Student Profile of one of the Speakers from the Alumni Event - Bethany Higson

This is Bethany, she was one of our guest speakers for the Alumni Event for the third year Tourism students. Bethany graduated last year in International Tourism Management with a first class degree! Below Bethany talks about what she 's been up to since she graduated from UCLan.

"I’d say I’ve had a very productive time since I graduated from UCLan! I started working almost immediately after I finished my last assignment, starting my career in a Management Graduate Scheme at World Travel Holdings UK. I have had the fantastic opportunity to experience each department in a thriving, expanding business in the Travel industry. This has very much opened my eyes to how fast-paced the industry is. I have now progressed in becoming a Customer Service Team Leader, a position which I am very excited to hold and develop myself in. I am also running the Internship and Graduate Scheme programmes beginning in 2016, so I encourage all those wishing to start their career and gain experience in the real world to apply – you will not regret it!"

Student Profile of one of the Speakers from the Alumni Event - Joanna Kipps

Joanna Kipps was one of our speakers who came to speak to our Tourism students about her career journey. It was good to see one of our students doing well and sharing their experiences with the students.

Here Joanna tells us what she has been doing since she has graduated in 2013. "I completed my degree in International Tourism Management in 2013. The biggest highlight for me was my internship in Disney World Florida and teaching at the Green Gecko School in Cambodia. On return from Cambodia I decided to look into a career in teaching. The following September I began my PGCE in further education in Edgehill, Ormsirk. I have now successfully obtained the role of a college Lecturer at Bury College where I am a course tutor for BTEC Travel and Tourism. To aid my career progression I am now studying a MSc in Tourism and Hospitality Management at UCLan. I feel that a Masters Degree will enhance my opportunities in both education and industry."

THE UCLan Research Profile: David Jarratt - Seasideness

In the our Tourism Blog over the next few months we aim to offer an overview of the wide variety cutting edge research that is taking place in the division of Tourism, Hospitality and Events here at UCLan. In this first instalment we consider work by Dr David Jarratt on ‘seasideness’.

He is pictured above on a weekend, exploring Morecambe Bay with a passenger (his son). As you can see, our academic staff are dedicated to their research areas! Here he is, in his own words…

The Midland Hotel and regenerated promenade of Morecambe. Photograph courtesy of Chris Coates: https://twitter.com/ChrisJCoates

‘Over the last few years I have been researching various aspects of traditional British seaside resorts; those remarkable first sites of mass tourism that have survived into the twenty first century. In 2007 I became very interested in seaside regeneration in places like Morecambe which have experienced partial renaissance in recent years following decades of significant challenges. As I read more it became increasingly clear there was little research on the current market of these resorts. I started to question what motivated visitors to spend time by the seaside these days, what’s the attraction and the nature of the experience? This is the direction my research took as I started to consider sense of place. In particular I looked at Morecambe, Lancashire, and the older market which has traditionally been associated with this resort. I have now written several publications relating to this subject but perhaps this open access / on-line article offers a neat summary of my work on this topic: http://hrcak.srce.hr/145689?lang=en

Meeting of International Tourism Masters Network in Manchester

Fourteen delegates from eight European countries gathered at Manchester Metropolitan University last week for the Network’s first convention.

As well as the Network’s business, the participants heard the following presentations:

• Professor Richard Sharpley of UCLan about Dark Tourism, its attractions and the ethical issues surrounding it.
• Dr Dario tom-Dieck of MMU about the use of augmented reality, through devices for enhancing tourism experiences.
• Prof Harold Goodwin of MMU about the challenges of creating responsible tourism.
• Jane Randall of Head of Visitor Economy, Marketing Manchester who explained the growth and strategy for the future for tourism in Manchester.
• Kieran Bussoopun, Senior Events Manager, Manchester Pride and Event Tourism, who described how the Gay Pride events had evolved since 1989 and how they are currently organised.

Tourist Attractions in Manchester

The participants were also taken to a number of Manchester’s tourist attractions including Manchester United Stadium, Castlefield Wharfe, The Town Hall, Canal Street, Rylands Library and the Hilton Sky Bar!

Thursday was for students and we were joined by five UCLan Masters’ students. The session was chaired by Jo Guiver of UCLan. Three MMU students explained the topics they hoped to research for their dissertations and advice was offered by the academics present. Next, three French students from Université de Savoie Mont Blanc impressed us with their presentations about their completed dissertations. They too generated a lot of discussion, particularly the one by Jérémy Vallot about how videos are used to choose and research tourist destinations, a new phenomenon for many of the academics. Two students from Sweden (Dalarna University) completed the session by talking about their dissertation plans.
Most of the Network’s business was completed on the Friday and an interim board was elected with Paul Constable (Savoie Mont Blanc) as President, Lorenzo Bagnoli (Milano Biccota) and Jo Guiver (UCLan) Vice Presidents responsible for Pedagogy and Research respectively, Albina Pashkevich (Dalarna) secretary and Susanne Hilland (Heilbronn) treasurer.

Each university reported on their Masters’ courses, recruitment and student exchanges with other universities. Florence Besson-Reynaud (Savoie Mont Blanc) said five university tourism Masters’ groups were joining the Tourism Business Game this year. The game is run by Anne Queffelec and paid for by Savoie Mont Blanc. It involves each group making business decisions about a tourism destination. Feedback is given for each of the six stages. Kate Torkington (Algarve) and Jo Guiver reported on the special edition of the academic journal DosAlgarves which they and Pete McGrath
(previously at UCLan) are editing about Slow Travel.

The next meeting is planned for November in Faro, Portugal.

On Saturday, the Italian and French delegations, including three French students, visited Lancaster, where Jo Guiver and Ruth Jenkins showed them a few of the tourist attractions: the Castle (with immense Dark Tourism potential), the Customs House, now the Maritime Museum, and Atkinson’s coffee shop, where the owner explained how some of the canisters, they still use date back to Georgian times. We escaped the persistent rain to sample Lancaster beers and English food in The Sun Hotel before a visit to the market. The French delegation then took the train directly to Manchester Airport and the Italians savoured another night in Manchester before heading back to Milan.