Charles Telfair Institute 

Our Tourism Students in Rodrigues 4-8 July 2008

CTI students and lecturers in Rodrigues

24 of our Tourism students participated in an educational trip to Rodrigues from 4 to 8 July. The objective was to get first-hand experience of the various aspects of Tourism Management in a real-life context.

Accompanied by two of their Tourism lecturers, Jennifer Or Kam Fat and Shabanaz Baboo, the students stayed at the four-star Cotton Bay Hotel, enjoying all the services and facilities offered to guests over there. In addition they took part in various tours that allowed them to discover Rodrigues' main places of interest such as Trou d'Argent, Port Mathurin, Ile aux Cocos, and Caverne Patate.

This trip to Rodrigues allowed our tourism students to step into the other side of the mirror - experiencing the feeling of being a "tourist" in real-life. "This trip has allowed the students to get real-life experience of the different aspects of tourism management.This will definitely enhance their learning experience," says Jennifer Or Kam Fat.

This initiative was partly financed by a series of fundraising activities organized by the students themselves. These included a bingo night, a "corbeille ménagère", a fashion show and a dance party.

"The whole fundraising process was very challenging but we are glad of the results achieved. The trip was very successful and we now know our students much better," says Shabanaz Baboo.

Charles Telfair Institute offers various tourism-related courses from certificate to degree levels in association with Challenger TAFE and Curtin University of Technology, both of Australia.