible to poll spectators, competitors and officials to establish accurately what such a large event contributes to Poole as well as the region’s economy.”

Dr Bruce Grant-Braham, head of the School’s Motor Sport Research Group is also Chair of Poole Tourism. “I wear two hats,” he said. “Whilst it is absolutely great to see our students getting so involved, Rallye Sunseeker is a core element in extending Poole’s tourist season into the shoulder periods. I look forward to receiving the results in the near future which will demonstrate to Dorset’s local authorities and the wider tourism industry how an events-based marketing strategy can work and what it can tangibly generate. Dorset would have been much quieter this weekend if Rallye Sunseeker had not been in town. I can’t believe, how many Finns I met over the weekend!”

On the overall benefit of student consultancy projects, Lecturer Andrew Callaway, who is Consultancy Project Coordinator in the Centre for Event and Sport Research said, “We are pleased to be running a dozen student led projects this year. They all act so professionally working on real projects that make a difference to the organisations involved. These range from Rallye Sunseeker through to how to develop a National Governing Body and setting up and running major events for them. They all put their research and theory into practice in a big way, they all get something out of this learning experience, and, as a helpful by-product it looks amazing for them from an employability angle as well.”

The champion’s Citroen DS3 RT at speed in Dorset’s Forests with Finnish flags in the background!

Jukka Korhonen and Mario Salminen celebrate in Finnish-style on Poole Qu

The final Digitals Destinations event

Posted November 1, 2013. Filed under News.

The final Digital Destinations event took place on Tuesday 22nd October at the East Cliff Court Hotel in Bournemouth where Dr Alford, the project lead, fed back the results and insights from the project as well as looking to the future and how the collaboration could be extended. If you weren’t able to make it to the event, you can view Dr Alford’s slides at http://www.slideshare.net/DigitalHub/digital-destinations-key-results-and-next-steps. The businesses also ‘graduated’ and received their certificates for their commitment to the project over a 12-month period, which is testimony to their support but also to the importance they attach to Digital Marketing.

The evening concluded with great Q&A with overwhelming enthusiasm for not letting the Digital Marketing journey end at this point but for finding opportunities to extent the work and the great networking that the project established. In that spirit, a number of businesses are attending the Social Media and Reputation Management event at Bournemouth University on the 8th November http://www.esrc.ac.uk/news-and-events/events/festival/

Are you passionate about licensing of events? We know someone who is!

Posted November 1, 2013. Filed under Guest speakers, News.

This week Let’s Talk Events & Leisure had the privilege to welcome Philip Day, Solicitor and expert on the Licensing of Events from Horsey Lightly Fynn.

As a result of the Licensing Act 2003 there are a great number of regulations relating to licensing of events as well as many exemptions to keep track of. To make it even more complicated the exemptions keep changing over time. Philip said his job is about allowing people to have a good time without spoiling the fun!

Philip delivered what he calls the ‘idiot’s guide on licensing events’ and we got a crash course in what is licensable and not, what things you have to deal with when you ask for a license and how much it costs.

It was a great presentation from Philip who is very passionate and knowledgeable about licensing implications of events, and he delivered this important subject matter in an entertaining yet insightful way. The advice he wants to give to event managers is to keep it simple and try your best to involve and communicate with your stakeholders and locals.

Philip is also Vice President and Legal Advisor of NOEA (National Outdoor Event Association)

By: Maria Näs

Geronimo Inns inspire students

Posted October 25, 2013. Filed under Guest speakers, Student Experience.

Ed Turner, Commercial Director for Young & Co’s Brewery and Managing Director of Geronimo Inns Limited delivered an interesting and inspirational presentation to students at School of Tourism. Ed previously worked as Retail Operations Manager for Mitchells and Butler for 10 years and clearly has a proven track record of managing, directing and leading successful businesses.

Ed shared the business that he loves and told of the latest trends in the industry and how it is changing. We are changing how we socialise, eat and also communicate and work. It is a tough climate but there are also many opportunities out there for those who are keeping up with trends.

The message he brought to the students was that it is personality that drives business and they should join companies with a personality. He is interested in working with and recruiting those who have a real passion for creativity, living life, fine food and those who are inspired by living outside of the box. “The people that are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do”.

Applications open!

Posted October 21, 2013. Filed under News, Student Experience.

The autumn rounds for your applications within the BU Global Horizons Fund and the new Santander Grants are now open! Please visit the newly structured Student Portal pages about Study & Work Abroad opportunities at BU to learn more on how to apply, which international activities BU may be able to support and by when you have to submit your application. For any queries, please write directly to studyabroad@bournemouth.ac.uk

Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism Invited to Join the European Tourism Futures Institute

Posted October 21, 2013. Filed under News, Research.

Nicole Ferdinand and Dr. Katherine King of the Events and Leisure Group in the School of Tourism were invited to attend the third annual meeting of the European Tourism Futures Institute (ETFI), which was held at the European Parliament in Brussels on September 16th-17th 2013. Among the items raised at the meeting was the Festival Impact Monitor, a successful Bournemouth Fusion Investment Fund bid submitted under the Co-Creation and Co-Production Strand. This project seeks develop an event evaluation approach to overcome the limitations of existing qualitative and quantitative methods. ETFI were contacted prior to the submission of this bid to act as an international partner. Jeroen Oskam, Programme Manager for ETFI was very enthusiastic in supporting this project as it fits in very well with the forward looking orientation of his institution. For more on the Festival Impact Monitor, please see this link.

By Nicole Ferdinand