Perovic, PhD: Studying and Living Tourism in Kotor
Photo: Dejan Kalezic
The Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management, (FTH) located in the core of the old town of Kotor, offers students the opportunity to study and live tourism, the coordinator of work at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management and the Vice-rector for lecture of the University of Montenegro (UoM) Djurdjica Perovic, PhD said.
‘Natural and cultural resources and their adequate valorization are the initial point for creation of a successful tourist destination. Studying the tourism in the UNESCO-protected town, located in one of the most beautiful bays in the world, the
town visited by hundreds of thousands of cruise tourists annually, along with the tradition of educating staff in tourism since the 1960s, justifies the thesis that students Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management also study and live tourism, ‘Perovic said.
We conversed with her on lecturing program of the Faculty, practice in 55 lecturing bases both in national and foreign companies, Summer Job Fair and international cooperation of the Faculty opening mew opportunities for students.
UoM: What students may expect from the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management?
PEROVIC, PhD: Innovated curricula that follow very dynamic changes in the tourism market, in terms of new knowledge, skills and competences, at the study program Tourism and Hotel Management, that offers two elective modules in the third year of study, recommend our students to the tourism industry. In support of the above is the fact that our graduates build successful careers in the most prestigious hotel groups, agencies, tourist organizations, national parks, ports, restaurants. There is almost no significant enterprise of the tourism economy in which students from our faculty are not employed.
UoM: You have stated that the practice at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management is conducted in 55 teaching bases, i.e. in hotel and tourist facilities all over Montenegro. What kind of companies is it about?
PEROVIC, PhD: It is about renowned national and foreign companies with rich experience and knowledge, providing our students with professional development, permanent employment, improvement of business contacts in the profession, etc. Visiting lectures by experts from this field are the practice we have been nurtured for many years. Representatives of renowned tourism companies at high management positions, senior officials of the World Travel and Tourism Council/ WTTC /, line ministers, directors of the NTO in direct communication with our students give a special quality to the overall teaching process at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management.
UoM: Summer Job Fair in summer tourism was held in Kotor for the twelfth time in a raw, on the initiative of your students. Which door does this type of project open to students?
PEROVIC, PhD: We are particularly proud of students Summer Job project. Its duration since 2008 is an expression of our students' awareness on the importance of linking with the tourism industry and seasonal employment. They recognized the importance of acquiring practical skills through seasonal work during the studies. And after 12 years, the topic is very current. The issue of seasonal employment is particularly complex because of the opening of new temporary work destinations (e.g. the region, the USA, etc.), so that the issue of attracting high-quality seasonal labor becomes a challenge that employers address in a timely manner through this kind of meetings with students. This year, there were over 35 employers from the field of tourism and hotel management.
UoM: The FTH also traditionally hosts an international annual scientific conference ‘Trends in Tourism and Hotel Management’. What are your expectations from the next conference?
PEROVIC, PhD: The past conference attracted over 100 authors from the country and the region, who applied with their scientific papers in various fields such as cultural tourism, nautical tourism, sports tourism, gastronomy, trends in tourism, etc. Our goal is further internationalize of the next conference in order to strengthen its international recognition. Besides, the cooperation that the FTH has achieved through bilateral projects, but also major research projects, enables them to be maintained and promoted through the Conference.
UoM: When it comes to cooperation at international level, which are possibilities available to students?
PEROVIC, PhD: At the FTH, we pay a special attention to international cooperation, which is implemented through two modalities: student and professors mobility. Thanks to these programs, students and professors attended universities in China, France, Italy, Bulgaria, Finland, Slovenia, Poland, Romania and others. In addition to student and professors study visits, a set of visiting lectures was held by eminent professors from the field of tourism from Finland, Italy, France, China, Portugal, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Croatia...
UoM: What activity of the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management in the current academic year would be particularly emphasize?
PEROVIC, PhD: In particular, we emphasize the activity of the Student Organization organized by the Future Tourism Conference in early May this year, with very interesting lectures held by 15 experts and professors in the field of ITC, marketing, online agency business, etc. Since 2015, the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management has been an associate member of the UNWTO, which has opened cooperation at international level. Availability of materials and publications of the UNWTO is useful for our students and teaching staff in terms of availability of the latest data and monitoring of current trends in tourism activity at the world level.
Also, the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management and the Faculty of Philosophy of the University of Montenegro and the Mediterranean Association for Tourism Sociology (AssMed), in cooperation with the University of Calabria and the University of Bologna, organize the IX Mediterranean Conference for the sociology of tourism, titled Slow and fast tourism: Travelers, Local communities, Territories, Experiences, in Kotor, from October 4th to 5th, 2019.
We expect over 120 authors and guests from the Mediterranean countries, which will further affirm the UoM in the field of tourism, and Kotor will listed on the map of scientific and congress tourism.