Dubai Women's college travel and toursim students return from familiarization trip to Switzerland

As a graduation requirement, the Travel and Tourism students are required to plan, coordinate and conduct an international familiarization trip which combines the skills and knowledge developed during their previous two years of study. This year's trip, sponsored by Switzerland Tourism, Swiss International Airlines and Emirates Bank, provided an opportunity for final year Travel and Tourism students to learn from direct contact with industry.

Students worked in conjunction with the local Swiss Tourism Boards in learning how to promote the countryside and mountainous area of Switzerland. The itinerary prepared and undertaken by the students included travel by scenic train and stays in Montreux, the quaint traditional mountain village of Murren, the glamorous ski resort area of St. Moritz and the renowned banking city of Zurich. The itinerary was designed to train the students to promote Switzerland as a holiday destination to Arabic families. As part of the promotion, the Travel and Tourism students held Swiss Week at DWC from 8-12 April 2006 which included a booth with Swiss travel information and brochures including Swiss cuisine in the College cafeteria and coffee shop.

The familiarization trip organized by the students was similar to that offered by travel and tourism industry partners to visiting travel professionals, including destination awareness, hotel inspections and visits to major tourist attractions. Since 2000, DWC has offered its three-year Higher Diploma in Travel and Tourism which trains students in the industry standard International Air Transport Association (IATA) for airfares and ticketing, travel itinerary planning, event planning, customer service and interpersonal skills, computerized airline reservations using the Galileo CRS system, hotel reservation and front office procedures, using Fidelio front office reservation system, tour guiding, tourism impacts and sustainable tourism. Graduates will be skilled to join the diverse jobs available in the travel, tourism and hospitality industry at management trainee level. The Travel and Tourism program is a part of the Business Program at DWC so all students have a general business background with a focus on marketing.