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Tourism’s place in the school curriculum: A case study from Tonga
No full textThis paper identifies that the option to study tourism is not accessible to secondary school students in Tonga. It argues that, if it was possible to include tourism studies in the curriculum, this could potentially stimulate interest for students in this industry, in a Pacific island that is heavily
dependent on tourism. It could also encourage and help retain students who are disengaging from secondary school education. This could potentially increase students’ confidence and at the same time provide an appropriate entry level qualification for the tourism industry. The paper
compares the curriculum that New Zealand and Australian counterparts offer for secondary school tourism students. It reports from the perspective of major stakeholders in Tonga, recent regional studies on tourism subjects for schools in other parts of the South Pacific, and concludes by suggesting strategies and a pathway to commence the
introduction of tourism subjects that would benefit both the students and the tourism industry of Tonga
Book Review: Jones, T. (Ed., 2016). Pronunciation in the classroom: The overlooked essential. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press
No full textOpen Journal of International Education, volume 1, number 1, 2016
New heights of success for Tonga’s aviation and tourism
No full textAbstract Tourism is the main economic sector for Tonga, generating more than 100 million Tongan pa’anga (dollar) (TOP) in tourism expenditures in 2015 to the Kingdom’s economy (Tonga Reserve Bank estimates, January 2016). However the industry remained stagnant during the decade 2003-2013, caused primarily by a combination of political instability and events. The demise of the national carrier, Royal Tongan Airlines, in 2004 put aviation in Tonga on hold, resulting in very limited regional and no domestic services for a few months. Political unrest and the subsequent burning of the capital city, Nuku’alofa, in 2006 added more problems to Tonga’s struggling economy. The global recession of 2009 greatly affected travel demand to the region, Tonga included. Lack of aviation and tourism infrastructure development during the period was another concern. Recent grants from various international agencies for major much-needed infrastructure projects, political reforms, changes in key policies, introduction of low cost carrier services operating under new air services agreements, all played a pivotal role in the recovery effort. Recent hotel rooms’ expansion and overall improvements to the tourism industry, complement development in the aviation front. This study evaluates these issues, strategies and policies, based on recent analysis of government aviation policies, assessment of infrastructure and development projects, and the industry investment and development plan. Recent consultation and workshops were conducted in Tonga on these issues, with stakeholders both within the public and private sector. Events that may have been responsible for the stagnant period in aviation and tourism in Tonga from the decade 2003-2013 were analysed, shedding new information on the road to recovery. The outcome is that Tonga's aviation and tourism sector looks to set to take off in the near future Keywords: tourism development, infrastructure development, government policies, aviation growt
Development of occupations in the new entrepreneurial working life situation: an example of a chef’s profession
No full textNowadays, working life has changed, demanding a more entrepreneurial attitude. For this reason, the European Commission and national governments are demanding an increase of entrepreneurial spirit in European countries. Like many other professions, the chef's profession has changed as well: ordinary cooks of the socialist era who made food according to certain standards have become innovators, creative workers, entrepreneurs, actors in TV shows, front-line staff, instructors, sales persons, etc. Chefs have to be highly innovative in order to survive in the very competitive business environment. It becomes more difficult for restaurant practitioners to be creative with food products. The number of restaurants increases constantly, which means that competition grows rapidly. Therefore the “uniqueness” of a restaurant (e.g. cooking style) does not endure for long. The importance and consideration of hype and restaurant themes by the practitioners becomes increasingly important to excite the customers. Entrepreneurial spirit plays a key role as a driving force of innovation, speeding up the venture creation process, and producing new goods and services. In these changed conditions the questions have arisen, “How entrepreneurial are chefs actually?”, “How important are entrepreneurial skills considered to be by chefs?”, “What kind of knowledge is required by business starters?”, “Can universities support acquiring knowledge and skills by organising short-term courses
for business starters?” This paper aims to identify the importance and necessity of entrepreneurial skills in the chef occupation nowadays in Estonia and the extent to which they evaluate themselves as entrepreneurs. It also aims to find out what kind of knowledge is required by business starters and the impact of entrepreneurship training on starting a business, according to experiences of the Estonian Entrepreneurship University of Applied Sciences (EUAS).
The approach used mixed research methods, both qualitative and quantitative. The research on the chefs’ study was qualitative, relying on semi-structured interviews with 11 outstanding chefs and experts in
Estonia, while the research on entrepreneurship training was quantitative. The survey about the impact of entrepreneurship training was carried out
by a phone questionnaire. The total number of people participating in the questionnaire was 160. The respondents for the telephone questionnaire
were a subset of those who participated in the training, according to their gender and the county they came from. Research results indicated that all 11 respondents pointed out the necessity of entrepreneurial skills and consider themselves entrepreneurial-minded and open to innovation. The impact of the Base Training for Starting Entrepreneurs course on participants’ activity in the labour market and in entrepreneurship was positive; 39% of
participants of the base course had started their own business
New heights of success for Tonga’s aviation and tourism
No full textTourism is the main economic sector for Tonga, generating more than 100 million Tongan pa’anga (dollar) (TOP) in tourism expenditures in 2015 to the Kingdom’s economy (Tonga Reserve Bank estimates, January 2016).
However the industry remained stagnant during the decade 2003-2013, caused primarily by a combination of political instability and events. The demise of the national carrier, Royal Tongan Airlines, in 2004 put aviation
in Tonga on hold, resulting in very limited regional and no domestic services for a few months. Political unrest and the subsequent burning of the capital city, Nuku’alofa, in 2006 added more problems to Tonga’s struggling economy. The global recession of 2009 greatly affected travel
demand to the region, Tonga included. Lack of aviation and tourism infrastructure development during the period was another concern. Recent grants from various international agencies for major much-needed infrastructure projects, political reforms, changes in key policies, introduction of low cost carrier services operating under new air services agreements, all played a pivotal role in the recovery effort. Recent hotel rooms’ expansion and overall improvements to the tourism industry,
complement development in the aviation front.
This study evaluates these issues, strategies and policies, based on recent analysis of government aviation policies, assessment of infrastructure and development projects, and the industry investment and development
plan. Recent consultation and workshops were conducted in Tonga on these issues, with stakeholders both within the public and private sector. Events that may have been responsible for the stagnant period in aviation and tourism in Tonga from the decade 2003-2013 were analysed, sheddingnew information on the road to recovery. The outcome is that Tonga’s aviation and tourism sector looks set to take off in the near future
Facilities management professional development: A New Zealand case study
No full textOpen Journal of International Education, volume 1, number 1, 2016
Cultural and heritage subjects in a national tourism curriculum framework: A Samoan case study
No full textAbstract Tourism development must be shaped by the needs and desires of the local and national destination community to maximise benefits and minimise adverse consequences for the host community. The cultural values, needs and desires of the local people should be central in the development planning process. In Samoa, tourism is becoming increasingly important and it is undoubtedly influencing the cultural lives of communities exposed to the industry. Samoa sees the need therefore for its cultural values and heritage (fa’a Samoa or the Samoan way of life) not only to be appropriately presented for the visitor’s experience, but also to be meaningfully preserved. The Samoa tourism industry requires tourism activities to promote unique aspects of their culture and heritage (including food preparation, art and craft, and cultural performances) to visitors, and for these to be incorporated into the national secondary and tertiary level tourism curriculum. This paper aims to consider that incorporating cultural aspects and values authenticated and packaged as training modules as part of the national qualification authority framework would be beneficial to the Samoan tourism industry. The outcome is a series of fa’a Samoa training modules, approved and accredited to be taught to learners, and tourism and hospitality stakeholders. The methodology used was focus groups, semistructured interviews and consultation with key members of both the tourism and the education sector. Our research developed as part of a Samoa Tourism and Hospitality Workforce Development plan conducted in Samoa by a New Zealand Tourism Research Institute (NZTRI)1 team led by S. Milne, S. Taumoepeau, C. Deuchar and S. Mindy, aimed at developing a sustainable programme of workplace tourism and hospitality training during the period 2013- 2014. One of the authors of this article was responsible for the subproject of incorporating some tourism aspects of Samoan culture and heritage issues into the Samoan Tourism Education National Curriculum
Compulsory teaching of English: Impacts on learning in a Fiji classroom
No full textEnglish is the second language for the majority of students in Fiji, but it is viewed as the official language of instruction in Fiji classrooms. This study explored the impact of using English as a second language on students’
academic performance. The study was conducted in a multicultural school in Labasa, located in the northern part of Fiji. This school consists of students and teachers from multicultural backgrounds. Using a qualitative approach, this study found that 77% of the students do not have problems in understanding and using English in learning. It was also found that, while Fijian Vernacular* is a compulsory subject, 30% of the indigenous Fijian students in this school do not perform well in Fijian Vernacular. One
of the reasons is that indigenous Fijian parents speak to their children in English at home, fearing that their children will not do well in school if they do not know how to speak in English. Also, there are not enough qualified Fijian Vernacular teachers. This study recommends that parents be made aware of the importance of the Vernacular in students’ learning, and the Ministry of Education should invest in developing the qualifications of Fijian Vernacular teachers. Finally, it is also recommended that a future study be conducted to find out the impacts of
the teaching of compulsory Fijian Vernacular to non indigenous Fijian students
Zone of trade-offs in higher education
No full textThe study attempts to address the zone of trade-offs using service quality dimensions among academic staff at the Strathclyde Business School. Overall, 139 full-time academic staff from various departments were invited to participate in the online survey. The findings shows that the empathy dimension scores the highest areas of trade-offs and the lowest was from the tangibility and assurance dimensions. However, the results of the study suggest that it would be more favourable to integrate more service quality dimensions to highlight the trade-offs among academic staff appropriately. Furthermore, the recommendation also suggests that service organizations should monitor a service provider’s performance by identifying the zone of trade-offs
Book Review: Jones, T. (Ed., 2016). Pronunciation in the classroom: The overlooked essential. Alexandria, VA: TESOL Press (ISBN 978-1-942799450)
No full textThis edited collection from TESOL Press comprises 12 chapters focusing on the teaching of pronunciation in the second language classroom. Looking at the issue from both theoretical and practical aspects, it draws attention to an often neglected, yet demonstrably important area of second language acquisition, namely pronunciation. While addressed to teachers of English, the theoretical focus and the practical application of the exercises provided
throughout no doubt make this publication also useful for teachers and syllabus planners of other language courses