Fieldtrips
Fieldtrips are an important component of each tourism and hospitality course, where students are expected to undertake fieldwork and contribute to class work and related assessments. The fieldtrips represent the opportunity to see and engage first hand with tourism and hospitality sites, and apply issues and themes from what they have learnt in their specific course. Adherence to the policies and guidelines for fieldtrips will ensure positive learning outcomes for all who take part.
A Fieldtrip Policy document outlining appropriate conduct and guidelines is distributed to students prior to each trip, and students should take note of the issues covered and abide by the policies outlined.
Basically, the main objectives of the fieldtrips are:
• To gain an understanding of the various areas and operations of the tourism and hospitality industry
• To gain experiential knowledge through utilising the various products and services offered by the tourism and hospitality industry
• To gain the benefit of first-hand knowledge provided by industry practitioners and managers.
• To assess, analyse and evaluate the hotel or resort operation
• To identify the implementation strategies for a hotel or resort operation
For blended / face-to-face students, fieldtrips are also linked to course assessments, where they are students expected to submit a fieldtrip report based on their findings and related experiences and observations during the fieldtrip. Some fieldtrips are also linked to their case studies and projects. The below link concerns one of the fieldtrips taken in 2014, clearly illustrating the relevance of learning and how it is applied to the fieldtrip:
USP Online (2014) Experiential Learning at its Best (25 September, 2014)
Available at: www.usp.ac.fj/index.php