Every year, students from the George Washington University Master of Tourism Administration program (MTA) spend two weeks over the summer working on consulting projects for a travel destination. They tackle real life tourism challenges and assist countries beyond the U.S. in their sustainable tourism development aspirations.
Seleni Matus, Executive Director of GW International Institute of Tourism Studies explains: "the summer practicum provides MTA students with unique opportunities to apply theoretical knowledge and see for themselves the challenges and opportunities associated with sustainable tourism." Matus has organized and led the short-term study away programs with GW students in prior years to Italy, Indonesia, Mexico and Cuba.
In pandemic 2020, traveling was out of the question, so digital strategy, adaptation and resilience were required. GW students who would have been traveling to Kazakhstan for on-the-ground experience performed instead in the first-ever virtual summer practicum assisting the Belize Ministry of Tourism and the Grenada Tourism Authority with COVID-19 recovery planning efforts.
By the time the international tourism consulting project began in May, tourism industries throughout the Caribbean were diligently preparing to begin reopening their borders, and there was an urgent need to help micro and small tourism businesses to prepare to reopen safely. To assist where Belize and Grenada most needed it, the students developed digital strategies for the most pressing needs.
Prior to engaging with stakeholders, student teams conducted background research on their destinations and on global COVID-19 recovery best practices. Initial research done, the student teams proceeded to engage stakeholders virtually. They conducted surveys, business focus groups, and interviews with industry professionals.
The student teams created a COVID-19 Tourism Dashboard framework and a Digital Communications Toolkit for Tourism Businesses with specific advice for hoteliers. One of the team leaders, Monica Schmidt reflected, “Our team’s most significant contribution was initiating a deeper conversation around digital transformation for the Belize tourism sector.”
Reflections from other students on their experiences can be found here.
The challenges of conducting virtual practicums were real, but so were the students’ results, and the students’ products were very well-received. Being inside a country you are trying to assist in its tourism development efforts has obvious advantages, but the GW MTA students working virtually created and developed digital strategies for Belize and Grenada that prove mastery of the virtual space can be just as useful.
