Tourism Northern Ireland has teamed up with the region’s six Further and Higher Education Colleges to celebrate World Tourism Day.
The gathering, which took place today at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast, took place during Northern Ireland’s first Tourism and Hospitality Week.
Made up of a series of engaging events for both industry and the public, the week aims to celebrate the contribution the tourism and hospitality sector makes to society and the local economy.
During today’s event, tourism lecturers from the six regional colleges gathered to meet some of the Tourism NI teams and hear about the work currently being undertaken.
It was the first of a series of activities planned for the academic year to ensure that the tourism curriculum is aligned to the strategic objectives of Tourism NI and the Economic Vision such as Good Jobs, Regional Balance, Productivity and the Reduction of Carbon Emissions.
The collaboration, funded by the Department of Economy, brings together the six regional colleges including Belfast Metropolitan College, North West Regional College, Northern Regional College, South Eastern Regional College, South West College and Southern Regional College.
The programme fully recognises the vital role that Further and Higher Education tourism lecturers play in educating and inspiring learners that ultimately will create the future pipeline of tourism employees.
As part of the new collaboration, tourism lecturers will be invited to visit a range of Northern Ireland tourism experiences with the aim of increasing their personal knowledge.
The educators will also undertake Continuous Professional Learning (CPL) Days which will provide opportunities to forge links across the tourism sector outside their own geographical area.