The Tourism Regional Immersion Program (TRIP) at the University of Queensland provides students with an alternative to traditional internships. TRIP involves students living and working in a regional tourism destination for 5-10 days. Students are placed with multiple industry partners and complete a strategic research project for the host region. While beneficial for student learning and industry partnerships, balancing the interests of all parties in the program design is challenging. The program has evolved based on feedback, with a reduced time commitment but continued focus on applied research projects.
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EDITORIAL
In December 2010 Professor Douglas Pearce and his The idea of a news magazine devoted to the dissemination
colleagues at Victoria University, Wellington, New Zealand, of ideas of good teaching practice resulted from this wish,
hosted a meeting of those Higher Tourism Education and the present editors were asked by Loreto Ibanez to
Institutions accredited by the United Nations World implement this idea. The concentration on teaching
Tourism Organization (UNWTO) under its UNWTO.TedQual practice was thought important because (a) it permitted a
Programme. This meeting was specific to such institutions distinction and complementarity between this and the
located in the Asia-pacific Region and thus there were existing newsletter generated on behalf of UNWTO by our
representatives from Australia, India, Indonesia, P.R China, colleagues in Korea, (b) it continued the themes laid down
and invited guests from New Zealand tourism related and by Professor Pearce and his colleagues and (c) it is
governmental bodies. At that meeting Loreto Ibanez, consistent with a major theme of the UNWTO.TedQual
UNWTO.TedQual Programme Manager, asked people what Programme. Hence this first edition!
their expectations were from such an inaugural meeting, Naturally, conditions are never static, and as a UN
and a variety of suggestions emanated as to what could specialized agency, UNWTO itself is undergoing changes as
possibly be done. This exercise could be summarised as one it increasingly aligns its programmes with the purposes and
of generally high aspirations but tempered by senses of principles of United Nations, and is working with other UN
reality in terms of funding, time commitment and what Agencies to complement their work in areas of mutual
might be achievable in the short term. interest, such as World Heritage Sites with UNESCO and
making tourism more sustainable with UNEP.
During and after this meeting it was determined that if
genuine networks are to be established among those It is suspected that over time these will begin to challenge
interested in the provision of tourism education, there our role as educators, and indeed some of those concerns
needs to be a formalised albeit perhaps initially a minimal will come to be reflected in the newsletter.
means of communication amongst the members of
UNWTO TedQual Institutions that would retain a
consciousness of the network and what might be achieved.
The theme of the Victoria University Wellington
Conference was best practice in teaching and, prior to
departure, those present committed themselves to
holding a second conference in late 2012, with the
delegates from Indonesia wishing to host such a
conference. The question was how communications might
be sustained in the interim.
Chris Ryan, Lisa Ruhanen, and Xu Honggang
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[Xu Honggang
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guanzhou]
Tourism higher education has been growing very rapidly For the past 3 years, over 200 undergraduate students have
for the past thirty years in China. Today there are more than taken this approach and over 50 projects have been offered
300 higher education institutions which offer tourism to the students. These projects are divided into two types.
programmes, ranging from the technical institutes to the One third of the projects are organized by faculty staff who
research oriented universities such as Sen yat-sen have research or consultancy projects, such as the
University and Zhejiang University. monitoring of sustainable tourism, a survey of a historical
village, or surveys of the satisfaction of the hotel customers,
There are advantages and challenges of placing the etc. Since the teaching staff in Sun Yat-sen University are
tourism program within a research-oriented university. The under pressure to apply and win various research projects,
major advantages lie in the fact that the students have it is possible for them to incorporate some of the
developed good analytical and problem solving skills undergraduate students in their research or consulting
through solid training. The great challenges lie in the efforts projects. Two thirds of such projects are funded by national
that have to be made in balancing the practical and or provincial education committees and the university,
theoretical components of learning in the course structure. such as the border heritage in the Greater Pearl River delta
The conventional way of using the industrial placement to and the heritage conservation of Xiguan house. Having
provide the practical component that has been inherited been trained quite extensively in research methods, the
from countries like the USA and United Kingdom is not as students gain competitive advantages among their peers.
effective in China because the interns are often treated as A tutor also provides assistance in the projects. Three cases
employees without proper guidance from the industry and are presented here to illustrate the organization of the
are given the same positions as vocational school interns projects.
without the opportunity to demonstrate their own learning
and skills. Thus it is not uncommon that satisfaction with Lucun heritage village study
the industry actually declines after the period of internship.
Lucun is a historical village close to the world heritage of
After studying the strengths and challenges of internship Hungcun and Xidi village, each of which attracts 700
programmes, the School of Tourism Management, Sun Yat- thousand tourists every year. Some tourists have also
Sen University decided to design research projects for the begun to explore the surrounding villages. Having seen the
undergraduate students to bridge the link between tourism impacts in Hungcun and Xidi, the local
industry practice and theoretical leaning through their government wanted to formulate conservation strategies
participation in these projects and so develop further before large scale tourism development occurs. A team
student enthusiasm and care about working in the tourism from Sun Yat-sen University was asked to help to identify
sector. the heritage buildings and other cultural heritages in Lucun
for the preparation of the conservation plan. So a team was
organized that comprised three teachers (one from tourism
and two from architecture), and four graduate and eight
undergraduate students.
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[Xu Honggang
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guanzhou]
Many more than 8 students applied for the opportunity to The self-organized research project
participate. They were selected based on their preparation
for the exercise and every one had to present on what it was A study of brand management of traditional catering and
on which they would like to focus. The task for the students outlets in Guangzhou was funded in 2010 from the National
was to survey every household and interview the owners Educational Committee. Usually these projects can last one
about their housing conditions and to understand the year. The research team was required to survey traditional
factors which influence the maintenance of the heritage. catering in the historical center of Guangzhou and conduct
The team stayed in the village for a week and documented the research on the brand value of these outlets and their
the houses and the layout of the village in detail. Maps were cuisine. Seven undergraduate students were involved in
also drawn to illustrate the conservation needed for the the projects. They interviewed the owners, customers, and
houses. members of the government in order to understand the
potential brand value of these traditional cuisines. Based on
Yangshuo sustainable tourism monitoring the survey, they also provided suggestions to the owners
and to the government on how to better promote the
From 2005, Sun Yat-sen University has established culture of traditional catering and to effectively conserve
collaboration with the World Tourism Organization in these businesses. Their reports were delivered to the
setting up a sustainable tourism monitoring programme. A government and the catering establishments involved in
monitoring station was established in Yangshuo Yulong the project.
scenic area. Every year, in the summer time, students are Some feedback has been collected to review the results of
organized and trained to participate in the monitoring these research projects. The motivations for the students to
programme. The monitoring project usually takes one participate are: 1) to gain the capacity to deal with the
week. Students were asked to work with the communities practical issues, 2) to broaden their vision and knowledge of
and other stakeholders to review the social, economic and the tourism industry, and 3) to apply the theories learned in
environmental changes for the past year and identify the the classrooms to analyze real world problems. Students
emerging major issues. Based on the survey, the students pointed out that they had indeed improved their
submitted reports on the social, economic and understanding of knowledge gained from the class. They
environmental status of Yangshuo and summarize the also developed capacities to identify real world problems
short term and long term change. These reports are and apply appropriate theories to solve these problems.
provided and local community for publicity. Another important gain is to develop capacities to work
with the research team and various stakeholders in this
process. However, they also pointed out some issues about
the research funded projects. For example, due to the lack
of requirements of a strict time framework, students are
often more enthusiastic at the beginning of the project but
find it difficult to sustain their enthusiasm throughout the
project if the project lasts for more than one year.
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[Xu Honggang
Sun Yat-Sen University, Guanzhou]
A review process was conducted in 2011 to evaluate the
outcomes of the undergraduate student research projects.
It was found that a proper management of the project is
crucial to be effective. Good guidance from the faculty, a
mixture of the graduate and undergraduate students in a
team and a proper time framework are necessary to
improve the outcomes.
However the research projects have increased faculty's
workload and there is also uncertainty as to whether there [ Students conducting interviews in Lucun Heritage Village]
are enough projects contracted to the school to meet the
needs of all students. As a project, major efforts have been
made between the School and tourism destinations to
develop a long term partnership. Longitudinal research can
provide better service to the local stakeholders, reduce the
workload for the faculty to find and organize such projects
and increase the possibility for the faculty to publish the
research outcomes in academic journals.
[ Students at work in Yangshuo]
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[first edition]
II Tourism Industry-Academe Partnerships: Opportunities and Challenges
[Dr Lisa Ruhanen, Dr Noreen Breakey & Mr Richard Robinson
School of Tourism, The University of Queensland]
Amongst tourism and hospitality tertiary degree programs, For TRIP 2009, sixteen students were competitively
internships are a reasonably common feature. This is selected and placed in one of two south-east Queensland
because internships provide students with valuable host destinations over the mid-semester break for 10 days.
practical work experiences, linking theoretical knowledge The 2009 iteration of the program had two discrete
through practice, and improving students' ability to enter components. Firstly, students were placed with a rotation
the workforce 'industry ready'. For the industry hosts, of industry operators in the respective destinations and
educators and education institutions, internships can during this time participated in the more 'traditional'
enhance relationships and strengthen strategic and internship or work experience common in many tourism
collaborative networks. It is within this context that the and hospitality programs. To support the learning
School of Tourism at The University of Queensland (UQSoT) outcomes of the internship, the students were required to
developed the Tourism Regional Immersion Program complete a journal-style workbook, providing reflective
(TRIP). This 'destination immersion experience' was entries on their experiences in the region. Secondly, the
designed to provide an opportunity for students to live, students in each of the destinations undertook a strategic
work and interact with the broader community in a research project nominated by the host region which was
regional tourism destination. delivered at a Knowledge Exchange Workshop several
weeks after the internship period.
Mindful of the importance of internships for student
learning and the opportunities such programmes In 2010 however, based on feedback from the students,
represent for industry and the institution, a re-designed industry and participating School of Tourism faculty, the
professional development course for final year TRIP model was further revised and instead only
undergraduate tourism, hospitality and event students incorporated the research project component. Other
undertaking UQSoT's Bachelor of International Hotel and elements such as the destination immersion (living and
Tourism Management (BIHTM) was first introduced in 2009. working in the destination) remained. TRIP 2010 was
TRIP is one of four work-integrated learning (WIL) options in delivered in partnership with five regional destinations in
the professional development course and is considered south-east Queensland. Another notable change was the
innovative in terms of providing an alternative to a decision to reduce the time in region to 5 days and to make
traditional internship or work experience program where a mutually beneficial destination-driven research project
students are placed with a single host business for a the focal point of TRIP. It was also decided to reduce the
specified period of time. However, the TRIP model has had student group size from eight to no more than five per
several evolutions in its short history. destination and mandate that the projects be completed
within the five day internship period. This reconciled the
interests of all parties. Lobbying destination hosts to
participate in TRIP focused on identifying a suitable project,
and the capacity and willingness of the host to provide
accommodation and transfers for the students and
resource the project requirements.
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MAGAZINE
[first edition]
II Tourism Industry-Academe Partnerships: Opportunities and Challenges
[Dr Lisa Ruhanen, Dr Noreen Breakey & Mr Richard Robinson
School of Tourism, The University of Queensland]
Across the five TRIP projects for 2010 there was The immersion-style model remains, although arguably
considerable diversity which reflects that of the tourism there are pressures on the length of time the students
industry. As such, the requirements from the destination, spend on TRIP with a significant reduction between 2009
the dates the students completed their internships, and the and 2010; this has some practical advantages for all
r e s o u r c e s r e q u i r e d v a r i e d t r e m e n d o u s l y. S i n c e stakeholders but arguably does place constraints on the
expectations from all parties were high, UQSoT decided to program. Importantly though, the immersion approach
again competitively select TRIP student candidates can assist in the development of relationships, both
through a combination of a written proposal and between students and also with the local community of the
participation in an interview. Once students were selected host destination. This is considered an important aspect if
and groups had been formed, the students were invited to the knowledge exchange component of the program is to
scope their destination projects, collect resources and do be successful. At this stage the TRIP team continue to
preliminary research before contacting the destination evaluate and assess the most appropriate and sustainable
hosts to organize a pre-internship familiarization. These TRIP model.
occurred at various times before the students finally went
in region during their September mid-semester break. All
the TRIP placements occurred as planned during the
September mid-semester break. However, some
unanticipated events transpired which suggest the
program is leaving a legacy. Two destinations, invited their
TRIP groups back to present their project findings to council
and industry stakeholders within their region and UQSoT
sponsored a south-east Queensland tourism industry
conference with the express purpose of showcasing TRIP
and its destination hosts.
The TRIP model is constantly evolving and shifting, as the
TRIP team look for a 'sustainable' model. Obviously there is
considerable commitment from the School, participating
faculty members, industry hosts and of course the students.
As such, as noted above, changes were instigated following
the 2009 iteration to make the program more manageable.
From our experience in 2009 it was found that the industry
valued the research project very highly and this aspect was
the focus of the 2010 TRIP process and will again be the
focus of the 2011 iteration of the program.
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[first edition]
III The Job-Search and Promotion-Seeking
Stategies of Tourism Graduates at Victoria
University of Wellington in New Zealand.
[Adam Weaver,Victoria University Wellington]
From Anxiety to Action
When speaking with university students about their Methods and Key Findings
studies, one becomes acquainted with some of their
anxieties the same anxieties that their university The main findings of this study emerged as the author
instructors may have had when they were students. interviewed twenty-one recent graduates of the degree,
Students are typically concerned about courses that Bachelor of Tourism Management (BTM). These graduates
address concepts they find difficult to grasp, assignment had full-time jobs within the tourism industry in New
deadlines that are ominously close, and the way end-of- Zealand. Recent graduates were considered to be
term examinations come ever nearer. These anxieties are graduates who had received their BTM (their only university
often accompanied by others that are probably more degree) within five years of the research interview. The
central to students' thoughts once classes have ended; interviews were conducted over the course of a year, from
assignments that have yet to be submitted, and April 2007 to April 2008. An examination of job-search and
examinations to be written: and after that issues of finding promotion-seeking strategies of BTM graduates had not
jobs after graduation and forging a satisfying career path. been the original focus of the research. The main purpose
The search for work and the pursuit of promotions by recent of the interviews was to explore graduates' perceptions of
graduates of a tourism management programme are the jobs in New Zealand's tourism industry (Weaver, 2009).
subject of this article as well as a longer contribution to an However, the final section of the interview schedule
academic journal (Weaver, 2011). addressed the topics of job search and the pursuit of
promotions. Graduates, often without much prompting,
In response to their desire for (and anxieties about) work spoke in some detail about the techniques they used and
and career advancement, some recent graduates tried to ones they would recommend to students about to
take certain matters into their own hands. They exercised complete the BTM.
human agency and sought to market their capabilities to
targeted audiences in enterprising ways. This A key finding of this research project was that graduates
entrepreneurialism of the self is arguably a function of use forms of emotional labour to advance their interests.
broader socio-cultural shifts within New Zealand, and Many graduates of university tourism programmes use
probably in many Western countries, since the 1970s and emotional labour when they work in the tourism industry.
1980s. Taking initiative, demonstrating a degree of They project certain emotions as an essential part of their
boldness, and effectively promoting one's own personal jobs, especially when interacting with customers
achievements or potential are seen as increasingly (Hochschild, 1983). Emotional labour, however, is not
prominent features of successful people. Graduates of simply performed to satisfy one's work requirements. For
Victoria University of Wellington's Bachelor of Tourism example, graduates use and recommend sociable labour
Management (BTM) programme seem to approach their as a means to search for jobs.
nascent careers as if they were a business venture. They
attempt to self-market their availability and suitability for
jobs, and they appear to deploy strategy in particular,
when seeking more advanced positions within the tourism
industry.
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MAGAZINE
[first edition]
III The Job-Search and Promotion-Seeking
Stategies of Tourism Graduates at Victoria
University of Wellington in New Zealand.
[Adam Weaver,Victoria University Wellington]
They seek opportunities to interact with prospective As well, faculty members could pay a visit to their
employers. Networking was a crucial dimension of their university's student employment centre to discover the
efforts to find jobs. This networking may, for instance, take ways in which their institution is trying to prepare students
place at industry-related functions. Once graduates found for the world of work.
work, they were eager to secure promotions. Promotions
were seen as a reward for dedicated service and The findings discussed in this article need some
exceptional workplace performance. In order to improve qualification. Only the views of recent graduates were
their chances of promotion, graduates worked in a sought. The perspectives of employers would be worth
demonstrative fashion ( demonstrative labour ) so that obtaining as they are the intended targets of the sociable
their managers would notice their achievements. and demonstrative labour used by graduates. In fact,
Emotional labour is required of many graduates who work employers may see certain types of sociable and
in the tourism industry, but it is also apparent that they demonstrative labour as bothersome. Perhaps these forms
deploy types of emotional labour (sociable and of labour, when they are effective, involve subtleties related
demonstrative labour) for their own purposes. Sociable to timing, tact, and tone that employers could help to
and demonstrative labour are consistent with the notion of identify and describe. An underside to demonstrative
an entrepreneurial culture: individuals (the graduates) labour was noted by a post-graduate student with industry
acting as if they are one-person firms and marketing their experience who read the study's findings: working in a way
own talents to customers (in this case, potential employers that gets one noticed (working demonstratively) could
or current managers). involve sabotaging one's rivals so they appear incompetent
compared to oneself in the eyes of managers. He was a
Implications, Caveats, and Concluding Thoughts witness to such sabotage. The nature of demonstrative
labour in the workplace raises certain ethical issues that
The study's findings have potential implications for tourism could be the subject of some intellectually rewarding, and
programmes at tertiary education providers such as relevant, class discussion.
universities. There is scope for faculty members and
current students to reflect upon the skills emphasized References
within their academic programme. Both sociable and
demonstrative labour require sound communication skills Hochschild, A. (1983). The managed heart: Commercialization of human
feeling. Berkeley, CA: University of California.
and confidence in one's own abilities. It would perhaps be
worthwhile for current tourism students to hear from Weaver, A. (2009). Perceptions of job quality in the tourism industry: The
views of recent graduates of a university's tourism management
recent graduates about their job- and promotion-seeking programme. International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality
experiences both positive and negative. Faculty Management, 21(5), 579-593.
members could organize seminars or functions where Weaver, A. (2011). Pursing jobs and promotions: University graduates in
recent graduates share their trials and tribulations with tourism as enterprising self-marketers. Journal of Human Resources in
Hospitality & Tourism, 10(1), 80-95.
students. )
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IV Breaching the
Research-Teaching Divide.
[Anne L. Zahra, University of Waikato, New Zealand]
From my personal experience and from observations and There are a number of dimensions to the interconnection of
discussions with colleagues, academic staff tend to teaching and research. Figure One shows a two
compartmentalise their teaching and research functions. dimensional representation that I will use to structure part
Universities in their promotion processes tend to place of this reflection.
greater weighting to the quantity and quality of research Generally universities compared to higher technical
outputs in comparison to teaching quality and innovation. institutions have always given importance to research-led
This is further exacerbated by university sector research teaching ( Zamorski, 2002 ) whereby the teaching content
performance evaluation exercises in which some of undergraduate and postgraduate courses is informed by
developed countries have engaged over the last twenty the personal research of the lecturer. For the tourism field
years ( Hall, 2010; Tribe, 2003 ) . Empirical studies support this is not as easy as it seems, as our research can be in a very
specialised subject area, yet we are required to teach broad
the claim being made that there is a dichotomy between
multidisciplinary content in undergraduate and sometimes
teaching and research in higher education institutions
even in postgraduate courses ( Kinchin & Hay, 2007 ) . A
(Clark, 1991; Hattie & Marsh, 1996; Ramsden & Moses, 1992).
personal example is that one of my research subject areas
There has long been a call to breach this teaching-research
over the last few years has been volunteer tourism and I
divide (Marsh & Hattie, 2002; Trowler & Wareham, 2007) yet
have never been able to incorporate this research in any of
the challenge still remains on how to support academic
the courses I have taught. Yet, despite the difficulties
staff to better align their teaching and research functions. In
sometimes encountered for the tourism subject area,
this reflective article I will share my experience of how I have research-led teaching for most of us is the major conduit to
tried to align my teaching and research roles as a way of align research and teaching.
resolving this polarisation. One criterion in determining the quality of a tourism and
hospitality degree can be the extent to which research
informed assessments are used to meet degree objectives,
such as analytical skills, problem solving and critical
thinking. Although very beneficial to students, under-
graduate research informed assessments rarely contribute
to furthering the research agenda of academic staff unless it
is a new research subject area for the lecturer. At the post-
graduate level specialised topics for research assessments
can on occasions aid the lecturer in either keeping abreast
with the research literature or lead to the discovery of new
literature and insights. However it is my experience that you
cannot rely on this as it dependent on the few high
achieving students you have and it only happens from time
to time.
only limited experience in teaching research methodology
papers and therefore I cannot share any experiences in this
regard.
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[first edition]
IV Breaching the
Research-Teaching Divide.
[Anne L. Zahra, University of Waikato, New Zealand]
Rresearch orientated teaching is introducing students to To progress conference papers to journal publications
the knowledge construction process of research or what is usually requires time and work on behalf of the academic
commonly known as the research process. Students are ( Locke & Zahra, 2011) but this time and effort is clearly an
taught how to undertake research. This is commonly taught alignment of teaching and research. The question often
in either of two ways: in a purely theoretical manner, arises of who should be the first author when academics
describing the research process, or in a practical way publish with their students? In post-graduate research
whereby students undertake small or large practical 'conversations'/seminars I have attended at the University
research assessment tasks or a combination of both the of Waikato it seems that common practice is that the first
theory and the practice of research. The practice of research author should be the person who came up with the
generally entails some form of data collection, data analysis research topic and who did most of the work, which in my
and reporting of the findings. The practice of research can case for the conference papers was the student. It is also
either be quantitative or qualitative research. The practice considered good research protocol and a contribution to
of quantitative research at the postgraduate level can the research environment for the senior researcher to
sometimes lead to a research publication if the right encourage and foster the junior researcher to take the lead
research question had been asked, if the sample size is wherever possible. In my view developing future
adequate, if there is a robust research methodology and if researchers is also a teaching function, once again an
the publication addresses a gap in the literature. It is very alignment of the teaching and research functions.
difficult for a research methodology paper to deliver all of
the above, but an experienced researcher can attain this There is still two more ways of aligning research and
with careful planning and a good knowledge of the teaching that are not represented in Figure One - research
literature. I am not an experienced researcher and I have outputs from teaching practice ( Zahra, 2008, 2009, 2010 )
The fourth and final quadrant in Figure One is research- and the scholarship of teaching and learning with students
based teaching assessments. This is where students as potential co-enquirers and co-researchers thought the
themselves undertake enquiry-based learning. There are learning process. However it is beyond the scope of this
many similarities between research-orientated teaching short article to discuss these options. They can be dealt with
and research-based teaching. However the chief distinction in future issue of this publication.
is that for the latter the students are the main drivers of the
research project and in many instances generate the
research topic. Research outputs from research-based
teaching are very dependent on the quality of the student
(generally post-graduate students) and the nature of the
topic. From my experience conference research
publications are very achievable from research based
teaching ( McArthur & Zahra, 2009; Song & Zahra, 2009;
Zahra & McFarlane, 2009 ).
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IV Breaching the
Research-Teaching Divide.
[Anne L. Zahra, University of Waikato, New Zealand]
lark, B. R. (1991). The Fragmentatio nof res earch, teachi ng and study: An
explorative essay. InM . A. Trow & T. Nybom (Eds.), University and
Society: Essays on the so cial rol e of research and hig her edu cati on (pp.
101-111). London: Jessic a Ki ngsley Publishers.
Hall, C. M. (2010). Pu blis hor perish? Bi bliometric analysis, jou rnal ranking an d
the ass es sment of researc hquality in Tou rism. Tou rism Management,
32(1), 16-27.
Hattie, J., & Marsh, H. W. (1996). The relationship between research and teaching:
A meta-an al ys is. Review of Educ ational Research, 66(4), 507 -542.
Kinchi n, I., & Hay, D. (2007). The myth of the res earc h-led teacher. T eac hers an d
teaching: Theo ry and practice, 13(1), 43-61.
Locke, M ., & Zahra, A. L. (2011). Are medi a reports represtentative of host
community support for meg a events? The c ase of Sydney World You th
Day 2008. . Event Management, 15(3), In press.
Marsh, H. W., & Hattie, J. (2002). The Relati onBetween Rese arch Productivity and
Teaching Effec ti venes s: Complementary, Antag onistic , or
Independent Cons tru cts? The Jou rnal of Hi gher Education, 73(5 ), 603-
641.
McArthur, M., & Zahra, A. (2009). How do es the H amilton 400 V8 Event impac t on
the hospi tali ty sector. Pap er presented at the I nternational
Hospital ity Conference, Tau ran ga, New Z ealan d. 15-17 November.
Rams den, P., & Mos es , I. (1992). Asso ciations between research and tea ching in
Australian Higher Education. Higher Education, 23 (3), 273-2 95.
Song , X., & Zahra, A. (20 09). International Hospitality Conference. Paper
presented at the International Hospitality Conference, Taurang a, New
Zealand. 15-17 November
Tribe, J. (200 3). The RAE-ification of touri smresearch in the UK. Internati onal
Journal of Touris mResearch, 5(5), 225-234.
Trowler, P., & Wareham, T. (2007). Re-conceptualis ing the teaching-research
nexus Retrieved 30/9/2010, 2010, from www.portal-l ive.so lent.ac.uk
Zahra, A. (2008). Empi ri cal evidence of learning journal s as a formo f assessment.
Pap er presented at the 18 th Internati onal Researc hC onference of the
Cou ncil for Au stral ian Uni versity To urism and Hospitality Education,
Gold Coast, Australia. Febru ary 10-13 .
Zahra, A. (2009). Langu ag e and cu ltural c onsiderations when implementing
innovati ve approaches to assessments: Reflective learning journals
and the perc eption of non-Eng lish speaking stu dents. Jo urnal o f
Tourism and Hospitality Educ ati on, 21(3), 54-59.
Zahra, A. (2010). Learning jou rnals as a form of assessment in a hospi tali ty
context. Paper presented at the CHME 19 th Annu al Resear ch
Conference, Surry, UK. May 5-6.
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V Building Capacities at the Frontline:
UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist
Guide Programme for Asia-Pacific.
[Chin-Ee Ong, Heritage Studies Centre,
Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao,]
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14. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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World Tourism Organization
MAGAZINE
[first edition]
V Building Capacities at the Frontline:
UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist
Guide Programme for Asia-Pacific.
[Chin-Ee Ong, Heritage Studies Centre,
Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao,]
Boasting a CV that includes re-opening the UNESCO Office The provision of economic benefits and meaningful
in Cambodia during the transitory and still turbulent times employment at World Heritage sites, the programme
in the early 1990s and directing the international effort to argues, need not derive from the selling of standardised
safeguard the Angkor Monuments, Sir Richard (the title merchandises in shopping malls. Between 2005 and 2010,
Commandeur de l'Ordre Royal du Cambodge was Professor Engelhardt's team from UNESCO Bangkok and
bestowed upon Professor Engelhardt by His Majesty King The Heritage Studies Centre of The Institute for Tourism
Norodom Sihanouk) has witnessed much on the a frontline Studies, Macao, with the help of Architectural Conservation
of heritage conservation from countering Khmer Rouge Programme at The University of Hong Kong and an
cultural violence to combatting 'tomb-raiding' poachers international board of advisors, supported by seed funding
and smugglers. Today, the internationally-recognised from the Asian Development Bank, conceptualised and
heritage expert is wary of other forms of 'violence'. The conducted catalytic train-the-trainer workshops in
former UNESCO Regional Advisor for Culture explained, fourteen locations in Asia.
'today, we see so much commercialisation happening in
and around many World Heritage sites because local Professionalising and improving the image and expertise of
communities and businesses do not understand the tour guides and interpretation is seen as a route to advance
fundamental, underlying values of these sites and economic and other benefits for communities at World
mistakenly believe their only value is as a mass market Heritage sites. In addition to prompting better salaries for
consumer products'. The result is the overly-simplistic specialised and better-trained guides, the programme also
deployment of World Heritage sites as mere tourist hopes to create Gianna Moscardo's 'mindful visitors' at
magnets and the ringing of heritage sites with shopping Asia's World Heritage sites through better quality
malls and other forms of commercial and recreational interpretation that both engages and informs visitors of the
aimed at the mass market. heritage values of the sites they are visiting.
[Figure 2: Playful postmodern tourists at Angkor? The need [Figure 3: Group package tourists climbing scared and
to create more mindful visitation at World Heritage sites fragile temples of Angkor.
*Source: Author, 2008*] *Source: Author, 2008*]
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15. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
ASIA&THE PACIFIC
World Tourism Organization
MAGAZINE
[first edition]
V Building Capacities at the Frontline:
UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist
Guide Programme for Asia-Pacific.
[Chin-Ee Ong, Heritage Studies Centre,
Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao,]
Places, not mere attractions Launched by UNESCO-ICCROM Asian Academy of Heritage
Management (AAHM) in 2005 after a UNESCO-
Attractions is a word tourism marketers like to use but commissioned study conducted by Institute for Tourism
these are places we are dealing with. People live in and Studies, Macao in 2004 revealed poor visitor satisfaction
around heritage sites and many of these people benefit with guiding and interpretation in World Heritage sites in
little from mass tourism but have to cope with mass Asia, the programme is also a response to concerns of
tourism's many negative impacts , explained Dr Sharif potential impacts of mass tourism at World Heritage sites in
Shams Imon, lead author and trainer of the programme and Asia. In the programme, instructors seek to steer tour
Director of The Heritage Studies Centre, Institute for guides' gazes towards seeing World Heritage sites are seen
Tourism Studies, Macao. A conservation architect by as lived-in places and not just tourism attractions. Unlike
training and a consultant to International Council on cultural heritage management strategies that focus on
Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), Dr Imon is critical of the carrying-capacity, engineering and architectural and
ways in which unguided visitation and unchecked rise in economic aspects of visitation, engaging and lively
mass tourism is benefiting preservation of the World interpretation of heritage resources based on their heritage
Heritage places and the livelihoods of their communities. values is seen by UNESCO and AAHM as an important
More tourists do not always mean better tourism. We have strategy in protecting heritage places and enriching visitor
to look at how tourists experience the sites and how their experiences. This programme seeks to improve the
visitations create better employment for people in the experience of visitors and protection of cultural heritage
communities . resources and communities at UNESCO World Heritage
sites by improving and professionalising interpretation and
[Figure 4: UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist Guiding guiding. It seeks to complement existing local and national
in Training at Champasak, Laos. frameworks for tour guide certification and training by
*Source: Imon, 2007*]
providing expert training for motivated licensed guides
wishing to specialise in World Heritage guiding.
Capacity-building from Macao to India
UNESCO Project Officer Ms Montira Horayangura Unakul
stressed the catalytic function the programme seeks to
achieve through its numerous strategically placed regional
train-the-trainer workshops: Through the conduct of
these regional train-the-trainer workshops, we hope to
create lead trainers capable of conducting training in their
own countries and nurturing their own sets of specialist
guides. This programme also aims at building upon and
complementing existing certification and licensing
systems for tour guiding within the respective national
frameworks.
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16. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
ASIA&THE PACIFIC
World Tourism Organization
MAGAZINE
[first edition]
V Building Capacities at the Frontline:
UNESCO Cultural Heritage Specialist
Guide Programme for Asia-Pacific.
[Chin-Ee Ong, Heritage Studies Centre,
Institute for Tourism Studies, Macao,]
An architect by professional training, Ms Unakul revealed Faculty members in IFT helped develop the training
that the programme seeks to ignite capacities for: manuals for the programme in English. Today, the main
manual has been translated into at least six other
1. providing accredited guides the opportunity to languages (simplified and traditional Chinese, Bahasa
strengthen their skills in interpreting heritage sites, Indonesia, Khmer, Lao, Thai and Vietnamese) and used in
with an emphasis on World Heritage Sites training workshops in Asia-Pacific. A complementary
2. enhancing the educational experience of visitors manual for site managers was also written in 2007 under
(both local and international), leading to longer the endorsement of United Nations Economic and Social
stays and repeat visitation Commission for Asia and the Pacific. As part of the
3. contributing to the sustainable safeguarding of programme and as the regional focal point of AAHM, IFT
UNESCO World Heritage sites by educating visitors faculty members have so far conducted train-the trainer
about conservation issues and advocating codes of workshops in Bhutan, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia,
responsible conduct Thailand and Vietnam and trained academics, government
4. benefiting local communities by promoting their officials and professionals from fourteen countries. From
role as hosts and active participants in the cultural the later part of 2007, the UNESCO New Delhi office
tourism brought the programme into India and furthered the
5. improving career prospects for accredited guides. programme by introducing sophisticated thematic
modules on specialist topics such as Buddhism and
This training and certification programme is being Vijayanagara Art, Architecture and History.
implemented through active partnerships between
members of AAHM, training institutions from the UNESCAP
Asia Pacific Education and Training Institutes in Tourism
[Figure 5: Learning about heritage conservation
(APETIT) network and National Tourism Organizations
in Hoi An shophouses, Vietnam.
(NTOs), with the Institute for Tourism Studies (IFT) serving *Source: Author, 2007*]
as the Knowledge Management Hub and UNESCO
providing technical advisory. In 2007, the programme was
commended in the 31st Session of the World Heritage
Committee meeting in Christchurch: a best-practice
example of an initiative aiming at integrating the
conservation of World Heritage within the wider
sustainable development framework for the benefit of local
communities .
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17. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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VI
[Kaye Chon and Chris Ryan]
Historically a distinction was made between a 'polytechnic' This tension between the applied and the theoretical is
and 'university' - the former being more oriented toward obviously applicable to the hospitality industry. Hotel
vocational education and the latter concerned with groups expect graduates to emerge with strong
intellectual endeavour for the sake of generating new managerial skills within the context of operational and
concepts and understandings. The one was applied and the strategic management. Front of house operations,
second theoretical. However, starting arguably in the restaurant management, food operations, yield
1960s, governments around the world commenced management, hotel and room design and many other
increasing the provision of university places in the belief features are all part of the standard curriculum for many
that future economic success would be dependent on the hotel schools. Yet like many universities, HK PolyU would
existence of a well trained university core of young people wish its teaching to be research led, and in a world where so
able to meet the challenges of technological and other much more selling is done via the internet, where
challenges becoming apparent as the world moved into environmental management systems are increasingly
the second half of the twentieth century. It seems now allied to knowledge management systems, staff
almost impossible to believe that in a country like the participation in human resource management systems
United Kingdom that the number of university students and where all are entwined in emergent notions of
was little more than 60,000 in the 1950s - today that would corporate socially responsible management the issues
be the equivalent of just three moderately sized are not simply what to research, but the context within
universities. which they are taught to students.
By the 1980s it became increasingly apparent that the The context also refers to the physical space and many
models of 30 years earlier were inappropriate in many ways. universities and hotel schools operate training restaurants
Small tutorial groups began to disappear under financial and have students spend periods of time in hotel
pressures, universities were expected to be more aware of internships so that students acquire the practical context
employer needs, and the distinction between the applied within which to make sense of their class room knowledge.
and the theoretical soon buckled under the realisation that The question posed to Hong Kong PolyU staff was whether
good practice informs theoretical formation and equally a closer symbiotic relationship between classroom and
theory informs better practice. In some countries former practical context could not be achieved. The answer has
polytechnics became universities and attained the title of now a glass and steel physical presence at Hong Kong
university even as the nature of what was being taught PolyU called Hotel ICON at a building cost US$170 million,
changed in both traditional and new universities. Some which houses not only the staff and students of the
universities such as Virginia Tech proudly proclaimed the university but operates daily as a hotel.
applied within their titles, and Hong Kong Polytechnic
University is another.
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[first edition]
VI
[Kaye Chon and Chris Ryan]
As a hotel, Hotel ICON has 262 deluxe rooms and suites, In addition to a training restaurant Hong Kong PolyU has
three F&B outlets, a 300-seat Silver Box ballroom, a looked at best practice from other parts of the university
conference centre, a swimming pool and a harbour-facing system in Asia such as National Kaoshiung University of
fitness centre. The hotel also features a spa managed by the Hotel and Tourism Management's wine and viticulture
noted resort and spa company, Banyan Tree. In accordance testing rooms, and has installed the 'Vinoteca Lab' that
with the concept that teaching should be research driven offers students opportunities to not only talk about but to
and practical there exist three dedicated "prototype actually practice and learn about the best means of keeping
guestrooms" used primarily for research and innovation wines and of course, eventually serving them. It is expected
which have now been in use since 2010. Each of these three this will be a popular class!
prototype guestrooms have been developed according to
its respective theme, namely design," "technology" and As noted, all of this has meant a challenge to staff to revise
"well being." While tailor making experiences for guests, the their curriculum and teaching methods. Professor Chon
prototype guestrooms also allows further research into and has stated that 'As Hotel ICON will have to serve the
the application of advanced concepts in hotel teaching needs of the School, we have already undergone
management fashioned to make possible a more the strenuous process of revising the course syllabi of more
sustainable future. This opens up a new mode of teaching than 40 courses so as to facilitate and ensure a full Hotel and
(and challenge) for teaching staff. It is permitting the School integration'. The School has integrated Hotel ICON
development of ideas by students and staff in components into a number of cutting-edge research projects including
such as room design, the use of sustainable materials, how Hotel Customer Behaviour Studies and Environmental
rooms may better incorporate sustainable engineering Management in Hospitality Industry in addition to the
features, and the use of integrated IT systems to better meet active internship programme for students and ensuring the
the clients' need of a seamless transition between a hotel's facilities are subsumed into the daily teaching and
television entertainment medium that also uses internet experience of the students.
facilities for business purposes. It is also offering
opportunities for experimentation in price/facility Hotel ICON is fully owned and operated by PolyU's
provision alternatives all of which can be tested on actual subsidiary "Hotel ICON Company Limited". About 300 full-
guests. time employees are currently working in the Hotel
supported by some 100 students of the School who will
Modern hotel management education also requires hands have their periods of internship within the hotel. The
on experience with new managerial and analytical software General Manager, Richard Hatter, has 25 years of
that aids the profitable running of a hotel. Like other international experience in the hospitality industry
universities (for example Beijing International Studies including past positions as General Manager and Director of
University) a state of the art Samsung Digital Lab for the Shangri-La Group's Asia region covering Hong Kong,
Hospitality Technology supported by the company has Mainland China, Singapore and Indonesia.
been installed.
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[first edition]
VI
[Kaye Chon and Chris Ryan]
The purpose behind the development is to ensure that
students will have the best possible opportunity to
combine the theoretical and practical with the
environment of a working hotel a hotel with professional
staff and guests a hotel where the students' decisions may
well influence guest experience! Of course, students will
not be immediately exposed to the risks of making poor
decisions, but by the time they are in that position the aim is
that they will be assured in their decision making,
professional in their dealings with guests, and laying the
foundations of a long career in the industry.
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20. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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World Tourism Organization
MAGAZINE
[first edition]
VII Higher Tourism Education:
Guiding students and graduates
to make things right at all times.
[Loreto Ibañez Castillo,
UNWTO. TEDQUAL Programme Manager]
Ethics is never forgotten in the definition and development This article seeks to share worldwide experiences on this
of any higher tourism education programme; and no one - matter, by analyzing the key moments within the definition
neither management, faculty, students nor future and implementation of the programme that could
employers - disagrees on its importance. But a real contribute to guiding students towards making things
commitment to go beyond the classic approach of right at all times.
delivering and learning the concepts to focus on guiding
students and graduates to make things right at all times, is The development of the programme building
perhaps a less developed issue. expectations.
How many students might have finished their studies The development of a programme's vision, mission and aim
as an automaton, knowing that this is not what and its subsequent dissemination to potential students is
they really want to do with their lives? And how many perhaps the first moment when students' expectations
Institutions/Programmes have not invested much time in about their professional future start to be built; however, it
encouraging their students to pay attention to whether is also when, for the first time, gaps between these
they have chosen the right career, in order not to lose expectations and reality start to appear.
students?
Equally, employers are now increasingly focusing on But why is this happening? Could it be that that sometimes
selecting those students who feel a passion for what they information seems to be 'overwritten' for commercial
have studied and are ready to continue learning, so purposes or are there other reasons behind it all?
students who have solely focused on obtaining good
grades might not obtain the expected results while looking There are several answers to this question. The
for a job. 'commercial' reasoning seems to be one of the main ones,
but in many cases the gaps are due to other deeper reasons.
On the other hand, Institutions/Programmes have the hard Often, those defining the three key elements of the
task to recruit students every year; and of having to programme - vision, mission and aim - are not directly
constantly prove to the industry, the potential students, the connected to the tourism sector on a day-today basis, or
market and the competitors that their reputation and the have written about these elements in a generic way by
employment rate of graduate students are justifiably high. using a fixed recipe that could in theory be applied to any
tourism programme but which, in reality, implies the loss of
But what happens when students are not happy with what an opportunity to integrate the views of management,
they have studied, and in most cases with their work? students, faculty and the future employers in its definition
Would it have been better to encourage students to stop and implementation right from the very beginning of the
and think about whether they should discontinue their conceptualization, therefore leading to increasing the
present studies if it is not what they are looking for or want probabilities that the programme will not to be connected
to do as a job in the future? to reality, and consequently, building expectations in the
students which might not be realistic.
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21. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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MAGAZINE
VII Higher Tourism Education:
Guiding students and graduates
to make things right at all times.
[Loreto Ibañez Castillo,
UNWTO. TEDQUAL Programme Manager]
Admission and induction process In most programmes, interaction with future employers is
available either through internships or thanks to a strategy
The second crucial moment that contributes to students where the sector directly participates in the programme as
making the right decision concerning their future is the faculty members. However a closer approach that could
admission and induction process, at which point students generate other types of interaction such as inviting
expect to feel identified with their choice of study. faculty, students and employers to create a common
Nevertheless, this feeling is not always fulfilled. The project is not frequently implemented, although it could
admission process might not depend directly on the work towards obtaining the employers' commitment to
Institution but on intermediaries and the induction process safeguard the students' future as well as encouraging
is sometimes considered more of a second marketing commitment on behalf of students and faculty to respond
opportunity for the Institution, rather than an opportunity and consider the needs of these future employers as part of
to share both success and non-success stories with new the Programme.
students as both of these would help the student realize
and decide whether the choice is correct. And we find this situation again in the connection students
should have with day-to-day reality. This connection at
As a result, students usually finish building their initial local, national and international levels - would ensure
expectations based on the success stories they hear about students' minds are open to live their profession with
during the induction process, while the down sides are understanding about cultural differences, sensitiveness
often forgotten in the construction of the path they are towards the positive impact any tourism activity should
willing to follow; a second significant gap that can distort have in its host countries and communities, and respect for
the main aim of guiding students to make things right at all the tourist as an individual, and not just as a source of
times. income.
The implementation of the Programme All the above aspects link directly to the importance of
encouraging a relation between faculty and students
Some aspects/actions regarding the implementation of the beyond the classroom while the programme is
programme, are crucial when guiding students towards implemented. An example would be the organization of
their future: cooperation for development activities and joint students'
1) interaction with future employers, 2) connection with internship/faculty placement experiences abroad - a
day-to-day reality, and 3) communication with faculty practice that has started to be implemented in fast
beyond the classrooms. emerging tourism destinations and that could help
students get the full picture concerning the work
environment they will find in the tourism sector.
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22. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
ASIA&THE PACIFIC
World Tourism Organization
MAGAZINE
[first edition]
VII Higher Tourism Education:
Guiding students and graduates
to make things right at all times.
[Loreto Ibañez Castillo,
UNWTO. TEDQUAL Programme Manager]
The post-graduate follow-up
Finally, the follow-up given to graduating students could
be considered the 'finishing touch' in the whole 'making
sure students have done things right at all times' process.
This follow-up should include: 1) helping students select
companies/organizations where basic ethical principles
are followed when applying for a jobto; 2) encouraging
ethical behaviour on the job and, 3) encouraging them to
be citizens who, through work, are seeking to contribute to
the economic and social development of the country, place
of residence and family. All of these are key aspects that will
help students become positive leaders in the tourism
sector while making a significant contribution to the
accomplishment of the UN purposes and principles
reflected in the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism, ILO policy
papers and Millennium Development Goals.
References
This paper has been based on the author's experience and
reports of the UNWTO.TedQual auditors' visit to Higher
Tourism Education Institutions worldwide, after
interviewing Employers of the tourism sector, Faculty
Members, Students and Management team.
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23. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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MAGAZINE
[first edition]
Why submit yourself to the UNWTO-TEDQUAL Accreditation Process?
[Gu Huimin, Beijing International Studies University. Chris Ryan, University of Waikato.]
INTERVIEW
The School of Hospitality Management at Beijing CR You referred to 'process' earlier – what did you learn
International Studies University recently went through the from the process, and how did it differ from what you normally
process of accreditation for UNWTO.TedQual accreditation. do?
Professor Gu Huimin, Deputy Dean of the School of Tourism
Management and Director of the China Hospitality Industry GH Well, as I said, usually in China there is a lot of emphasis
on the quality of provision, and of course that too was covered by
Research Centre at the university, was asked about the
who was our UNWTO.TedQual auditor. I have to say that the
United Nations World Tourism Organisation's accreditation
auditor did a very good job. Usually any inspection by the Chinese
process. Her replies to the questions posed by Chris Ryan authorities is a team so we expected more than one person would
are reproduced below. come to look at us, but the auditor was very thorough. A key issue
as I said was that of the process by which I mean the experience of
the students. It was not only a question of what they lean but also
CR Why did you apply for UNWTO.TedQual? how they learn, and how do we as teachers not only teach but
establish learning environments for the students. So we were
GH We wanted to measure ourselves against international forced to look carefully at our curriculum and how not only did we as
best practice, and the United Nations World Tourism Organization staff relate to the wider industry, but also how we could use those
is also a very recognizable label by which others can judge us. We relationships to help establish a better understanding on the part of
are highly regarded in China but it was important that we should the students. So this could involve different things, from the
obtain an internationally recognizable accreditation to complement periods of internship in industry, to the use of industry examples in
our Chinese accreditations and recognitions. Indeed we found our teaching so that it was relevant, to the use of case studies. In
that there was a difference between what we were used to in China that way our research activities are also important because it is a
and what was required of us by the UNWTO moderator. In China means by which we as teachers keep up to date, are cognizant of
the inspections are very much about 'supply' factors – that is how governmental initiatives and industry movements and can pass
many computers do we have, how many classroom, what this to our students. I know this is important in most countries – but
standards of accommodation do we offer for the students, how it is especially important in China because things are changing so
many staff do we have and what qualifications do the staff have? very rapidly here.
With the UNWTO we had to look more carefully at the processes
we engage in. CR So, was the accreditation worthwhile?
CR So, just how many people did you have involved in GH To be honest, we are still waiting for the outcome as the
writing the submission for the accreditation? auditor was here only about 6 weeks ago, and so we are still waiting
for the final result. I am confident we will gain accreditation, but the
GH In total we have about 50 staff, and of these about 10 were question is for how long. However, to answer your question, apart
engaged in the writing of the documentation with perhaps a smaller from any 'prestige' that may be associated with the accreditation,
group being the core. We also involved two of our administrative and I won't pretend that is not important – because in gaining such
staff. Throughout the process we had meetings with all the staff so recognition it places Beijing International Studies University's
they knew what was happening. programme alongside those of well- known and internationally
famous universities like Hong Kong and say your's too – but it was
an important learning process. I found it interesting also seeing a
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24. UNWTO.TEDQUAL
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MAGAZINE
[first edition]
Why submit yourself to the UNWTO-TEDQUAL Accreditation Process?
[Gu Huimin, Beijing International Studies University. Chris Ryan, University of Waikato.]
INTERVIEW
western perspective or approach to education. Perhaps in China Note
as an university it is taken for granted that you know what you are
doing – perhaps that is why we primarily look at resources, but in Beijing International Studies University (formerly Beijing
this process we had to say not only what processes we engage in Foreign Language University) is one of the major providers of
but also support it with evidence – for example, details of meetings university level education in tourism and hospitality in China.
with industry, use of visiting speakers, examples of student work, It has been providing such courses for nearly 40 years and has
evidence of discussion of curriculum, and that forced us to ask been at the forefront of such education in China for much of
some pretty basic questions about what we do and why we do it. So this time. It courses are taught in English and its graduates
apart from anything else that was a good experience for us and so I have gone on to achieve significant positions in the growing
can frankly say, yes – the accreditation was worthwhile even Chinese tourism industry and they are much sought by the
though it took a lot of work on our part, especially as we had to industry keen to recruit knowledgeable young people.
change our mindset a little. Professor Gu has several roles apart from being a researcher
of note in China, and one of these is the assessments of hotels
for China's hotel star rating system.
In June 2011, The Bachelor in Tourism Management of the
Beijing International Studies University had obtained – for
the maximum number of years - The UNWTO.TedQual
Certification.
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