Blue Economy Tourism - St. Lucia
Summary
Sir Arthur Lewis Community College (SALCC) will host a group of NSCC students and employees for one week in May 2024. The program theme will revolve around blue economy tourism and its importance in the local context. Program activities will involve site visits to various blue economy tourism operations, team building exercises and a presentation on learning.
Blue economy tourism relies on a country's ocean, sea, or coastal region. Coastal tourism is the largest market segment in the world, accounting for 5% of GDP and contributing 6-7% of total employment. Furthermore, coastal and maritime tourism will employ 1.5 million additional people worldwide by 2030. Coral reefs, seagrass reefs, sandy beaches, sandbars, marshes, flood basins, estuaries, peninsulas, mangroves etc. are a few examples of the aquatic life. Blue economy tourism encompasses a diverse range of activities, including beach tourism, scuba diving, snorkeling, yachting, coastal cruises, marine wildlife encounters, and coral reef exploration.
This program will provide students with a better understanding of blue economy tourism practices in St. Lucia and an overall sense of the importance of this emerging and important tourism area. NSCC and SALCC students will be given a blue economy tourism challenge and work together to find a solution based on information gathered through the site visits to service providers. The final project will have the groups present on their solution to the challenge in front of a panel of judges and a winner will be selected.
Learning Outcomes
- Apply knowledge, skills and attitudes from tasks and projects in an international setting;
- Outline the benefits of cross-cultural collaboration for work-related projects and tasks;
- Build evidence of experiences and new learning (both personal and industry related) for portfolio development and the education of others;
- Assess safety and risk pertaining to international travel to make informed decisions about traveling abroad;
- To identify and reflect on the differences and similarities between Canada and St. Lucia.
Timeline
Subject to change
October 2023 - Applications launched
October 30, 2023 - Employee Application Deadline
November 2023 - Employee Interviews
January 5, 2024 - Student Application Deadline
January 2024 - Student Selection
February 2024 - Online Pre-Departure Course begins
April 19, 2024 - Pre-Departure conference
May 2024 - Program in St. Lucia
June 2024 - Evaluation and debrief
Fall 2024 - Celebration of Learning
Employee Role
Employees will provide mentoring and support to the students during the pre-departure phase of the program which will include frequent project meetings, some training modules and other duties required by NSCC International, and will accompany the students during the on-site phase. Employee leads will have the option of being mentored by those who have led similar projects in the past. Employees will be required to submit a report/feedback on the program upon return to Nova Scotia.Selection Criteria
- Must be an employee from any NSCC program with a passion and knowledge of entrepreneurship;
- International experience considered an asset;
- Must have a valid passport or the ability to get one;
- Commitment to applying learning that is gained in future work with NSCC.
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