The MSc Hotel and Food Services Management has as its focus the rapidly developing international hospitality sector which is both a dynamic and expanding part of many economies. As part of the programme we visited the Institute Paul Bocuse in France to experience the research culture and their approach to food research. We learnt how they

1. train future professionals, to be competent and open to the world of tomorrow, for industry, and academia.
2. lead scientific projects in response to current and future societal challenges.
3. innovate, create new methods, new products, and new services.

We had an excellent visit as reflected in these testimonials

The visit to the Institut Paul Bocuse allowed me to shape my dissertation topic further. To meet academics working at the cutting edge of food research was inspiring and a very useful opportunity to discuss what my own research might look like. Food for thought!

It is difficult to express my feelings in a few sentences about 3-day-trip in Lyon. It was an interesting and memorable experience to explore the city’s gastronomic heritage and local cuisine as well as gain more knowledge on food services management from PhD students in Paul Bocuse Institute.

Our Vice Chancellor Professor John Vinney and Head of Department of Tourism and Hospitality Professor Dimitrios Buhalis and Global Engagement Lead Dr Hanaa Osman welcoming our lovely exchange students from Hong Kong, Germany, Portugal and Macao to Bournemouth University.

Bournemouth University Department of Tourism and Hospitality is the academic partner for this year’s Boutique Hotel Guest Experience Awards #BoHoAwards, which recognise excellence in guest experiences based on real guest feedback. Find out more and enter now: https://www.bohoawards.co.uk/

#hospitality #guestfeedback #guestexperience #experience #tourism #awards

Bournemouth University Tourism and Hospitality Fusion Summit

Bournemouth University Department of Tourism and Hospitality

Thursday, 7 February 2019 at 09:00 – Friday, 8 February 2019 at 18:00 (GMT)

Bournemouth University Tourism and Hospitality Fusion Summit
https://butourismhospitalityfusion2019.eventbrite.co.uk
Thursday 7th and Friday 8th February 2019, 10:00-18:00 Grange City Hotel, London
8-14 Cooper’s Row, EC3N 2BQ (Metro: Tower Hill) https://www.grangehotels.com/hotels-london/grange-city/

Conference Chairs : Simon Thomas and Professor Dimitrios Buhalis    –    By invitation only

The Bournemouth University Tourism and Hospitality Summit is a by invitation only Tourism and Hospitality think tank that brings together Senior Tourism Executives with academics, researchers, students and graduates of Bournemouth University and key stakeholders to discuss and debate tourism and hospitality policy and strategy. The conference is structured in 3 parts. Discussion on contemporary tourism and hospitality issues and strategy  inform policy, develop research agendas and support student projects. Human Resource and talent management will also emerge through the critical interaction between different stakeholders. Future gazing on technology and digital futures enables discussion on how Technology and eTourism will support this industry to build its competitiveness.

Developed in partnership between Bournemouth University Department of Tourism and Hospitality, Grange Hotels and GHS Hospitality in the heart of London this event will bring immense value to all participants.

Provisional Programme and Speakers  

Tony Matharu Managing Director of Grange Hotels and GHS Chairman
Dimitris Manikis President & Managing Director EMEA Wyndham Hotels
Dr Mike Short CBE Chief Scientific Adviser Department for International Trade
Jonathan Raggett Managing Director – Red Carnation Hotels
Rob Zajko Senior Director Talent Acquisition Europe, Middle East and Africa at Hilton Worldwide
Daniela Wagner Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) PATA European Coordinator
Suzi Thompson Vice President – Marketing, Distribution & Revenue Management, Red Carnation Hotels
Gergana Halatcheva Senior Vice President at Global Hospitality Services (GHS)
Emma Jayne Director of Human Resources Dorchester Collection
Liz McGivern Vice President Human Resources at Red Carnation Hotels
Edward Gallier Edward Gallier – Head of Learning and Development Jurys Inn
Cedric Horgnies General Manager, Threadneedles Hotel, Marriott Autograph Collection
Prof Adele Ladkin Bournemouth University
Prof Heather Hartwell Bournemouth University
Ali Beklen Director Hotel Runner
Liz Emmott – General Manager – Amadeus IT Group
Harry Mirpuri – Director, Research & Insight – London & Partners
Claire Steiner, ITT Education and Training Committee
Luca Romozzi – Sr. Director South Europe & Tourism – Sojern
Jamie Sergeant, Founder and Director, This is Crowd
Julia Murrell – Director of People and Development – Firmdale Hotels

BU Tourism and Hospitality Fusion Conference:
Thursday 7^th & Friday 8^th February 2019 Grange City Hotel London

https://butourismhospitalityfusion2019.eventbrite.co.uk

Bournemouth University Department of Tourism & Hospitality in the Faculty of Management www.bournemouth.ac.uk/tourism is recognised globally as a leading contributor to knowledge creation and dissemination in tourism and hospitality. We are one of the top universities in the world for the study of tourism and hospitality, ranked third in the UK for hospitality, event Management and tourism in the Guardian League Table 2019, second in the UK (eighth in the world) for hospitality and leisure management according to the QS University Rankings 2018 and second in the UK (12th in the world) for hospitality and tourism management according to the Shanghai Rankings of Academic Subjects 2018. A team of 35 academic staff and over 1,000 undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral students make us one of the biggest and most prolific departments in the world. The combination of staff expertise and enthusiasm, knowledge excellence and cocreation with industry, generate innovation and best professional practice. Our approach is about creating value with everyone we work with, locally and globally, and to share the benefits with society. Our approach to teaching is to inspire, empower and foster an intellectually challenging but nurturing educational environment, encouraging our students to develop professionally and personally. We are proud of our industry collaborations that enable us to cocreate best professional practice through constant interaction and engagement. We are privileged to work in Bournemouth and Poole, a living tourism and hospitality laboratory. This enables our research and teaching to have great relevance and impact in the global marketplace. An active alumni society enables us to work closely with graduates and to expand our cocreation globally.

In partnership with Grange Hotels, London’s leading independent hotels.
Grange Hotels – https://www.grangehotels.com Your Luxury Hotels in the Heart of London. In the heart of the London, Grange Hotels offer a wide choice of business accommodation which provides a wealth of history and local tradition, skilfully combined with contemporary luxury. Combine this with executive business lounges, meetings, conferences and events facilities, as well as Health Clubs and Ajala Spas, and you will find everything the modern, corporate traveller comes to expect from their hotel stay. A collection of private luxury hotels all superbly located in the heart of London, one of the world’s most exciting cities. At Grange Hotels, you will enjoy individual character, a wealth of history, and local tradition. Grange Hotels’ conference and events facilities combine state-of-the-art conference and events facilities with a wealth of history and local tradition. The Grange Hotels luxury portfolio offers an inspirational selection of meetings and events venues in central London’s most desirable locations. Grange Hotels stands out from the crowd of faceless luxury hotels through its state-of-the-art luxury accommodation, inviting ambience, and warm service while reducing its environmental impact on the local community.

In partnership with GHS Hospitality.
Founded in 2008, GHS Global Hospitality is a worldwide sales and marketing company, launched by hotel sales experts to fulfil the growing needs of independent hotels for personalised, innovative hotels sales, marketing and distribution activities in the increasingly competitive global marketplace. With over 40 international personnel, GHS covers over 30 global key feeder countries and represents over 160 independent hotels worldwide. Focussed on individual hotel needs but leveraging unrivalled industry expertise and global reach, GHS assists Hotel Partners to enhance their brand and drive sales. Essentially, we act as an international extension of our hotel partners’ sales and marketing teams. With over 500 global corporate clients, our Hotel Partners have access to global travel programmes, DMCs, event managers and travel managers, tour operators and travel agencies in all sectors. With their extensive knowledge of procurement and RFP solicitation processes,our personnel conduct corporate appointments and MICE and leisure meetings, exhibit at international trade shows, major industry events and roadshows and utilize our unique CRM technology to identify relevant business opportunities from across the globe.

For more information please contact Simon Thomas or Professor Dimitrios Buhalis, Head of Department Tourism and Hospitality, Faculty of Management, Bournemouth University, www.bournemouth.ac.uk/tourism

New Paper Published – Volchek, K., Liu, A., Song, H., Buhalis, D. (2018). Forecasting tourist arrivals at attractions: Search engine empowered methodologies. Tourism Economics. https://doi.org/10.1177/1354816618811558

Abstract

Tourist decision to visit attractions is a complex process influenced by multiple factors of individual context. This study investigates how the accuracy of tourism demand forecasting can be

improved at the micro level. The number of visits to five London museums is forecast and the predictive powers of Naïve I, seasonal Naïve, seasonal autoregressive moving average, seasonal autoregressive moving average with explanatory variables, SARMAX-mixed frequency data sampling and artificial neural network models are compared. The empirical findings extend understanding of different types of data and forecasting algorithms to the level of specific attractions. Introducing the Google Trends index on pure time-series models enhances the forecasts of the volume of arrivals to attractions. However, none of the applied models outperforms the others in all situations. Different models’ forecasting accuracy varies for short- and long-term demand predictions. The application of higher frequency search query data allows for the generation of weekly predictions, which are essential for attraction- and destination-level planning.

Keywords: artificial intelligence, attractions, forecasting, Google Trends, search engine, tourist demand

From Bournemouth University MSc Tourism Marketing Management graduate in 2009 to Business Development Manager for the UK Chapter of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation.

Growing up on the island of Barbados inspired Bournemouth University graduate Jamie-Lee Abtar to follow a career in travel marketing.

Jamie-Lee started her working life greeting new arrivals at Barbados airport. This prompted her to explore further study in marketing and tourism and she enrolled on the MSc Tourism Marketing Management at BU in 2009.

After graduating, Jamie-Lee went on to found her own marketing and PR agency, Be Distinctly Different, focused on the boutique travel sector. She said: “Growing up on the beautiful island of Barbados is the fundamental reason that I’m so passionate about travel. As I started my career I began to interact with amazing boutique hotels which were completely off the beaten track but which were offering a really authentic travel experience. I also encountered independent travel providers which were offering clients unique experiences, but which couldn’t connect with their ideal traveller. I developed the agency to provide these businesses with ways to reach customers in a competitive market.”

Today, Jamie-Lee continues to share her passion for the Caribbean as Business Development Manager for the UK Chapter of the Caribbean Tourism Organisation. She said: “The chapter represents more than 80 companies from across the travel industry, including national tourist offices, tour operators, travel agencies, hotels and airlines. Through this role, I strive to develop greater awareness of our members in the marketplace, develop co-operative marketing and PR opportunities and host events throughout the year to keep our members engaged.”

Reflecting on her time at BU, Jamie-Lee said: “Bournemouth University provided me with the foundation to kick start an exciting career in travel, from producing top-quality reports, working with some of the best professors who challenged me to think outside the box, to my placement year which proved so beneficial to my career today.”