ITMC

Study in Holland Orientation Day

The NHTV University of Applied Sciences Breda organises an orientation day from the 12th until the 14th of January 2012. You have the change to participate in lectures, participate in workshops and meet other international students while exploring the student life in Breda. When you pay the flight, NHTV pays the rest.

For more information contact Esther Peperkamp (ilsinfo@nhtv.nl) for the Academic Bachelor in Leisure and Tessy Verhoeven (verhoeven.m@nhtv.nl) for the Bachelor Programmes in Tourism.

Revealing of this year’s fieldwork destinations!

Last Tuesday on the 11^th of October a meeting was held for all the 2^nd year ITMC students concerning the fieldwork period in March and April. During this period students will go abroad for a period of 4 weeks to do research on tourism related aspects in a foreign environment. During this meeting preliminary information was given on different parts of the fieldwork abroad. Topics like the destination, important data, what to do, travel itinerary etc. were discussed.

After a brief introduction on what was expected from the students during this period abroad the different locations were revealed. Students were very enthusiastic when they found out that they will be spending one week in Singapore after which they will be traveling to Bali for the remainder of their fieldwork period. The next fieldwork meeting will be planned for December when more detailed information will be distributed.

ITMC placement speeddating

Last week all third year ITMC students were invited to join a placement speeddating session at NHTV.

Argentina, Malaysia, United States or Belgium? Or more important a tourist board, consultancy organisation, NGO or touroperator?

All ITMC students have to go abroad for their placement during the second half of the third year. But what can they expect, how is the culture of a country and what are the do’s and don’ts?

No better way to find that out then ask fellow students who have been abroad already! Therefore the placement speeddate was arranged.

About 80 students had a chat with their 4th year colleagues to discuss the placement possibilities. Every 10 minutes they could visit another student to hear his/her experiences.

At the end of the afternoon there were drinks and snacks for the fourth year students in the NHTV bar, where they could finally chat with their fellow students who they had not seen for over six months.

Asian Diary Part III – A Portrait of Hoi An

A Portrait of Hoi An

Today I would like to talk a bit about my research destination, Hoi An in order to provide an insight to the fascinating and struggling character of Hoi An.

Hoi An, received Unesco world heritage status in 1999 due to its distinctive architecture especially in the Old Town. I was astonished by the beauty of Hoi An. At first it reminded me to a romantic village at the French Atlantic coast but as time passed by Hoi An developed its own charm. Sitting in the tiny family-owned waterfront restaurant and eating Cao Lau and Spring rolls during sunset is quite amazing as well as a morning walk, which means to get up at least at five and to take a walk to the central market which is not yet flooded with tourists but remains to its original use as trading hub for fishermen who just come in with their trawlers bringing the catch from last night. Afterwards it is wise to wander through the narrow streets avoiding the stream of tourists and sellers but instead focus on the architecture of the city which can be much better experienced like this.

Hoi An has a reputation for qualitative good tailor-made clothing at considerably cheap prices which mirrors in the amount of tailors that can be found in the city. The figures are set at around 400 different tailor shops and the competition is huge. Looking at this amount of tailors I am actually wondering how trustworthy the reputation as a tailor city at good conditions is. Sometimes it seems as if Hoi An just consists of tailors which is in my opinion a negative impression. The focus on tailors let the city appear/appeal artifical and anyhow let the amazing architecture become a side product.

Anyways this development can also be seen as a negative impact of tourism. Since tourists often come for tailoring reasons many inhabitants see the chance of making a living in opening a tailor shop. I think governmental restrictions would improve the city image but anyways that’s not my decision to make.

I have been staying in Hoi An for almost eight days. Since it was my group’s research area and we decided to stay in the centre of the city I had quite a lot of time to get a feeling for the city and its inhabitants. Though it was a nice time in Hoi An I have to say that I would not stay longer than 4 days if I was a tourist. Hoi An is nice and impressive but also a small-scale town which has been discovered more or less discovered within one day.

Some of you might wonder with what kind of research assignment NHTV entrusted us. In groups of nine students we all were responsible for different identified areas within Hoi An. Hoi An market, my group’s chosen area of research is located in the city centre of Hoi An and there was a lot going on. It was one of the livelier indentified areas within Hoi An. Other groups were asked to research far more remote areas such as Cam Nam Island.

During the time of research we mainly had to observe, interview and collect information which could be useful to get an insight of the area and its functions, people and its historic development with regard to tourism. Being on the field we began writing a Destination Analysis which lasted until previous week. It gives the commissioner, in this particular case my university an insight into the researched destination area in order to measure if an involvement is beneficial or any other contribution fits the commissioner’s perspectives. Suchlike analyses are a perfect example of what you can expect after graduating as International Tourism Consultant and applying for a job in a tourism consultancy firm.

Greetz,

Nils

A multicultural internship for a fortune 500 company

Koen Ruisch

As part of my bachelor in tourism management and consultancy at NHTV Breda University of Applies Sciences I am currently enjoying my internship of six months with Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels on Bali, Indonesia. Here I mainly am based out of their Jimbaran Bay resort while I will also be doing an inter-resort exchange with their Sayan Resort. This combination gives me the opportunity to see two different styles of resorts, one being a beach resort while the other is a more secluded and jungle based resort. Next to that I have been given the opportunity to do a management trainee programme especially designed by four seasons to meet my needs and interests, therefore I can only applaud the amazing support and flexibility the company has offered me. The programme rotates me in 6 months trough 7 departments, including 5 food and beverage outlet, front of house as well as back of house and an inter resort exchange.

While NHTV offers a wide variety of internships within the programme this one was just right for me, having always been interested in resorts and hotels, which play a huge part of tourism in Bali. This is the ideal learning ground for me to see how a big international hotel chain works, enjoy a highly multi-cultural environment and see how 5 start resort fits into a world famous tourism destination.

While this was not the first time for me to live abroad it is the first time for me to live in Asia, and that can create quite a culture shock in the beginning. I was fortunate to have this experience, although this can be tough in the beginning it is an experience of which you can learn a lot, personally and professionally.

This brings me to the point of working in Bali in an international company, which is very rewarding. Mainly due to the amazing culture the Balinese people have in their work and daily life, they are famous for their smile (some might say this is something Thailand has trademarked, but a Balinese smile is also very beautiful), this is something you will come into contact with each day while working in Bali. But to be honest it isn’t always easy working in a country where western people are looked at different and speed of work is slower, it can create tensions between colleagues and friends. I am the only western trainee in our hotel, this is of 70+ trainees and 550+ employees, and in the beginning when you’re the only western person sitting in the room or the cafeteria and everyone is speaking a language you can not understand this can be frustrating, but when you start to get to know the people and work with them you can see how kind they are, interested and open to new experiences, something which is also highly encouraged by Four Seasons.

After having been on Bali now for about 3 months and I have another 3 months to go I am grateful for this amazing opportunity and hope that I will be able to enjoy many more of these chances, as well as I hope (and know) that for future students these experiences are waiting. As a final note I would like to especially thank all the management and staff of Four Seasons Resorts and Hotels Bali for all their support and knowledge they have shared and are sharing with me.