JCU Brisbane’s inaugural Tourism and Hospitality seminar

The JCU Brisbane Student Council (JCUBSC) organised, with great success, the first Tourism and Hospitality Seminar that was held on campus on Friday 25 November.

Campus Dean Noel Richards opened the session with a short welcome to guest speakers and students, before handing the reins over to MC for the day, Mexican student and fellow Student Council member, Elsa Lavin. Elsa, who is currently studying the Master of International Tourism and Hospitality Management, is also completing a professional placement with EC3 Global, one of the companies presenting that day.

First up was the CEO of Events Queensland, John O'Sullivan who spoke about events and tourism marketing. This was followed by a short question and answer session.

Next in line was Daniel Gschwind, CEO of Queensland Tourism Industry Council, who touched on partnerships and alliances within the tourism industry. Daniel also provided an insight into tourism policy and planning.

With the first two sessions completed the students gathered on level 2 for a coffee break and light snack, and the chance to network with the speakers. This was followed by a presentation by Stewart Moore, the CEO of EC3 Global. Stewart spoke about the importance of sustainability and made the session very interactive by asking the students questions about sustainable tourism in their home countries.

Final speaker of the day, Dominic Egger, the Operations Manager for Holiday Inn Brisbane, touched on international tourism and hotel operations management.

Associate Dean Dr Niki Macionis brought the seminar to a close by thanking the speakers for taking time out from their busy schedule. She then went on to acknowledge the Student Council members for their hard work which led to the success of the event.

All in all, JCU Brisbane students walked away with valuable knowledge on the tourism and hospitality industries on the day.