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”

Historic ground-breaking video conference between Bournemouth University and Nepal

Posted . Filed under Guest speakers, News, Research.

Turning historic ties between two nations and peoples into dynamic collaborative initiatives 

 

On 31st October Bournemouth University was delighted to jointly facilitate a groundbreaking video conference, initiated by the UK-Nepal Friendship Society [UKNFS] that explored academic collaboration with leading Nepalese universities. 

This was the first occasion that Vice Chancellors of three Nepalese universities gathered together and made direct presentations at an international video conference.  Further, with the presence of senior representatives of key Nepalese government ministries, the conference provided a unique opportunity to learn of the current important work being developed in Nepal around interrelated new collaborative priorities and initiatives of international and national importance.

At the conclusion of the video conference, Dr Richard Shipway [Bournemouth University: Associate Dean: International Engagement in the School of Tourism] outlined, on behalf of Bournemouth University, three key areas of envisaged collaborative partnership, to be subsequently developed in more detail:

● Health and social care related;

● Tourism management and development across a range of disciplines and study areas;

● Media studies.

Forthcoming major direct outcomes of the video conference include:

● An official visit to Bournemouth University before the end of 2012, by Dr Suresh Chandra Chalice, Ambassador of the UK Embassy of Nepal, who will provide a keynote speech concerning the evolution and further development of the substantial historic ties between the nations of the UK and Nepal;

● Bournemouth University participation in a national level initiative to provide a UK Nepali community health needs identification and mapping survey that will be facilitated by the UKNFS at the official request of the UK Embassy of Nepal.  This project will have benefits to the UK’s National Health Service not only in terms of greater support for the UK Nepali community, but also to enhance awareness of, and representation of, UK BME communities health needs generally within the NHS.

The School of Tourism expressed interest in several specific areas which were aligned to both individual, departmental and University wide research interests.  These include:

  • Cultural heritage tourism (including Buddhism philosophy and practices / Gender and Buddhism);
  • Research on migrant workers in Nepal (incorporating issues linked to integration, language and employment);
  • Religion and Leisure
  • Health and wellbeing
  • Ecotourism
  • Yoga related studies
  • Tourism and Media

The video conference also highlighted the unique role that Nepal has internationally in being a focal point of cultural bridging between the West and both East and Southern Asian cultural spheres:

● It was noted that Nepal is the location of the birthplace of the Lord Buddha, and has up to 100 related historical and pilgrimage sites associated with the Buddha and his previous incarnations

● It was noted that Nepal contributes unique resources in regard to the holistic medical system and philosophy of Ayurveda (that is as ancient as and may predate the better known but related Traditional Chinese Medicine [TCM])

 

Useful contacts:

 

Ram Hari Adhikari (UKNFS Secretary and Project Lead.  Email: ramhariadhikari17@yahoo.com

Alan Mercel-Sanca (UKNFS Vice-chair and UK public service organisations and academic institutions lead).  Email: oces.contact@gmail.com

Dr Richard Shipway (Associate Dean: International Engagement, School of Tourism, Bournemouth University). Email rshipway@bournemouth.ac.uk

 

School of Tourism events at the ESRC Festival of Social Science next week

Posted . Filed under News, Research, Student Experience.

Next week Dr Debbie Sadd and Dr Richard Shipway will be hosting their events as part of the ESRC Festival of Social Science.

Debbie Sadd’s event will take place at Bournemouth University and aims for teenagers to debate the theme of “London 2012: Was it worth it?”

This interactive debate will ask young people (13-18) from Dorset to question whether hosting London 2012 has been benefit to the area in which they live and to the UK as a whole. It will also ask them to consider the impact that the London Games will have on the sporting future of the UK, and to what extent they will take the legacy of London 2012 forward into adulthood.

Young people will be asked to vote (using a digital device integral to the venue) before and after facilitated discussion, following short speeches from representatives from Dorset 2012, Sporting Legacy, Podium and Bournemouth University.

This event has been chosen as there is a growing research agenda on the impact of mega-events on society at a local and national level. Thus researchers recognise the need to engage young people in discussion about how London 2012 has impacted their lives and how they will engage in any legacy.

Richard Shipway’s event will be held at the EBC in Bournemouth and covers the theme of optimising Olympic tourism opportunities after the 2012 Games. The “Going for Gold: Leveraging the Olympic tourism legacy beyond 2012” conference will see keynote speakers discuss the main tourism opportunities that will fall in the years immediately after the Games

Following the conclusion of the London 2012 Games, the conference will investigate the potential for the London Olympics to generate tourism benefits long after the hosting of the Games.

The workshop will look at issues surrounding the management, organisation and analysis of mega event sport tourism, building on the outcomes of a previous ESRC funded project (RES-810-21-0013) which explored the impacts and issues associated with sport tourism development. 

Drawing from the experiences of both academics and industry practitioners involved in both the London Games and other global mega sports events, delegates will debate potential strategies to optimise the success of managing tourism in the post 2012 era.

The conference is aimed primarily at tourism business communities across the South West and South of England (incorporating London), exploring the potential to leverage tourism benefits.

From an academic perspective, the aim of the event is to revisit the theme of Olympic tourism by inviting delegates to consider advances which are theoretically grounded in one or more of the core social sciences. Key workshop sessions will be facilitated by stakeholders involved with the delivery of the 2012 Games including Visit Britain, Visit London, London Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (LOCOG), European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), and leading academic tourism experts. 

Debbie Sadd’s event is November 5th and Richard Shipway’s is on November 9th.

We will be covering both the events extensively via blogs and other social media.

For information on either events please contact Naomi Kay (nkay@bournemouth.ac.uk) or visit the ESRC website

John Fotis of the eTourism Lab at Bournemouth University presenting in Greece’s leading tourism conference

Posted . Filed under News, Research.

www.seteconferences.gr

 

This week John Fotis delivered a keynote presentation at the SETE conference in Athens

The conference was the 11th annual “Tourism & Development” conference organised by the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (SETE) and John was invited to present after an invitation from the Director General Mr George Drakopoulos.

This year the conference was entitled: “Marketing Greece – promoting the quality side of modern Greece” and it took place on 29-30 October at Athenaeum Intercontinental.

The Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises (www.sete.gr) represents 14 Panhellenic Unions of Tourism Enterprises & 485 Tourism Business Units. SETE aims at constantly boosting competitiveness and demonstrating the key role of tourism in the Greek economy. Their annual conference is considered to be the prime tourism forum in Greece.

John’s keynote presentation is entitled “Communication and promotional strategies for tourism enterprises and destinations: A low cost approach and ways of influencing travel related consumer behavior”.

His presentation described the role of social media in tourists’ “expanded trip”, their impacts on consumer behavior, and suggested tactics and actions that destinations and tourism companies can incorporate into their marketing and communication strategies.

Before John’s keynote there was a round table discussion session on “Marketing Greece: Cooperation between public and private sector in promoting Greek tourism”. The discussion panel consisted of Mr K. Karahalios, Secretary General of the Greek National Tourism Organization; Mr K. Lambrinopoulos, President of the Hellenic Management Association; Mr D. Mavros, President of the Association of Greek Advertising & Communication Companies; Mr G. Tsakiris, President of the Hellenic Chamber of Hotels; Mr G. Tsopelas, Managing Director of McKinsey & Company (Greece); and Mr A. Andreadis, President of the Association of Greek Tourism Enterprises.

For more information you may visit SETE’s conference page (in Greek).

Visit John Fotis Blog

 

Bournemouth University School of Tourism at World Travel Market

Posted . Filed under News.

Next week Bournemouth University’s School of Tourism will be exhibiting at the World Travel Market at the Excel Centre in London.

World Travel Market, the leading global event for the travel industry – is a vibrant must attend four-day business-to-business event presenting a diverse range of destinations and industry sectors to UK and International travel professionals. It is a unique opportunity for the whole global travel trade to meet, network, negotiate and conduct business under one roof.

As well as exhibiting at the four day event, Professor Dimitrios Buhalis will be hosting two free seminars on eTourism and Tourism Futures during World Travel Market.

Professor Dimitrios Buhalis commented “Bournemouth University is committed to work closely with the international tourism industry and to creative innovation tourism solutions based on research and knowledge creation. Naturally we work closely together with the World Travel Market where we will be exhibiting demonstrating our courses, research and consultancy services and exposure the BU talent in terms of students, graduates and staff to the global tourism industry. We also share knowledge with the international community by organising two important seminars, one on eTourism and another on Tourism Futures. We very much hope to welcome you at the stand EM1592 and our events. “

For more information on the free seminars please see http://buatwtm.eventbrite.co.uk/#