This article highlights how Emily Zehnder, Sarah Zehnder, and Leigh Thompson, the Canadian GTTP student winners in 2013, progressed their GTTP research work this year, 2014.
By Heather Brown, Teacher Sponsor, David Thompson Secondary School
The theme of the 2013 Student Research Competition sponsored by the GTTP focused on food and culinary tourism in the participant’s home country. Twenty-two high school students from 12 countries shared the results of their research at the student/teacher conference held in November 2013 in Monaco.
This educational initiative continued beyond the international conference with the work of the Canadian team. Since their visit to Monaco, Emily Zehnder, Sarah Zehnder, and Leigh Thompson found inspiration in the work of their peers and decided to take action by re-designing and implementing some of their recommendations.
Earlier this year, the trio’s final report was used as a guide by a local Cultural Tourism committee. In addition, one of their suggestions, a community kitchen, was simultaneously proposed by a recently formed local non-profit organization that was looking to create food-business incubator opportunities.
With their own action in mind, the team opted to propose two ideas to our town council. The first request they made was that the recently hired event planner focus one community event on local food, which would include education, insight into food production, and of course delicious food for consumption. The second suggestion, a taste trail, is one that the team hopes to implement.
In April 2014, as Grade 12 students, Emily, Leigh and Sarah were the only youth presenters at a provincial conference, “Food for Thought,” hosted by the Columbia Institute for locally elected officials in Vancouver, British Columbia. The young ladies took part in a workshop providing an opportunity for trustees and other elected leaders to discuss the influence the education system can have on engaging youth in finding solutions to community issues.
Food was the focus of the conference and included presenters such as Paula Daniels, who spoke about the importance of setting up networks for all members of the food system, Harold Steves, a pioneer farmer and elected official who is fighting to preserve farmland and Lenore Newman, a Canada Research Chair in Food Security.
Emily, Leigh and Sarah’s work was very well received and considered inspiring by many; in fact several of their ideas were tweeted by councillors and school trustees to their respective tourism committees. Of course we made sure to take the time to eat delicious food and visit local farmers markets!
We look forward to their continued work and future accomplishments. They are a team to watch!
Vinicius Lages (Minister of Tourism) and Mariana Aldrigui (GTTP Brazil) talking about the need for better educated tourism professionals
GTTP Brazil organized a student conference on “The Future of the Tourism Professional” as part of the World Tourism Day celebrations on September 27th this year.
Mr. Vinicius Lages, Brazil’s Minister of Tourism, was the keynote speaker, inspiring a select group of students to search for knowledge relating tourism and innovation, and to think about serving their communities to help improved the quality of life where they live.
Global and Local Partner representatives shared their experiences as travel professionals, and outlined the path to a successful tourism career. GTTP Brazil’s chairman, Alberto Martins, emphasized that change in Brazil’s tourism industry can only happen when there is a change in education.
The student conference had 309 attendees and was held during the ABAV International Tourism Expo.
Alberto Martins (GTTP Brazil chairman),
Marcio Favilla (UNWTO executive director),
Vinicius Lages (Minister of Tourism) and
Antonio Azevedo (ABAV chairman, Brazilian Association of Travel Agents)
Luis Vargas (Travelport, a GTTP global partner) and Mariana Aldrigui (GTTP) sharing information on tourism careers
GTTP Brazil books printed and distributed by the Ministry of Tourism from 2003 to 2006
(the second one is Passport to the World)
By: Elizabeth Aston, Senior Advisor, Industry Affairs, Amadeus IT Group
The GTTP annual student and teacher awards, which we hosted at the Amadeus Executive Briefing Centre in Sophia Antipolis, brought together gifted students from around the world to showcase their bright ideas to shape a sustainable future of travel.
Twenty-two high school students from 11 countries, including Brazil, Canada, China, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Russia, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, shared their findings on applying technology in a sustainable way to enhance the visitor experience in their countries.
The winning projects were diverse, ranging from a case study from Olympia Brazil based on devising a simple clean renewable energy system to support local sustainable tourism development, to Kitale Kenya which focused on how the MPesa mobile payment system is revolutionising the entire tourism industry by providing a secure and cashless system, and is helping to boost the economy.
The winning Chinese project, which focused on smart technology being used in new sustainable hotels in Qingdao, underscored the ingenuity that is currently revolutionising this sector. Another impressive entry was from Sarvar in Hungary, where the winners illustrated in real time the simplicity and power of using QR code generator technology to simplify entrance processes with clear sustainable advantages for the travel industry.
Perhaps the most impressive aspect of the event was the poise and confidence with which these teenagers presented their projects, despite the fact that for most of them English is not their first language and many have never travelled abroad before nor presented to a large audience. For the students and teachers, it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to be selected to represent their country and travel to Nice to take part in this prestigious event.
Feedback from the event was overwhelmingly positive. A student from Hong Kong commented that “it has been a precious learning and development opportunity,” while a Jamaican teacher said “Thank you for educating students about making better life changing choices” and their student remarked that “dreams do really come true.”
A Kenyan teacher and student said: “Thank you for everything. It is inspiring and impacts greatly my future as a tourism teacher” and “I will use this as an opportunity to achieve greater things.” Finally, a school principal said “I really want to assure you that you have made a huge difference to the lives of all of us.”
To wrap up the event – there was a gala dinner at the Le Meridien and everyone had a fabulous time, especially the students, who performed with great gusto when asked to spontaneously deliver a national song or dance, showing that they were even more talented than already proven!
Amadeus has been an inaugural partner of the GTTP since 1999, and other international industry leaders supporting the GTTP include American Express, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, Delta Air Lines, Enterprise Holdings, The Hertz Corporation, Hogg Robinson Group, KDS, Lufthansa, Starwood Hotel & Resorts, and Travelport, all of whom have executives serving on the GTTP’s Advisory Board.
There is potential for many of these students to rise to the top of our industry and become future leaders and who knows, perhaps one day some of them may even sit on the board of GTTP.
Head over to the GTTP website for more on this charitable foundation and have a look at their Facebook page for great pictures from the event.
