Tourism students visit the Emerald Isle

First year International Tourism Management students visited Dublin and Belfast as part of a new module ‘Tourism and Media’. 

The aim of the trip was to conduct a media analysis of the two tourism destinations. Whilst in Dublin, the students visited Trinity College Library to see the Book of Kells, an ancient manuscript over a thousand years old, before taking a cruise on the River Liffey to observe how the tour operates. Some of the group also took the chance to explore the city and see first-hand one of Ireland’s natural attractions: a coastal view of the Irish Sea. 

In Belfast, the students visited the Peace Walls, which separate Irish nationalist and unionist neighbourhoods, as well as the Titanic Dock and Pump-House, where the RMS Titanic was built back in the early 1900s. 

The new Tourism and Media module is part of the School of Tourism’s revalidation that sees UCB’s International Tourism Management and International Tourism Business Management modules all contextualised to the tourism sector. 

Kathryn Bell, UCB Tourism lecturer, said: “This trip allows students to see first-hand the culture of Ireland and how various medias are used to promote specific tourist destinations within the country. It also allowed them to compare sights and understand the importance of design when it comes to transforming perceptions of specific tourist attractions.” 

Students are going to further extend their knowledge of Ireland’s history and culture by visiting art exhibition ‘Art of the Troubles’ at Wolverhampton Art Gallery, which features artists’ responses to the Troubles.