SEMESTER AT SEA COURSE SYLLABUS Colorado State University, Academic Partner Voyage: Fall 2018 Discipline: Natural Resource Recreation and Tourism Course Number and Title: NRRT 320 International Issues - Recreation & Tourism Division: Upper Faculty Name: Edward H. Huijbens Semester Credit Hours: 3 Prerequisites: None COURSE DESCRIPTION This course will explore issues associated with recreation and tourism development worldwide. The course will define and explain major concepts in tourism, what makes tourism possible, and how tourism can become an important factor in the wealth of any nation. The focus of the course is global, providing an overview of the principles, practices, and philosophies that affect the cultural, social, economic, psychological, and marketing aspects of human travel and the tourism industry worldwide. Special focus will be devoted to tourism s role in sustainable development at local, regional and national levels and how tourism is seen as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The course will analyze the role of governmental, business and third sector organizations in the process of tourism development and the associated trends and issues. Methods and techniques that reconcile the different interests are discussed and applied in various contexts: urban as well as rural areas in the USA, Europe and less economically developed countries. The central issues are sustainability, globalization and tourism s economic potential. LEARNING OBJECTIVES To provide students with an informational foundation in tourism and commercial recreation and to help students develop a more extensive knowledge of the tourism industry. To generate an awareness of the concerns of the travel and tourism industry and develop skills for identifying industry problems and proposing solutions. To examine trends and issues in recreation, tourism and sustainable development globally. To examine tourism as an instrument in achieving the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) To generate awareness of stakeholder concerns about sustainable tourism development To engage students in the sustainability debate pertinent to trends and issues in global tourism.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOKS AUTHOR: Goeldner, C. R. & Ritchie, J. R. TITLE: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies PUBLISHER: John Wiley & Sons, Inc. ISBN #: 1118071778 DATE/EDITION: 2011, 12th Edition TOPICAL OUTLINE OF COURSE Depart Bremerhaven, Germany September 9 A1 September 11: Thinking tourism What is tourism, recreation, leisure and travel? Read: Ch. 1: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies A2 September 13: Working in tourism and hospitality What are the jobs and careers tourism offers, who can be gainfully employed in the industry and which are the barriers to entry? Read: Ch. 3: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Brief reflection paper (4-600 words) in preparation for first on-shore contact, reflecting on how students will map out those catering to tourism needs in Barcelona and Valencia (5% of grade) Barcelona and Valencia, Spain September 15-18 Proposed field course A3 September 19: Tourism and travel through history Understanding the travail of travel and how people have travelled from antiquity till today. Focus will be on Spain and Africa as a cross-road of seaborne and land based travel practices. Read: Ch. 2: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies A4 September 21: Attractions, Recreation, and Other Tourist Draws. What makes a destination? What are destination resources and how is the tourism product composed? Read: Ch. 8: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Study Day September 23: No Class
A5 September 24: Personal travel motivations What gets people travelling? What are the internal and external factors that facilitate and drive tourism from the individual s perspective? Read: Ch. 9: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies A6 September 26: Brief reflection paper (4-600 words) in preparation for on-shore contact, reflecting on student s expectations prior to their visit to Tema, using the framework of destination resources as presented (5% of grade) Tema, Ghana September 27-30 Study Day October 2: No Class A7 October 3: The cultural component of tourism The class will engage with the cultural attraction of tourism and how seeing, sensing and experience differences in ways of life propels people to travel. Read: Ch. 9: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies A8 October 5: The tourism industry getting people on the move How do people travel the globe? What are the means by which people travel and how has this changed and who caters to this in which ways? Read: Ch. 5: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Cape Town, South Africa October 7-12 A9 October 13: The tourism industry servicing people at destinations What are the establishments of tourism at a destination, what are the difference service economy infrastructure components? Read: Ch. 6: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Reflection paper (1.000 words) on students experiences in Cape Town and what met their expectations and what did not and why and relate these to their perceived motivations of travel. Students will be asked to think through this in the context of the Tema visit (10% of grade)
A10 October 15: The tourism industry organizing distribution How is the industry structured and organized locally, regionally, nationally and globally? How is the tourism supply chain coordinated? Read: Ch. 7 and 12: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Study Day October 16: No Class A11 October 18: Understanding tourism Reading through the sociology of tourism and establishing a research frame for students to grasp the industry in practice. Read: Ch. 11: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Exam, evaluating student s understanding of the tourism industry through a brief multiple choice exam based on chapters 1-3, 5-9, and 11 and 12 (15% of grade) Port Louis, Mauritius October 19 A12 October 21: Understanding the dynamics of demand How do we measure tourism demand and how can that be used to forecast potential demand and tourism futures in a destination, however construed. Read: Ch. 13: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Study Day October 22: No Class A13 October 24: Understanding the economic impact of tourism How do we measure the economic impact on tourism, how does the tourist dollar flow through the local economy? What is tourism satellite accounting? Read: Ch. 14: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Cochin, India October 25-30 Study Day October 31: No Class A14 November 2: Understanding the economic impact of tourism How do we measure the economic impact on tourism, how does the tourist dollar flow through the local economy? What is tourism satellite accounting?
Read: Ch. 14: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Reflection paper (4-600 words) on measuring economic impact and figuring where the dollars spent in Cochin are likely to end up, who they help and how (5% of grade) Yangon, Myanmar November 4-8 A15 November 9: Tourism and the environment Understanding the environment as a resource for tourism and which considerations need to be taken into account. Read: Ch. 17: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Study Day November 11: No Class A16 November 12: Tourism planning Understanding the process of developing tourism destinations and the considerations that need to be brought into play. Read: Ch. 16: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam November 14-18 Proposed field course A17 November 19: Tourism public sector organization What are the public sector organizations of tourism, internationally, nationally, regionally and locally? Who makes policy and how is it made, and to what effect? Read: Ch. 4 and ch. 15: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Study Day November 21: No Class A18 November 22: Researching tourism How do we conduct tourism research and what does it entail? Focus on research in a naturebased tourism setting Read: Ch. 18: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Shanghai, China November 24-29
A19 November 30: Exam, evaluating student s understanding of tourism through a brief multiple choice exam based on the remaining chapters of the book covered from the last exam (15% of grade) Kobe, Japan December 2-6 A20 December 7: Tourism marketing and promotion How are destinations marketed, who does the job and how? What are the tropes being picked up and how are resources mediated? Read: Ch. 19: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies Review of media coverage on the challenges and opportunities of tourism development on Kobe, cultural city A21 December 9: Sustainable tourism: the basics and then refocusing sustainability This class will coherently frame the presented course material through the three (plus one) pillars of sustainability and discuss some of the main sources of frustration with the concept of sustainability. The class will discuss how to rescale and decentralize tourism in policy frameworks and practices aiming towards sustainability. Read: McCool and Moisey, 2008 and Saarinen, 2014 A22 December 11: This class will focus on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) which represent the renewed Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) of the United Nations (September 25-27, 2015). The 17 goals and 169 targets of international sustainable development agenda for the next 15 years will be looked and those pegging tourism especially scrutinized. Read: Saarinen and Rogerson, 2014 Study Day December 12: No Class (International Date Line Crossing (2 days) A23 December 13: The future of tourism What will be the future trends of tourism in terms of traveling practices and marketing strategies? Read: Ch. 20: Tourism: Principles, practices, philosophies A24 December 15: Recap on the course and its materials and overview of final exam. Honolulu, Hawaii December 16
Study Day December 18: No Class A25 December 19: Final Exam Final exam (25% of grade). An essay based exam based on open questions requiring short reflections from students based on material from the book and the readings on sustainability. Arrive San Diego, California December 23 FIELD WORK Semester at Sea field experiences allow for an unparalleled opportunity to compare, contrast, and synthesize the different cultures and countries encountered over the course of the voyage. In addition to the one field class, students will complete independent field assignments that span multiple countries. Field Class & Assignment Field Class attendance is mandatory for all students enrolled in this course. Do not book individual travel plans or a Semester at Sea sponsored trip on the day of your field class. Field Classes constitute at least 20% of the contact hours for each course, and are developed and led by the instructor. Proposal Title #1: Exploring micro-entrepreneurial motivations within the tourist bubble Country: Spain Idea: This field course is a reflective exercise drawing on the cruise tourism literature and will entail a twofold aim. A) course participants will identify the main cruise tourists gateway into the city and from there fan out to establish the perimeter of the tourist bubble (Jaakson, 2004; Judd and Fainstein, 1999) with methods established and agreed upon in preparatory class work. B) Once the bubble has been identified, course participants will establish contact with micro entrepreneurs catering to tourists in the area, be they street vendors, entertainers, souvenir sellers or caterers. The aim is to identify their motives for being there and their perception of visiting tourists. A key to the exercise is to identify the main challenge these entrepreneurs face to their operation. Thus the field course trains students in developing rapport and building trust in a research setting. The result of the field course is an understanding of how to define tourism areas or bubbles and what characterizes these in terms of service offerings and materials for sale. The outcome should include a fully written field report to be complemented with pictures and field notes as appropriate. This field report will be evaluated focusing specifically on originality, keenness of observation and structure of material. Objectives: Establishing a field of research in situ Developing rapport and understanding the concept of knowledge gatekeepers Forming trust and getting beyond the veil of sale.
Proposal Title #2: Tourism s role in opening the economy Country: Vietnam Idea: This field course will focus on the dynamics of tourism entrepreneurial activity in Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. The emphasis will remains squarely on cultural tourism development and tensions between public sector orchestrated cultural displays and narratives, and the ways in which independent private sector operators use culture to create tourism products. The aim of the course is to gain insights into Vietnamese accelerating tourism development in particular, and more generally public/private sector tensions in tourism development, where the public sector has a strong presence in every sector of society. Special emphasis will be on the ways in which these tensions are framed under the ostensible opening up of the Vietnamese economy through its open door (đồi mới) policy, whereby a global entrepreneurial model is to be developed, yet controlled and directed by the state. The focus on Ho Chi Minh City is key as it is seemingly free of Vietnam s demand to maintain market socialism and is therefore a lynchpin for the tensions between the state and Vietnamese society. Objectives: Understand tourism and entrepreneurial activity in a centralized state led economy Explain how global tourism needs are perceived in a specific situation Demonstrate processes of product development in tourism in situ. The outcome should include a fully written field report to be complemented with pictures and field notes as appropriate. This field report will be evaluated focusing specifically on originality, keenness of observation and structure of material. Independent Field Assignments At all the ports of call, students will have time on their own and in field classes to explore and experience the cities/ports. The focus of this course is on the business of tourism to be reflected in terms of ethics, responsibility and sustainability. This focus requires students to actively reflect on these at each port of call to understand tourism development related to the port and its surroundings and come up with problems and solutions. These observations will be expected to turn up in discussions in the classroom as each topic outlined above is covered. In other words, the students will be expected to be able to exemplify and make concrete the topic under discussion with insights from the most recent port of call. Each session on board will start with a lecture and then the latter half devoted to discussions on the topics raised. It is within this context that students will be solicited for feedback on their in port activities and experiences. The key is to make them critically aware of themselves as actors in a tourism industry that encompasses more than simply hospitality services. In order to facilitate critical reflections the course starts with a defined and graded assignment using the topics covered in the class room and requiring the students to reflect on these in the first port of call. Their submitted reflection papers will draw on their own written field report to be complemented with pictures and field notes as appropriate.
These reflection papers will be evaluated focusing specifically on originality, keenness of observation and structure of material. METHODS OF EVALUATION / GRADING SCALE GRADING SCALE The following Grading Scale is utilized for student evaluation. Pass/Fail is not an option for Semester at Sea coursework. Note that C-, D+ and D- grades are also not assigned on Semester at Sea in accordance with the grading system at Colorado State University (the SAS partner institution). Pluses and minuses are awarded as follows on a 100% scale: Excellent Good Satisfactory/Poor Failing 97-100%: A+ 93-96%: A 90-92%: A- 87-89%: B+ 83-86%: B 80-82%: B- 77-79%: C+ 70-76%: C 60-69%: D Less than 60%: ATTENDANCE/ENGAGEMENT IN THE ACADEMIC PROGRAM Attendance in all Semester at Sea classes, including the Field Class, is mandatory. Students must inform their instructors prior to any unanticipated absence and take the initiative to make up missed work in a timely fashion. Instructors must make reasonable efforts to enable students to make up work which must be accomplished under the instructor s supervision (e.g., examinations, laboratories). In the event of a conflict in regard to this policy, individuals may appeal using established CSU procedures. LEARNING ACCOMMODATIONS Semester at Sea provides academic accommodations for students with diagnosed learning disabilities, in accordance with ADA guidelines. Students who will need accommodations in a class, should contact ISE to discuss their individual needs. Any accommodation must be discussed in a timely manner prior to implementation. A letter from the student s home institution verifying the accommodations received on their home campus (dated within the last three years) is required before any accommodation is provided on the ship. Students must submit this verification of accommodations to academic@isevoyages.org as soon as possible, but no later than two months prior to the voyage. STUDENT CONDUCT CODE The foundation of a university is truth and knowledge, each of which relies in a fundamental manner upon academic integrity and is diminished significantly by academic misconduct. Academic integrity is conceptualized as doing and taking credit for one s own work. A pervasive attitude promoting academic integrity enhances the sense of community and adds value to the educational process. All within the University are affected by the cooperative
commitment to academic integrity. All Semester at Sea courses adhere to this Academic Integrity Policy and Student Conduct Code. Depending on the nature of the assignment or exam, the faculty member may require a written declaration of the following honor pledge: I have not given, received, or used any unauthorized assistance on this exam/assignment. RESERVE MATERIAL FOR THE LIBRARY AUTHOR: Mowford, M. and Munt, I. BOOK TITLE: Tourism and Sustainability: Development, globalisation and new Tourism in the Third World PUBLISHER: Routledge ISBN #: 978-0-415-41403-6 DATE: 2009 AUTHOR: Lovelock, B. and Lovelock, K.M. BOOK TITLE: The Ethics of Tourism. Critical and Applied Perspectives PUBLISHER: Routledge ISBN #: 978-0-415-57558-4 DATE: 2013 FILM REQUEST: None ELECTRONIC COURSE MATERIALS AUTHOR: Saarinen, J. ARTICLE TITLE: Critical Sustainability: Setting the Limits to Growth and Responsibility in Tourism JOURNAL TITLE: Sustainability VOLUME: 6 DATE: 2014 PAGES: 1-17 AUTHOR: McCool, S. and Moisey, R.N. CHAPTER TITLE: Introduction: Pathways and Pitfall in the search for Sustainable Tourism BOOK TITLE: Tourism, Recreation and Sustainability VOLUME: 2 nd Ed DATE: 2008 PAGES: 1-16 AUTHOR: Saarinen, J. and Rogerson, C.M. ARTICLE TITLE: Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals: perspectives beyond 2015 JOURNAL TITLE: Tourism Geographies VOLUME: 16(1) DATE: 2014 PAGES: 23-30 ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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