I pack my suitcase and take ...

The nine students in the Master's degree programme in International Tourism Management are embarking on a major trip. From March 29 to April 10, the students from class Wtm17 will fly to Vietnam for a field trip together with Prof. Ute Pflicke and Solvig Langschwager.

As part of the “Future Workshop” module, mandatory field trips are organized during the second semester of the Master's degree programmes. These field trips have been taking place since 2013. The first field trip went to the Czech and Polish Krkonoše Mountains; in 2014, the destination was Georgia; in 2015, Montenegro; the following year, Estonia; and last year, Albania. In 2018, the destination is Hanoi, Vietnam. All of the field trips share a common vision: to promote cooperation in the field of tourism.

The goal of the field trip for the students is to develop a concept for sustainable tourism development for the locality or region. Students hone their ability to design a complex tourism development project—particularly under conditions of transformation—in such detail that a solid presentation, subsequent discussion, and local acceptance are ensured.

This year, too, the students are given a specific assignment. To this end, they visit existing project regions in northern Vietnam, such as Sa Pa, a town in the Hoàng Liên Son Mountains in northwestern Vietnam. They will also meet with students from Thanh Hoa University. On the topic of destination development—sustainable development of rural areas using community-based tourism as an example—the students will develop a concept for long-term cooperation with the universities in Hanoi, Da Lat, and Thanh Hoa.

The two students, Mira Nausner and Marius Klaus, will be taking over the HSZG’s Instagram account for the duration of the field trip. Under the hashtag #hszgontour, they’ll be posting live updates from Vietnam and taking everyone back home on a virtual trip to the sun.