1. School of Hospitality, Tourism & Events

The pandemic outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 has profoundly affected the global leisure and tourism industry, with international travel bans affecting over 90% of the world’s population. Widespread restrictions on community mobility have resulted in a projected decline of international tourism arrivals up to 30%. The rapid development of Virtual Reality (VR) and its effectiveness in the simulation of real-life experiences provides an opportunity for virtual holiday making especially when actual travel is not possible. Thus, This project will trial, evaluate and promote virtual field trips (VFTs) and related pedagogies as tools to develop graduate employability skills and learning outcomes. Traditional hospitality fieldwork provides student-centred experiential learning and gives students an opportunity to establish authentic connections between course content and experiences. VFTs provide an alternative pedagogical approach to blending academic and practical learning by offering rich information, flexible access and an authentic learning experience. VFTs also provide an opportunity to showcase the operations of international hotels and independent restaurants to ensure that students are exposed to a variety of different designs, layouts and management practices.

• To enhance student skills and graduate employability through virtual field trips