East Carolina University has created the nation's first interdisciplinary master's degree in sustainable tourism.
The university says the new degree reflects a growing concern about balancing the economic, ecological and social impacts of tourism on the world's vacation destinations.
“There is a close link and relationship between good science and good business,” said Patrick Long, director of ECU's Center for Sustainable Tourism, in a news release. “We need to train and educate our future leaders in this industry on how to best integrate those two major components.”
The UNC system's Board of Governors approved the degree on Jan. 8, and the full program is already in motion.
As the Center defines it, sustainable tourism “contributes to a balanced and healthy economy by generating tourism-related jobs, revenues and taxes while protecting and enhancing the destination’s social, cultural, historical, natural and built resources for the enjoyment and well-being of both residents and visitors,” according to the news release.
Students in the program will study under faculty with expertise in business, arts and sciences, human ecology, and health and human performance.
Comments
Sustainable Tourism
Fri, 06/18/2010 - 01:32 — wrldtrvlrThis topic is the very thing I have been discussing for the last two weeks with a friend visiting from Austria. She is recently retired from her post with the Austrian Ministry of Agriculture, where tourism was a major focus of her job. Europeans take tourism much more seriously than do Americans because they appreciate its importance to their economies. Rather than rely on mega-companies such as Disney or Busch to attract tourists, Austria and other countries of Europe are working hard to generate tourism income for farm families and rural families. They encourage and help to train farm families to attracts tourists with farm vacations, sale of farm-fresh products on site or in local markets, and development of hiking/camping areas on rural properties. Tourists who come for a farm vacation will also explore other tourist attractions in an area. Americans would do well to take a lesson from Europe rather than counting entirely on tourist venues that require removing all the trees from an area, diverting creeks and streams, and uprooting all the wildlife. I see this new degree offering as being a step in the right direction and in keeping with a new generation of Americans who are more sensitive to their environment and more attuned to the connections between their own health and the health of our planet.
To All Three
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 23:03 — northeastnc1In case you haven't noticed, we are in a recession. Any job search in this area right now yields poor results, regardless of field, for full-time professional employment. Also, our industries are outsourcing and sending jobs overseas where cheaper labor exists. So, the future economy of NC will require the ability to "think outside the box". Tourism IS economic development. The tourism INDUSTRY is big business in NC and it is growing. Tourism will play a much bigger part in our future economy. Fishing guides and hunting guide services are already making BIG BUCKS on tourists from urban areas that don't have access the the natural wonders that our state thankfully still has. More and more people, and new business, etc. will benefit from tourism in the not-so-distant future. This program looks like it will offer a versatile degree that would benefit anyone who wants or has a job in the tourism sector... for example, hotel management, hospitality management, event/festival coordinators, tour operators, basically anyone who makes money from those who travel would benefit, just to name a few. From previous comments, it looks like this forward-thinking degree may be ahead of the mentality of the old "Rip Van Winkle State".
Sustainable Tourism Master's Degree
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 21:15 — omegamanMr. Cooke is wrong. This program does promote employment - the guys who designed this program and sold it to the UNC Board of Governors who also seem to be out of touch with the "real" world.
Just to echo JLC, this new
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 13:24 — TheLibertineJust to echo JLC, this new program from ECU just demonstrates how totally out of touch academia is with the real world. Seriously. Why would someone what to get $40K in debt for something that won't likely land them a job making more than $30K a year?
Master's degree in sustainable tourism
Thu, 06/17/2010 - 12:45 — Joseph_L_CookeThe local Help Wanted ads and a search of Monster displayed zero companies looking for someone with a master's degree in sustainable tourism. More whacko worthlessness from our disconnected colleges and universities.
- josephlcooke.blogspot
"There is something magical about dolphins escorting a boat."
Wed, 06/30/2010 - 14:01 — JasperPambridgeI'm thrilled that Mr. Cooke included a link to his blog - fascinating! I will attempt to explain my understanding of sustainable tourism, for you. The page (josephlcooke.blogspot.com) mentions that "There is something magical about dolphins escorting a boat.", I think this is something that we can all agree to. The issue is that NC, like most places with a beach is a huge tourist destination and our travel habits are slowly and surely destroying our environments, including waterways and the ocean. Over time, these environmental abuses can/do/will cause animal populations, including our beloved dolphins, to no longer follow in the wake of passing boats; they will avoid the polluted coastlines and people like myself and Mr. Cooke will no longer be able to experience those "magical" moments. Maybe, hopefully, a degree like ECU's Master of Sustainable Tourism will remedy that problem.