I've worked in the tourism and hospitality field for more than 25 years now, first with the Ontario Ministry of Culture, Heritage & Tourism, then Travel Manitoba, and now as an academic, teaching and researching the science of tourism. It's a field that connects people with place, involves movement and time, and has great potential to drive economies, but also to harm environments. As we move forward, sustainable and responsible tourism is paramount.
I'm volunteering with the Saigon Tourist Hospitality College in Ho Chi Minh, an institution that provides applied training to thousands of young students, needed to help grow Vietnam's developing tourism industry. My role is to review curriculum and deliver educational workshops for faculty.
I've had such a wonderful career in many facets of tourism - policy and planning, marketing and promotion, research and teaching - always in the Canadian context. I hope to bring my experience to a developing region, and have positive impact on students and the sector, promoting the importance of sustainable tourism.
As an educator with experience working for destination marketing organizations, I have gained an understanding of the tourism industry and its human resources challenges. The College has established a number of skill-based programs that I hope my experience can help to advance their educational delivery to meet future needs.