Mobility patterns of Asian students: the case of tourism and hospitality management students in the UK

This study aims to investigate the driving forces of Asian students to study tourism and hospitality in the United Kingdom (UK) at three stages, including: (1) choice of a foreign country, (2) selecting the UK as the host country, and (3) undertaking tourism and hospitality courses. We collected data using questionnaires, distributing among tourism and management students attending a major higher education provider in the UK. The findings identified subgroups of push and pull factors that explain the movement patterns of Asian students toward studying tourism and hospitality in the UK. Using a mathematical equation, this study revealed that “seeking a better life,” “the nature of the program,” and “external influences” significantly impact students’ movements

The role of liminality in residential activity camps

Residential activity camps have been widely studied for their positive outcomes providing a broad multi-disciplinary analysis of the effects of camps in a range of contexts. However, there has been limited exploration of these camp experiences from the perspective of tourism studies. This article addresses this omission by exploring the potential offered by the concept of ‘liminality’ to explain the ways in which camps produce positive experiences for participants. This article discusses the idea of the camp environment as a liminal zone relating touristic aspects of the experience (such as being away from the familiar and placed into contact situations with a new social group) to the achievement of successful outcomes. The context for the investigation was residential camps organised by the Youth Hostel Association (England and Wales) and funded by a UK government pilot programme, which aimed to overcome issues of community cohesion within urban neighbourhoods in England, thus a form of ‘social tourism’. This article contributes to the understanding of the role played by novel environments in creating a context for liminal tourist experiences and outcomes for positive social interventions.</p