Tourism and Event Management Students Learn Beyond The Classroom on Kuching Field Trip

The students from sarawak, sabah and peninsular malaysia led by tourism and event management lecturer fidella tiew visited major event venues and met with tourism and event management professionals in the state capital to gain first-hand insights into the organising and marketing of large-scale events. 

Miri – 20 april 2010 – fourteen tourism & event management students of curtin university of technology, sarawak malaysia (curtin sarawak)’s school of business took their learning beyond the classroom when they went on a field trip to kuching recently. 

Their 3-day trip from 7 to 9 April 2010 took them to the Sarawak Cultural Village, Sarawak’s award-winning cultural showcase and home of the Rainforest World Music Festival (RWMF).

Visiting the Sarawak Cultural Village helped them gain a better understanding of the rich cultural heritage of the state, as well as the hosting of international events such as the world-renowned annual music fest.

They also visited the offices of the Sarawak Tourism Board (STB), where STB Marketing Manager and organiser of the RWMF, Benedict Jimbau, shared his experiences and formula for success in organising the RWMF.

At their next stop, the Sarawak Convention Bureau (SCB), they gathered valuable pointers on organising and promoting MICE events from Business Development Manager Chew Chang Guan. Chew also gave the students an overview of the SCB’s role in attracting high-end business meetings, conferences and incentives to the state.

This was followed by a tour of the newly-opened Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) where they familiarised themselves with its world-class facilities for conventions, conferences, banquets and exhibitions.

According to Tiew, such field trips are the best means of providing students with first-hand insights into particular processes, procedures, events or locations that cannot be visualised in the classroom.

“Our field trips are very effective in helping students connect theories learned in the classrooms with real-life situations, as well as allow them to collect impressions and information for classroom analysis and discussion,” she said.

“The course regularly provides students such personalised learning opportunities, or what we call experiential learning events, to help students identify key learning points. They are taught to recall details, reflect on the events, and draw personal conclusions, making valuable connections between their books and actual industry practice,” she added.

The Tourism & Event Management course, which was first introduced last year and offered as part of the Bachelor of Commerce programme, introduces students to the principles of management and their applications to the tourism and events sector, in addition to providing them the relevant knowledge and skills to become effective managers in these sectors.

Students study contemporary issues in international tourism and explore the sustainable management of tourism and events in theory and practice, as well as the wider impacts of tourism and events on the local and global economy.

Students taking the course can enhance their studies with a secondary major (such as marketing) or choose from a range of elective units to support their career paths.  Tourism and Event Management is a rapidly growing field of study which offers a variety of career paths.  Career prospects for graduates include jobs in the travel trade, MICE, conventions and exhibitions, theme parks, transportation, tourism retail services, training, education and research and tourism planning.