‘Sustainable tourism’ emphasis
The Tourism and Hotel Management Program of Izmir University of Economics (IUE) Vocational School participated in the International Tourism Trade Fair and Congress, which opened its doors for the 19th time this year, setting up a booth with the theme ‘Sustainable Tourism for the Future.’ The students designed a special game called ‘Tourism Taboo,’ in which various questions were directed to participants to draw attention to the importance of the sustainability concept in tourism. Visitors who won the game and got the chance to spin the wheel were given many gifts, such as seed pencils and magnets containing sustainability messages. The young people, who had the opportunity to get to know the business world and learn what they were curious about thanks to the fair, also created new job and internship opportunities for themselves.
The booth of the IUE students at the major gathering in FuarIzmir was visited by Izmir Chamber of Commerce (IZTO) Assembly President Selami Özpoyraz, Board Members Oğuz Özkardeş and Nuray Eyigele İşleyen, Assembly Vice President Mehmet Tahir Özdemir, Assembly Registry Member Ali Yaramışlı, as well as assembly and committee members. The young people, who met with tourism professionals from all over the world at the fair held under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, hosted by the Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, and organized by IZFAS, had an unforgettable experience.
“NO LONGER A CHOICE, BUT A NECESSITY”
Pointing out that the fair was a very important opportunity for the students, Edit Habif, a lecturer in the IUE Tourism and Hotel Management Program, said, “This fair was a very valuable learning environment for our students to establish a real connection with the sector, develop their professional self-confidence, and introduce themselves to the professional world. Sustainability is one of the most important issues on the agenda of the tourism sector. Protecting resources, reducing the carbon footprint, supporting local production and local culture, and ethical and responsible tourism practices are no longer a choice, but a necessity. Our University adopts an educational approach that nurtures and guides this transformation. We aimed to demonstrate this with the booth we opened at the fair.”
A MESSAGE ABOUT THE FUTURE OF TOURISM
Habif continued as follows: “The ‘Tourism Taboo’ game designed by our students at the fair was a very good example of this approach. By turning the concept of sustainability into an interactive experience in which visitors were included, they both created awareness and delivered important messages about the future of tourism. The seed pencils and gifts containing sustainability messages distributed with the game were meaningful symbols, reminding fair visitors that small steps can have big impacts. As the Tourism and Hotel Management Program, we will continue to support every step that increases awareness of sustainable tourism, produces solutions, and acts with the future in mind.”
