We had informed you that a number of undergraduate tourism students from the University of Hertfordshire would be visiting Lanzarote during November. The University staff had asked us if the association and some of our members would be interested in meeting them to talk about tourism in Lanzarote. We are pleased to say that the meeting was extremely successful and would like to say a huge thank you to members Geraldine McFadden from Costa Sal, Bitacora, and Lanzarote Lifestyle, John and Irene from Go Karting San Bartolome and photographer and video maker, Willem de Meerler. The meeting was also attended by Nerea Santana Alonso head of Tourism for Tias. LBA president Danny welcomed the students and after a short introduction, introduced the members and LBA staff. Each member then gave a brief introduction of themselves and their businesses after which followed group discussions.

Two members of staff: Sarah Snell, Lecturer in Tourism and Events Management and Raphaela supervised the visit and Sarah has since sent us this report. Recently, a small group of undergraduate tourism students along with two lecturers from the University of Hertfordshire Business School, visited the island of Lanzarote as part of the international field trip module available to students in their first semester of second year. The purpose of this trip was to give the students a chance to observe and research the tourism product in Lanzarote, the impacts that it may have for the island, and to compare this to the academic theory that they had studied in class prior to the visit.

Whilst in Lanzarote the students were able to observe a number of different types of tourism; Heritage and cultural tourism in Teguise and through a number of other visits, most notably the Cesar Marique Foundation, rural tourism at Timanfaya and on the island more generally, and mass, beach tourism in both Playa Blanca and Puerto del Carmen. This has assisted in providing a much broader understanding of the subject area they are studying and students have noted how beneficial it has been to see the reality of what they have been studying for the past year and a half.

During the visit the students were privileged to be able to meet with members of the Lanzarote Business Association, who discussed tourism and the affect and influence that it has had on their lives and businesses. The LBA Members answered student questions on their areas of expertise, they provided them with advice for their future careers in tourism as well as for life in general and really assisted in giving the them an in-depth look at how tourism works on the island from a business perspective, thus building significantly on their knowledge of the industry as a whole.

During the visit, the students were invited to attend a day of seminars at the Escuela de Turismo de Lanzarote (EUTL) in Tahíche. They were warmly welcomed by the students and invited to attend a number of seminars relating to the tourism product in Lanzarote, with particular emphasis on the Unesco Biosphere project on the island and to the historic relationship between Lanzarote and the United Kingdom. They were also privileged to meet with Héctor Fernández, the managing director of the Patronato de Turismo de Lanzarote (tourism board) at the end of the day, which made the group feel very welcome on the island. The discussions assisted in broadening the students perspectives of tourism on the island still further.

Both the students and the lecturers felt that the trip was highly beneficial and that the students have learnt a great deal and have broadened their knowledge of the island, it’s tourism product and how this fits into the wider discussion of tourism in general. The welcoming nature, friendliness and generosity experienced by all has added to the trip and we are immensely grateful for the assistance received from the residents of Lanzarote in the organising and executing of the field trip!

The University is the UK’s leading business-facing university and an exemplar in the sector. It is innovative and enterprising and challenges individuals and organisations to excel. The University of Hertfordshire is one of the region’s largest employers with over 2,650 staff and a turnover of almost £233 million. With a student community of over 27,200 including more than 2,800 students from eighty-five different countries, the University has a global network of over 175,000 alumni. It is also one of the top 100 universities in the world under 50 years old, according to the new Times Higher Education 100 under 50 rankings 2012. For more information, please visitwww.herts.ac.uk