Professor Dimitrios Buhalis presents at the 6th Obiettivo Turismo

Posted . Filed under Guest speakers, News.

On Wednesday 14th November, Dimitrios Buhalsi presented at the 6th Obiettivo Turismo.

The Obiettivo Turismo is an event created to discuss timely and significant issues of concern for tourism in Ticino, Switzerland.

This year the programme, offered to all operators and tourism partners, time for reflection and debate, urging them to discuss important tourism issues.

The 2012 edition has particularly focused on the theme of understanding a variety of applications of tourism. The event’s Special guest was Hon. Federal Councillor Johann Schneider of Ammann.

The first part of this half day event, entitled “Time for innovation” featured welcoming speeches mainly by local body representatives.

Dimitrios’ presentation entitled “The New Media in Tourism Marketing” gained a lot of attention.

During his speech Dimitrios underlined the incredible opportunities for dynamic engagement with all stakeholders and travellers brought by social media.

It was indicated that user generated content can provide inspirational material to encourage more travellers to consider destinations and tourism products and to become part of the travel decision making.

Lastly the future of tourism was discussed, which lies in interactive and ambient technologies that will enable us to interact dynamically with our environment, with Context Based Services and Augmented Reality being two critical technologies that will develop incredible opportunities for tourism organisations and destinations to promote their products at real time and interact dynamically with travellers to optimise tourism experience through co-creation.

The second part of the event, “Not only tourism”, was organized in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce, Industry, Craft and services of the Canton Ticino (CC-I) and featured the roundtable Alessandra Tedeschi Toschi, Co-Director of the Observatory on Tourism of Laghi and Marketing Professor at the University of Milan and Lorenzo Leoni, Director of the ACT Foundation and Managing Partner at Agire Invest, who discussed the use and application of innovation in sectors other than tourism.

School of Tourism Careers Forum

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

The School of Tourism is again running a Careers Forum on Wednesday 21st November, 2012. The event takes place in Kimmeridge House from 10am – 4pm and includes an exhibition from leading industry employers as well as guest lectures from people across industry.

There are three elements within the day:

The first part of the day involves talks from industry leaders who will be bringing real world experience and an opportunity to hear directly from senior managers. This includes tips on how to get to that all important first job, addresses the question ‘why work for a small company?’ and considers how to get ahead in big business.  All talks will take place in the large ground floor lecture theatre (KG01), details are included below.

The second part of the day will be exhibits from a large number of leading businesses and employers who will be upstairs in K101 and K103. Spending an hour or two looking around the stands and chatting to businesses is highly recommended. There is the real potential to meet employers / placement providers and discuss future opportunities.

Finally, there will be a “Dress for Success” fashion show, presenting you with key looks for the workplace from major high street retailers.

To make the best possible first impression all students are required to wear smart business dress.

Industry Talk Schedule

Welcome         10:00 – 10:10

Expedia           10:10 – 10:30

Yummy Jobs  10:30 – 10:50

Very short break 10:50 – 11:00

Shangri-La      11:00 – 11:30

Park Plaza      11:30 – 11:50

Break              11:50 – 12:30

Dress for Business Success 12:30 – 13:30

Break              13:30 – 14:00

FMI Group      14:00 – 14:30

Beatwax          14:30 – 15:00

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis contributes to the Smart Cities Innovation and the future of City Tourism panel at the UNWTO Global Summit as UNWTO launch One Billion Tourists: One Billion Opportunities Campaign

Posted . Filed under Guest speakers, News, Research.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis of Bournemouth University and President of IFITT contributed to the Smart Cities Innovation and the future of City Tourism panel at the UNWTO Global Summit on City Tourism in Istanbul.

Professor Buhalis said as “Global tourism is reaching 1 billion, international tourism is becoming a global industry regenerating economies and regions contributing to the welfare and happiness of people around the world. We need new innovative management and marketing strategies to achieve competitive advantage for global tourism destinations.

To manage this industry in an innovative way we need to use advanced Information Communication Technologies to coordinate and manage the local culture, resources and businesses. Creating Smart Cities and Smart Tourism Destinations will enable dynamic networking, proactive management and customer orientation enhancing the value of tourism activity. Neural networks will allow dynamic clustering of tourism products towards individualised products that are context aware and add personal value.

Technology and particularly Social Media will also enable us to engage prospective and active tourists in a meaningful co-creation of memorable tourism experiences. User Generated Content will not only offer inspirational ideas for people in their travel decision making process but will also encourage the development of deep and personal memorable experiences. Cocreating between travellers and tourism destinations and organisations will be based on a range of technological mobile platforms and devices and will amalgamate content from the best resources available dynamically at the context of the user.

Augmented Reality and Gamification will allow us to develop technology based solutions that blend reality with information and digital content to enhance tourism experiences and support a deeper engagement and interaction. This will be particularly important for Cultural Heritage destinations where information on culture and heritage will be presented in advanced visual technologies to help interpretation and deep level consumer engagement as well as co-creation with fellow travellers before, during and after the travel experience.

It is great to see how technologies can enhance destinations such as the vibrant cosmopolitan city of Istanbul to take full advantage of their potential and maximise the value generated for all their stakeholders.”

Dimitrios’ involvement in the future of City Tourism panel at the UNWTO Global Summit comes as UNWTO launch their new One Billion Tourists: One Billion Opportunities Campaign <http://1billiontourists.unwto.org/> .

This campaign is being launched to celebrate the fact that one billion tourists will travel internationally in 2012: a huge opportunity for economic growth, jobs, development and environmental protection.

The campaign will culminate on 13 December, the date chosen as the symbolic arrival day of the one-billionth tourist. More information can be found in the following press release: http://www2.unwto.org/en/press-release/2012-11-06/one-billion-tourists-one-billion-opportunities-new-unwto-campaign-calls-one

There are three ways you can get involved in this campaign:

1.            Vote for the travel tip you believe would have the greatest positive impact and pledge to follow that tip when traveling: http://1billiontourists.unwto.org/ <http://1billiontourists.unwto.org/> 

2.            Help us share the winning tip with millions on 13 December by joining our Thunderclap campaign http://1billiontourists.unwto.org/ <http://1billiontourists.unwto.org/> 

3.            Become a ‘Face of the One Billion’: If you were one of the one billion tourists to travel internationally in 2012, send a photo of yourself on your trip to comm@unwto.org <mailto:comm@unwto.org>  (or by tweeting @UNWTO with #1billtourists) and we’ll upload the best ones in our Faces of the One Billion Facebook album.  Don’t forget to include your name, where you’re from and where the picture was taken. https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.287356294716365.66958.259995934119068&type=3

 

 

 

 

 

Dr Dorothy Fox study leave experience so far

Posted . Filed under News, Research.

Dr Dorothy Fox is currently on study leave funded by the Bournemouth University Fusion Fund. Below she shares some of her experiences with us:

I’m now about half way through my period of study leave funded by the BU Fusion Fund and ready to begin the next phase. I have just completed the collection of data from a survey of residents in the Dorset & Hampshire area about visiting gardens, which has achieved a good response rate. It was therefore a real pleasure to swop the cold and rain of England and travel to the other side of the world and the warmth of New Caledonia in the South Pacific. En route, I was able to return to the Sydney Botanic Gardens in Australia. I first visited the Gardens in winter and most recently in the spring. It was therefore very interesting to return as summer approaches and see the wonderful trees and plants as they come into flower.

My first meeting at the Gardens was with Dr Carmel Foley, Senior Lecturer at University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) who is a member of a project that Dr Katherine (Kat) King and I have set up with colleagues from the USA, Sweden and Switzerland. This project is an international collaboration to understand more about the social and cultural aspects of natural spaces that are used for leisure and recreation. We’re using Google Docs as a communication tool, but it was really good to see Carmel again on a face-to face basis to discuss our progress.

My next meeting was with Wendy Symonds who organises events for the Botanic Gardens and Lynne Cusack, a volunteer there. I met Lynne as leader of a guided tour when I last visited the Gardens and she kindly agreed to be interviewed for a book chapter I have been writing with Dr Susanna Curtin from ST on wildlife in domestic gardens. Wendy organises events and festivals for the Botanic Gardens and it was interesting to discuss their upcoming Autumn Vibes Festival. We then moved on to the possibilities for collaboration based on data sets from their visitor surveys and a future funding bid for a joint project in the UK and Australia. Additionally I was able to update her on the work of Marian Lechner from the University of Tübingen, Germany, for whom I am a mentor for his PhD. He is researching adult education on sustainable development in botanic gardens and Wendy was pleased to hear more information about the project.

I’m now sat in my current ‘office’ in New Caledonia, surrounded by the piles of paper work relating to current projects. The doors and windows are wide open to let in the sunshine and earlier a nosy bird landed on the kitchen floor briefly, before flying off again! The birds here are larger, brighter and much noisier than those in England but are as friendly as the robin in my garden at home. The plants of course, are also very different but I’m sure I’ll soon stop looking out at the garden and be able to concentrate on writing again!

 

Jean-Claude Baumgarten receives an honorary PhD during School of Tourism graduation

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

Last week over 700 students graduated from the School of Tourism during the graduation ceremonies held at the Bournemouth International Centre.

Undergraduate, Masters and PhD students all received their degrees in front of their fellow students, families and School of Tourism staff members, during the ceremony.

As well as the students, the School of Tourism presented an honorary PhD to Jean Claude Baumgarten, President and CEO of the World Tourism and Travel Council during the ceremony.

Born in Strasbourg in May 1942, Jean-Claude Baumgarten graduated from the French business school, l’Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales. On graduating, he assumed the position of Vice President for Becco (the French confectioners) and was then later responsible for sales of US mutual funds in Africa.

In 1970, Jean-Claude joined Air France as assistant Regional Manager in Los Angeles and New York and was appointed Regional Manager in Osaka for West Japan in 1974. He became Regional Manager for Thailand and Burma, as well as Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, in 1978. Jean-Claude was appointed to the position of General Manager for Japan in 1982 and was at the same time Chairman of the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In September 1986, he became Vice President and General Manager for the United States, where he was responsible for all the company’s activities throughout the USA, as well as in the Bahamas, the Virgin Islands and French Polynesia. In June 1990 he was appointed Vice President and General Manager for France.

From June 1992 to August 1993 Jean-Claude was Executive Vice President for GMF, a leading French insurance company. He rejoined Air France in September 1993 as Vice President for the Americas and Asia.

In November 1993 he was promoted to Executive Vice President of Commercial Operations and a Member of the Executive and Strategic Committee. In February 1996 he became Executive Vice President of Corporate, International & Industry Affairs. From December 1997 until July 1998, prior to leaving Air France, he held the position of Advisor to the Chairman.

After his departure, Jean-Claude established a company in New York with American investors under the name of CREWE Associates. This involved consultancy work and start-up advice for new businesses.

In October 1999 he was appointed President and CEO of the World Travel & Tourism Council, where he proved highly resourceful and influential, notably when he launched the world tourism summits to re-focus the tourism industry after the turmoil caused by 9/11.

Whilst working for Air France, Jean-Claude helped developed the non-stop Siberian route from Paris to Japan instead of the staged flight through Anchorage, thus saving $200,000 per flight and 12 hours on the round trip.

In complete contrast he worked with the United Nations and Red Cross when floods of Camobian refugees fled to Thailand in the 1970s. He was able to help 1000’s of refugees get authorisation to be sent to the United States, France and Vienna. He once unknowingly allowed a heavily pregnant refugee on one of the planes out of Thailand. The woman ended up giving birth during the flight and Jean-Claude was able to get her and her son French Citizenship.

Jean-Claude Baumgarten has received many awards for his achievements and contribution to air transport and tourism. He is a Chevalier dans l’Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur, as well as an Officier de l’Ordre National du Merite and a Chevalier des Arts et Lettres. He was presented with the Gold Medal for Tourism by the Portuguese Government in 2004 and 2008 and the Anita Garibaldi Gold Medal by the Government of Santa Catarina in 2009. He has also received an honorary doctorae from the University of Buffalo, USA.

Last year he opened the Bournemouth University stand at World Travel Market and he is planning to take part in our other school events as a mentor to our graduates.

Jean-Claude commented that he didn’t expect to receive this award and found it a great honour.

Congratulations to Jean-Claude and all our students who graduated last week.

 

School of Tourism host two events as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science

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

Last week Debbie Sadd and Richard Shipway hosted events as part of the Economic and Social Research Council’s (ESRC) Festival of Social Science.

For Debbie’s event she invited pupils from three Dorset schools to come and debate the legacy of the London 2012: Olympics.

The students from Poole Grammar School, Budmouth College and Brockenhurst College visited Bournemouth University on Monday, and used a digital interactive tool to vote on questions including whether they believe the London 2012 Olympic Games were worth it, and if they think the Games will increase participation in sports.

They then heard presentations about the London 2012 Olympic Games and their potential legacy from speakers including Nigel Reed, from the Weymouth and Portland Chamber of Commerce – where Olympic sailing events took place – who spoke about the costs and benefits of the Games to the town.

Ian Jones, Community, Culture and Sport Manager at BU, told the pupils that the Olympics had led to a cycling club being established at the university with more than 250 active members, while BU graduate James Lee – who now works for GB Rowing – said more women had been inspired to take up the sport.

But they also heard that major sports events do not generally lead to an increase in sports participation, and different sporting governing bodies were now competing for extra funding.

The pupils then voted again, to see if their opinions of the Games had been altered by what they had heard.

Teacher Jo Ray had brought her AS Level PE Group from Budmouth College, in Weymouth.

She said that the event had been particularly useful as Olympic history and legacy is part of the A Level syllabus.

She said: “Everything we have heard is really key as part of the syllabus. I personally found it really interesting and I imagine the pupils will reflect back on the event and realise they learnt a lot.”

She added: “It is a fantastic opportunity to share knowledge with the university and it’s brilliant for us to come along to an event like this.”

Debbie, who was an Olympic torchbearer when it came through Dorset, added: “What they knew before they came here was what they picked up on TV and in newspapers, but we wanted them to see it was about more than winning gold medals.

“We want them to question more in the future and read more deeply into things and think about the different sides of the stories when it is something this big.

“It will be them who are affected in the future, so we want them to be able to question and ask about what the Olympic legacy will mean for them.”

Richard Shipway’s ESRC event took place on Friday and was also about the London 2012 Olympic legacy. “Going for Gold: Leveraging Post Olympic Tourism Legacies” investigated the potential for the London Olympics to generate tourism benefits after the hosting of the Games.

The event incorporated the experiences of both academics and industry practitioners involved in the 2012 Games and other global mega events. The first session of the workshop featured key speakers including Chris Foy (Visit Britain); Philip Evans (Visit England), and Tom Jenkins from the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA).

This was followed by a second, academically grounded session featuring Professor Mike Weed (Canterbury Christchurch University); Dr Nancy Stevenson (University of Westminster) and Professor Adam Blake (Bournemouth University).  The day concluded with an audience debate on how best to leverage post-Olympic tourism legacies in the post 2012 era.

This workshop will form the basis of a proposed future agenda for research and public engagement linked to post Olympic tourism and will shortly be followed by a briefing paper that will support and inform future policy and practice linked to the tourism dimension of international sports events

Both events were a huge success and massive congratulations go to both Debbie and Richard on their events.

School of Tourism Careers Forum

Posted . Filed under Student Experience.

The School of Tourism is again running a Careers Forum on Wednesday 21st November, 2012. The event takes place in Kimmeridge House from 10am – 4pm and includes an exhibition from leading industry employers as well as guest lectures from people across industry.

There are three elements within the day:

The first part of the day involves talks from industry leaders who will be bringing real world experience and an opportunity to hear directly from senior managers. This includes tips on how to get to that all important first job, addresses the question ‘why work for a small company?’ and considers how to get ahead in big business.  All talks will take place in the large ground floor lecture theatre (KG01), details are included below.

The second part of the day will be exhibits from a large number of leading businesses and employers who will be upstairs in K101 and K103. Spending an hour or two looking around the stands and chatting to businesses is highly recommended. There is the real potential to meet employers / placement providers and discuss future opportunities.

Finally, there will be a “Dress for Success” fashion show, presenting you with key looks for the workplace from major high street retailers.

To make the best possible first impression all students are required to wear smart business dress.

Industry Talk Schedule

Welcome         10:00 – 10:10

Expedia           10:10 – 10:30

Yummy Jobs  10:30 – 10:50

Very short break 10:50 – 11:00

Shangri-La      11:00 – 11:30

Park Plaza      11:30 – 11:50

Break              11:50 – 12:30

Dress for Business Success 12:30 – 13:30

Break              13:30 – 14:00

FMI Group      14:00 – 14:30

Beatwax          14:30 – 15:00

Ian Jones, Lorraine Brown and Immy Holloway publish Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity

Posted . Filed under News, Research, Student Experience.

This month Ian Jones, Lorraine Brown and Immy Holloway book on Qualitative Research in Sport and Physical Activity is published.

The books is designed especially for students in sport and physical activity and provides a detailed guide to planning, undertaking, and writing up qualitative research.

Opening with a discussion of the main traits of qualitative inquiry and its use in sport and physical activity, the authors provide a coherent and accessible overview of qualitative research using numerous examples to bring research alive.

The book is divided into five parts informed by stages in the research process with chapters on:

• early steps in the research process

• ethics

• choosing your an approach

• methods of data collection

• analysing your the data

• writing up and disseminating your findings.

This is essential reading for undergraduate and Masters students carrying out a qualitative research project in sport and physical activity and for PhD students looking to refresh their knowledge.

To order the book please see here

Congratulations to Ian, Lorraine and Immy on this achievement.

Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism at World Travel Market

Posted . Filed under Guest speakers, News, Research.

Bournemouth University opening their stand with Zoltan Somogyi Executive Director, Marcio Favilla Executive Director, Frederic Pierret Executive Director and Xu Jing Regional Director Asian and Pacific from UNWTO

Last week the School of Tourism exhibited at the World Travel Market at the Excel Centre in London.

The School of Tourism was the only university that exhibited at the four day event and they showcased some of the exciting advances being made in tourism at Bournemouth University, as well showcasing their courses and business services that they offer.

The School of Tourism stand was officially opened by Professor Dimitrios Buhalis and  Zoltan Somogyi Executive Director, Marcio Favilla Executive Director, Frederic Pierret Executive Director and Xu Jing Regional Director Asian and Pacific from UNWTO

As well as exhibiting, Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism staff held three free seminars across the four day conference.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis hosted a BU Tourism Futures Forum and Dr Janet Dickenson hosted a debate on “Is the travel and tourism industry taking responsibility for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions?”

The School of Tourism also worked closely with the World Travel Market’s charity, Just a Drop at the exhibition and collected money for them on the stand.

The exhibition was a huge success for the School of Tourism and their stand was busy throughout the conference.

For more information on World Travel Market please see http://www.wtmlondon.com/

Institute of Hospitality Aspiring Manager Awards Dinner 2012

Posted . Filed under News, Student Experience.

Last week, Rebecca Cridge and Mhairi Strachan, Hospitality Management students were invited to attend the Institute of Hospitality London Branch Aspiring Manager awards dinner.

The dinner was hosted at The Langham Hotel, London and was attended by students, Hospitality Managers, General Managers and Directors of companies representing some of our top hotels and suppliers.

Each organisation attending can take a table at the dinner and nominate their Aspiring Manager winner who receives membership to the Institute of Hospitality, a luxury weekend break and this year a four day Management Development course run by People 1st Training. The Aspiring Manager winners are those individuals that have been recognised for giving an outstanding contribution to the development of the organisation they work for, and demonstrated a commitment to their colleagues and customers.

At the dinner the Guest of Honour was Suzanne Jackson, Executive Director for the Hospitality Guild who gave a very inspirational speech on her views of hospitality. She highlighted that we need to be focusing on our future hospitality managers, nurturing and developing them by not only promoting the industry in schools, but also to ensure that our current hospitality team members are given the continuing professional development they need to become our future managers, which is what the Institute of Hospitality stands for.

Students Mhairi and Rebecca were invited to attend the event by Monica Or from Star Quality Consultancy. Monica commented on meeting Mhairi and Rebbeca “These two ladies are definitely ones to keep an eye on and I have no doubt in the future they too will become Aspiring Manager winners for whichever organisation they end up working at.”

Mhairi commented that “that it was great being an “ambassador” for Bournemouth University and many of the companies were truly interested in our course content”