Learning how tourism works

Six lucky secondary school students were recently given the opportunity to travel abroad and learn more about the tourism industry during an educational programme organised by the Malta Tourism Authority.

The programme, called 'Choice', was launched last November by MTA's Human Resources and Support Services Directorate to raise an awareness among secondary school students on careers within the tourism industry.

During the week-long programme, the students were given an overview of various sectors within the tourism industry at their own school, where they interacted with a number of professionals.

The students visited hotels, restaurants and travel agents to obtain experience of work practices in the industry.

Finally, they delivered a presentation related to what they had learnt during the week. They also had three months to submit a tourism-related project which was subsequently assessed by an adjudicating panel.

The first prize, which consisted of an eight-day trip to Prague, was awarded to a team of three students of De La Salle College, Ian Borg, Matthew Brincat and Karl Cortis, who submitted a presentation which focused on three of the most important cultural aspects of Malta.

The students also had the opportunity to visit Corinthia Panorama Hotel where they were given an overview of human resource activities including training plans for the hotel's employees.

They were also given a detailed explanation of the hotel's mystery guest audits, employee satisfaction reports and staff appraisals.

The second prize, a six-day trip to Ireland, was won by students from St Martin's College, Yana Grech, Amanda Xuereb and Greta Bond. They conducted various surveys, and produced an informational leaflet and an original souvenir which is easy to carry for tourists.

During their trips, both the Prague and Ireland groups were given extensive tours of various hotels, including the Corinthia Towers Hotel in Prague and the Hibernian Hotel in Dublin.

This included visits to the kitchens, executive floor and suite as well as back-of-house. The students were also given a lecture on human resource activities, including training plans for the hotel's employees.

They had the opportunity to meet representatives of CERT (State Training Agency for the Tourism Industry in Ireland) who gave them details about the situation of the tourism industry in Ireland.

The students were also shown around the CERT buildings. They were especially impressed by the extreme measures taken with regard to hygiene in the kitchens.

After leaving CERT the students were taken to the City Hall to meet the Lord Mayor of Dublin.

They were rather surprised as they thought that the meeting was going to be very formal. Instead the mayor sat them down for tea and a chat.

The educational part of the trip involved a 'work shadowing' exercise at the three-star Hibernian Hotel which works in collaboration with CERT and takes students for work placements.

During the rest of the trips, the students also had the opportunity to visit a number of the attractions such as the Vyserhad Cathedral and Wenceslas Square in Prague, and Trinity College, the Guinness storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery in Dublin.

Both groups of students said that during this trip they managed to learn a lot about the tourism industry. They said that before the exposure they had to the MTA awareness programme at their schools, and most importantly, before their overseas experience, they used to underestimate the importance of the tourism industry.

However, they say they have now realised that although a career in hospitality and tourism requires a lot of effort and sacrifice it can also be fun and full of opportunities.

Ms Gatt is senior executive, Human Resources and Support Services Directorate, Malta Tourism Authority.