August 2016 TOUR Victoria e-newsletter

Dear Colleagues, Students, Alumni and Friends

Welcome to the August 2016 edition of the TOUR Victoria newsletter introducing a new academic staff member, highlighting recent events and publications as well as student activities.

Luisa Acheson (editor) and the rest of Tourism Group (Karen, Adam, Ian, Christian, Mondher and Eerang). 

 

Welcome to Dr Eerang Park

Dr Eerang Park is our new Lecturer in Tourism Management and joined the Tourism group in June 2016. She previously taught at University of Lincoln in the UK, and the Hong Kong Polytechnic University in Hong Kong.

Her research interests include tourism and community development/empowerment, sustainability and tourism, tourist behaviour, destination management and marketing, and visual analysis in tourism (e.g. media representation, photography).

More information and contact details for Dr Park »

 

TMAG Alumni Rep: Life after Honours in the Hotel Industry

Tourism alumni representative Jess Taylor (R) with Hazel Rigler, Director of Marketing and e-Commerce at the Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Jess Taylor has been appointed the Alumni representative on the Tourism Management Advisory Group. She completed a  BTM(Hons) at the end of 2013 and is now Marketing and Communications Executive at the Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Jess talks about 'life after Honours' »

 

Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management anniversary

The Tourism group celebrated the 15th anniversary edition of the Journal of Revenue & Pricing Management with a seminar on August 17 led by Editor, Dr Ian Yeoman and David Meaclem (Air NZ).

More on the seminar topics & presentations »

 

Summer scholar wins Summer Gold in poster competition

Tourism student Alex Gadd with supervisors Michael Harbrow from DOC and Professor Karen Smith (Dr Adam Weaver, supervisor-not pictured)

Congratulations to Tourism student Alex Gadd, who won best poster prize in the Management/Marketing and International Business/Government academic group with her poster "Understanding the drivers of dissatisfaction among visitors to Department of Conservation campgrounds".

More about Alex's project »

 

Winner of best Research Report on Airport Expansion Proposal

(L-R): Dr Christian Schott (Course Coordinator), Dan Zhao & Christine Huang (runners up), Greg Thomas (WIA), and Sophie Harrison (Best Report Prize)

This year’s research topic, selected by the students in TOUR380 Tourism Research, examined Wellingtonians’ attitudes towards the proposed runway extension of Wellington International Airport (WIA). 

The project focused on Wellingtonians likely use of the airport if direct long-haul flights could land at WIA in terms of their air travel itinarary decision-making. The prize for the best report was sponsored by WIA and presented by Greg Thomas, WIA General Manager Communications. 

Due to the outstanding analytical depth exhibited in her report Sophie Harrison was announced the winner and awarded the Best TOUR380 Research Report Prize 2016, consisting of two return air tickets to any New Zealand destination. Very strong reports were also submitted by the runners up Christine Huang and Dan Zhao.

 

What is the future of the regional tourism organisations in New Zealand?

Students from TOUR413 Scenarios for World Tourism undertook a consultancy style project, in which they constructed four scenarios about the future of Regional Tourism Organisations (RTOs) in New Zealand, as part of their postgraduate degree.

To find out more about their project »

 

Shahab Pourfakhimi - TOUR 101 and TOUR 301

While working at Victoria as a contract lecturer, Shahab coordinated TOUR 301 Tourism Planning and Policy and worked in a team with Professor Karen Smith as TOUR 101 Introduction to Tourism co-coordinators.

For TOUR 301, he arranged a tailor-made half-day educational visit to the Parliament grounds for the students and brought several speakers from New Zealand tourism public, private and third sectors to his class to provide students with an insider perspective towards the political aspects of tourism industry in New Zealand. Among these guest speakers were Hon Paula Bennett, the Associate Minister of Tourism, Charlie Ives, the CEO of RTONZ and David Perks from WERDA.

Shahab is now back in Dunedin to finish the last phases of his Otago University PhD studies investigating the impact of electronic word of mouth on tourists’ hotel choice behaviour.

 

Graduation May 2016

Congratulations to the Tourism Management students who "saw the light" and graduated in May 2016.

More details and the full list of graduates »

 

Professor Karen Smith with new graduates Cecelia Cambell and Olivia Mexted

 

Professor Karen Smith with BTM/BCOM graduate Gemma Patterson.

 

Post graduate pot-luck lunch

Prof Karen Smith hosted a post graduate pot luck lunch earlier this year. A wide range of food from many different cultures were on offer being provided by students and staff from China, Iran, Indonesia, Nepal, Singapore, Vietnam, Germany, Tunisia, England and New Zealand...

 
 
 
 
 

Tourism Group at Victoria

The Tourism Group at Victoria University are:

Prof Karen Smith I Assoc Prof Ian Yeoman I Assoc Prof Mondher Sahli I Dr Eerang Park  I Dr Christian Schott I Dr Adam Weaver
Administrator: Luisa Acheson

 

WTO.TedQual certification has been awarded to the Bachelor of Tourism Management, BTM(Hons), Master of Tourism Management and PhD programmes.