Running head: FINAL SEMINAR REFLECTION PAPER 1

Final Seminar Reflection Paper

Paullete Jane McField

International College of the Cayman Islands

BE 434

Seminar on Travel and Tourism

Instructor: Melisa Bent-Hamilton

Due date: August 31st, 2018

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Final Seminar Reflection Paper

According to Go2HR (n.d.), “Tourism is the activities of people traveling to and staying

in places outside their usual environment for leisure, business or other purposes for not more

than one consecutive year” (para.1). Almost, everyone loves to travel. Humbly, I can say that I

had the opportunity to go to several overseas destinations that I had never visited because of this

course. This paper will highlight the travel and tourism topic I had to present, the seminar

experience, application of the learning and some limitations I encounter during this course.

First, the area of concentration that I had to research was on airlines. Researching this

industry allowed me to see the development, and structure of the airline industry. There is a lot

of information that I learned from this chapter. Some of the things that I found interesting were

learning about the airline price differences, the reservation systems, the route structure, and

overbooking. For instance, before reading this textbook, I did not know that “in 1960, American

Airlines began a process of computerizing its reservation and ticketing processes” (p.97). Having

read the chapter, made me slow down and appreciate such processes when it comes to making

arrangements to travel.

Also, the airline industry plays a critical role in the travel and tourism industry

worldwide. According to the Airport Transport Action Group (n.d.), “The world’s airlines carry

over three billion passengers a year and 50 million tonnes of freight. Providing these services

generates 9.9 million direct jobs within the air transport industry and contributes $664.4 billion

to global GDP” (para.1). The airline industry does not just connect people from continent to

continent, but it also injects a substantial amount of revenue into the economy globally.

Next, I found the seminar experience, for the most part, to be very educational. The

Travel and Tourism seminar provided me with a broad understanding of the international tourism
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sector. As a result of going to the countries we visited, I was able to see some of the tourism

products offered and methods that some of the businesses used. I reflected and compared some

of the products that are provided in Cayman versus those abroad. It also gave me an opportunity

to see a few of the economic and environmental impact of the tourism industry from a local and

international standpoint. My viewpoint primarily came from being a tourist arriving by a cruise

ship. Therefore, I cannot say that my observation related to my topic of airlines. However,

chapter 11 of our textbook was about destinations, events, and attractions. According to Reece

(2010), “Tourists want to visit destinations because of the destination’s attractions, that is,

permanent features of the destinations. For example, these could be historical sites, cultural

centers, business centers, or extraordinary natural wonders” (p.177). Atlantis, Paradise Islands,

sea aquarium in the Bahamas was one shore excursion that we visited. Although I was expecting

a larger sea aquarium, I believe one of the most surprising things of the Bahamas visit was a sign

outside the casino. The sign said that tourists are allowed to gamble at the casino but prohibit

residents of the country from using the facilities. It was surprising to me as I have never seen

anything like that before. I do not know the specific reason(s) for this; however, to me, it was a

little offensive and very discriminating against locals of the Bahamas.

At the moment, the course cannot directly be a tool to help me to grow professionally. I

am not employed in the tourism industry, nor am I considering a career in the tourism sector in

the future. Nonetheless, there are benefits of the course for those persons who are employed in

the tourism industry as I believe the course is intended to give students some skills and

knowledge to capitalize on their careers and potential employment opportunities in this

expanding industry. Additionally, as a student I found the course to be very insightful, and it

helped me with some business planning skills. The course has allowed me to explore some of the
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functions of business management, marketing, and other features of a new business. I

appreciated this because I have not taken the introduction to the business course as yet; however,

this course allowed me to get a glimpse of what the business course may entail. For example, as

part of the final group project I had to conduct research and contribute to writing the mission

statement, come up with activities and details for the labor force for the business the group

created and was included in our group’s executive summary.

Furthermore, some tools that I now have that I did not have before would be that I am

more receptive to other person’s ideas. In the initial planning stages for our group project, I

presented what I thought was an excellent idea and expected that all members of the group would

agree to use the concept. However, this was not the case, and one individual was really against it.

In the best interest of the group I went ahead with what was being proposed, but at the time I was

not in full agreement. The group faced some challenges with confrontation and other issues.

Trying to build cohesion within the group was challenging as some members failed to see the

importance of communication.

Specifically, I can use this experience to accomplish my goals in Cayman when I become

an entrepreneur. One of my long-term goals is to become an entrepreneur and have my own

business. By getting the exposure of visiting the various countries, reading the textbook, some

interaction with my peers, and persons, I met on the trip; I can use this knowledge to my

advantage as a business owner. For example, one important factor of having a successful

business is excellent customer service. By ensuring that the staff is trained, friendly and are

providing exceptional service to all customers, I should be able to capitalize, and my business

should flourish.
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When it came to some of the learning experience of the course, I was not able to

accomplish exploring more of the countries that we visited. One limitation of this would be

because of the unique experience of being on a cruise ship for this seminar. There were many

advantages of being on the cruise ship; however, there were also some disadvantages. I would

have liked the opportunity to see more of Cozumel Mexico possibly to see some historical sites,

a non-profit organization for orphans or to experience some other cultural aspects of the country.

Another limitation was the days that we were at sea. Although some activities were arranged for

students on the ship, I believe if the seminar was land-based those days could have been utilized

more with visiting organizations as it relates to travel and tourism.

In closing, the travel and tourism seminar was a memorable one regardless of the

challenges, and limitations. Attending college to me is about learning and developing personally,

and professionally. As stated above I learned a lot about airlines especially because it was the

topic for my presentation. Equally important was learning how to create an executive summary

for a business. To me, what I have gained from this course can only be a benefit if I choose to,

and it is my choice not to let the negative aspects take-away from the opportunity which God has

so graciously blessed me to have.

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References

Airport Transport Action Group. (n.d.). Value to the economy. Retrieved from

https://aviationbenefits.org/economic-growth/value-to-the-economy/

Go2HR. (n.d.). What is tourism? Retrieved from https://www.go2hr.ca/getting-know-bcs-

tourism-industry/what-is-tourism

Reece, W. S. (2010). The economics of tourism. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.