News | Monday, 28th January 2013

Academics hold court at Euro Parliament

Hollings staff host tourism seminar in Brussels

STAFF from Hollings Faculty proved they are at the very forefront of tourism research by hosting a major seminar at the European Parliament in Brussels.

And now discussions are taking place about a number of European research projects for the faculty.

Led by Professor John Swarbrooke, the Department of Food and Tourism Management invited the audience at the seminar to discuss the topic of seasonality and sustainability in tourism.

The invitees included MEPs, representatives of a number of tourist destination regions in Europe, senior EU officials, a representative of the consultants Deloitte and representatives of industry and trade union bodies.

Profile-raiser

Professor Swarbrooke said: “The first purpose of the event was to raise our profile with the EU and showcase our expertise in tourism , hospitality and events. The second purpose was to identify possible opportunities for funded projects.

“It is our intention to develop a new network based at Hollings involving partners drawn from those who attended the seminar.”

Professor Swarbrooke also thanked John Theodore, Director of the International Tourism Centre at Hollings, for all his hard work on the project.

The seminar was sponsored by the MEPs for Wales, Corsica and Catalonia, Jill Evans, Francois Alfonsi and Ana Miranda. Other contributors came from Wales, Slovenia, Belgium, France, Ireland and Spain.