Page 9 - Big Ideas | Issue 1

Field Trips
In June, we took all of our short course students on a field trip to Prison Island. This is a very popular tourist destination in Zanzibar and is only a 20 minute boat ride from Stone Town. As a destination, Prison Island includes cultural heritage, nature based, and recreational tourism. However, for a majority of our students this was their first time visiting Prison Island and was their first time participating in any tourist activity as a tourist. In order to run a tourism business, it is important to have the perspective and experience of a tourist.
Our students had the opportunity to tour the island and learn about its unique history as a part of the slave
trade and as a quarantine
station. They toured the historic buildings and landmarks, learning and experiencing first hand a part of their history and culture. Students also had the opportunity to visit the giant tortoise habitat, feed the tortoises, and learn about the breeding program (seeing tortoises from newborn to over 100 years old). The students were also given the opportunity to lounge on the beach or snorkel around the coral just off the island. It was a truly memorable experience that the students talk about to this day.
In July, our students had an opportunity to visit another important tourism destination on
Big Ideas
Zanzibar: the Airport. For more than 90% of our students, this was their first time visiting an airport. The students had the opportunity to talk with airport administrators, to go through security, to walk on the tarmac, to visit the airport fire brigade, and see the behind the scenes operations of an airport. The students were full of pride when they returned from the airport. These first-hand learning experiences through field trips have been an excellent learning experience for our students. Thank you for making these experiences possible; we hope to continue these opportunities in the future.
Networking
An important part of our mission is networking. We want to help our students meet individuals who can provide them with mentorship or who can help their business achieve success. In order to do this, we have done a number of activities to informally network our students with industry leaders, government officials, professional services, and government ministries. In September, we worked with EqwipHubs, a Canadian NGO (funded by the Canadian Government and the Youth Innovation Fund) to offer a roundtable networking event where the students of both EqwipHubs and Welcome Ideas were able to meet tourism industry leaders, ask them
questions, and learn from their vast experience.
The event was a huge
success and received
praise from both the
student participants and
the industry experts.
Unfortunately, EqwipHubs
will be closing in
December so we hope to
have one more roundtable
event with their students
before then. In 2020, Welcome Ideas would like to begin hosting quarterly events like these, for our students and
students of other institutions, at our Kiembe Samaki facility.