Student Study Visits
Study visits were organised for VET students from Poland, Portugal and the UK, as well as youth group members from Spain. Study visits that meet and interview tourism operators, visitors and other users are essential for the vocational study of sustainable tourism - otherwise it is a dead academic paper-based subject. Students are likely to remember the issues, stories and personalities far more from a study visit that from film or paper.
Study visits were organised for VET students from Poland, Portugal and the UK, as well as youth group members from Spain. Study visits that meet and interview tourism operators, visitors and other users are essential for the vocational study of sustainable tourism - otherwise it is a dead academic paper-based subject. Students are likely to remember the issues, stories and personalities far more from a study visit that from film or paper.
Rutland Water Study Visit
20 Travel and Tourism students from New College Stamford used the Rutland Water Study Visit to describe the pros and cons of tourism in terms of - People (the social impact), Profit (the economic impact) and Planet (the environmental impact). They had a presentation on the different tourism operators and managers at the destination , as well as the conflicting interests of the different users of the destination eg. the sailors, fishermen, birdwatchers, cyclists, as well as the way these conflicts can be managed and minimised. The students prepared presentations on these positive and negative impacts, using the study visit and library/internet research. This was as part of their assessed Responsible Tourism Module for their BTEC Travel and Tourism Level 2 course.
20 Travel and Tourism students from New College Stamford used the Rutland Water Study Visit to describe the pros and cons of tourism in terms of - People (the social impact), Profit (the economic impact) and Planet (the environmental impact). They had a presentation on the different tourism operators and managers at the destination , as well as the conflicting interests of the different users of the destination eg. the sailors, fishermen, birdwatchers, cyclists, as well as the way these conflicts can be managed and minimised. The students prepared presentations on these positive and negative impacts, using the study visit and library/internet research. This was as part of their assessed Responsible Tourism Module for their BTEC Travel and Tourism Level 2 course.
A presentation of pictures and maps of Rutland Water was presented to the partners, and can be seen on http://learnsustainabletourism.weebly.com/rutland-water.html. This site also has the 4 part video of the talk by Will Kirstein to the New College Stamford students.
Rutland Water
Lyndon Bird Reserve – Reintroduced the Osprey to England, with young birds from Scotland. Now they are breeding successfully with about 20+ birds making the annual migration from Ghana, through Portugal and Spain, and arriving at Rutland Water in early April. This is a big tourist attraction as it has a live webcam on the osprey nest, and tracks the migration. However many bird watchers arrive by car, and will often travel many miles by car to view a rare migrant bird. Ecotourism is actively marketed each year at the biggest bird Fair in Europe held each August at Rutland Water. Much of the marketing is for flights to Africa, S America, Asia and Europe to join bird watching tours.
There is little promotion of public transport to Rutland Water and none from either Oakham railway station or Stamford railway station.
A presentation on Rutland Water as a case study of sustainable tourism was shown to the partners. It was shown to the Travel and Tourism students prior to their half day study visit to the Anglian Water Environmental Education Centre for a talk with Will Kirstein, the Education Manager. Videos in 4 parts of his talk are also on the website. The partners visited an Italian restaurant at Normanton on the banks of Rutland Water. This was a honeypot destination for tourist for fly-fishing using the 40 hire boats, sailing from the sailing club and weddings at the flooded Normanton church.
Learning points:
Rutland Water
Lyndon Bird Reserve – Reintroduced the Osprey to England, with young birds from Scotland. Now they are breeding successfully with about 20+ birds making the annual migration from Ghana, through Portugal and Spain, and arriving at Rutland Water in early April. This is a big tourist attraction as it has a live webcam on the osprey nest, and tracks the migration. However many bird watchers arrive by car, and will often travel many miles by car to view a rare migrant bird. Ecotourism is actively marketed each year at the biggest bird Fair in Europe held each August at Rutland Water. Much of the marketing is for flights to Africa, S America, Asia and Europe to join bird watching tours.
There is little promotion of public transport to Rutland Water and none from either Oakham railway station or Stamford railway station.
A presentation on Rutland Water as a case study of sustainable tourism was shown to the partners. It was shown to the Travel and Tourism students prior to their half day study visit to the Anglian Water Environmental Education Centre for a talk with Will Kirstein, the Education Manager. Videos in 4 parts of his talk are also on the website. The partners visited an Italian restaurant at Normanton on the banks of Rutland Water. This was a honeypot destination for tourist for fly-fishing using the 40 hire boats, sailing from the sailing club and weddings at the flooded Normanton church.
Learning points:
- Certification for sustainable tourism would help the local businesses promote a more sustainable and accountable image.
- Local businesses, such as the restaurant, could make their products more locally derived and produced if they wish to be considered as sustainable. Italian ingredients of pasta and anchovies have little link to Rutland Water.
Polish Study Visit to Baiao, Portugal
About 12 Polish students of Zespół Szkół Technicznych in Bialystok (from Catering and Automotive courses) visited Portugal. The Portugese and Polish students built some good personal relations using English as the common language.
Twelve 1st and some 2nd yr. students who visited Portugal were challenged to a competition to described What is sustainable tourism? using Power Point presentations. They then prepared the same presentation in the English language.
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About 12 Polish students of Zespół Szkół Technicznych in Bialystok (from Catering and Automotive courses) visited Portugal. The Portugese and Polish students built some good personal relations using English as the common language.
Twelve 1st and some 2nd yr. students who visited Portugal were challenged to a competition to described What is sustainable tourism? using Power Point presentations. They then prepared the same presentation in the English language.
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