In the beginning of the autumn semester (from 30 August to 3 September) a group of Tourism and Hotel Management students embarked on a trip to Estonia as part of the Nordplus project “Express Mobility for Tourism Students” with the aim of developing their professional skills and gaining experience in an international environment.

The students were entrusted with organising and participating in a five-day trip on the route Kaunas – Valmiera – Saaremaa etc. Estonian islands – Piarnu – Kaunas. The students were responsible for drawing up the itinerary, selecting and booking the sights, accommodation and catering establishments, learning to behave as a guide, planning the time of the trip and solving problems on the spot.

One of the trainees, Jomantė Brazytė, is happy that after the constraints of COVID-19, this project allowed her to get out of Lithuania and gave the opportunity to experience what it would feel like to work as a tour operator. “It was nice that not only Lithuanians went on the trip, so we had the opportunity to get to know Latvian students and to remember English language that I rarely get to use when in Lithuania,” Jomantė shares her experience.

Second year student Ugnė Ruzgutė adds: “For me, the biggest advantage of the project and the trip was the opportunity to test myself as part of a foreign community and to put theoretical knowledge into practice. What I liked most was that we could learn and see how other students work, as well as being an organiser ourselves,” says Ugnė.

According to the future tourism professionals, this project was the first professional experience to plan a trip on their own, with the opportunity to get feedback from a professional. The second-year student Deividas Kulakauskas notes that such experience is especially valuable for those who plan to connect their professional future with travel organisation – to understand the specifics of the profession of a guide and the principles of working in a travel agency.

“During the project, I had to communicate with more than one institution, negotiate conditions, plan the time. Since everything had to be booked for about 30 people, not for a group of 5-6 friends, the conditions were given as close as possible to our study programme. During the trip, we also had to lead the whole group for a day, leading excursions in the places that you yourself have never been before,” says Deividas, sharing his memories.

“This trip has really shown that there are different situations when planning and travelling a route, but it helps you to understand that it is very important to book everything as accurately and responsibly as possible,” says Deimantė Visockaitė about the challenges she faced.

A project to discover strengths and weaknesses

When asked if they would encourage other students to try this project, the future tourism professionals say – 100%! Elena Rudytė believes that this project is particularly valuable for those who have chosen to study tourism, as it is a realistic way to apply their knowledge when planning a trip from A to Z. “Travelling to another country with good company and knowing that the trip has been planned by future tourism professionals is a pleasure! It has been very important for my personal development, as I would like to work in tourism in the future. This project has made me realise which skills I still need to improve and which are well-developed”, Elena shares her impressions.

“I encourage everyone to challenge themselves, to participate in projects like this as much as possible. Personally, probably like most students who have received similar offers, I was hesitant for some time about whether I wanted to do it, but I decided to give it a try. I encourage everyone, not only tourism students, to take part in different projects, as KUAS provides all the opportunities for this”, – says second year student Ugnė, who is convinced that after trying similar initiatives other students will also get infected with the desire to participate in various projects.

Good news for those who missed out this year

Jolanta Valiaugienė, Head of International Relations, says that the Express Mobility for Tourism Students project is a unique opportunity for students who want to gain professional skills in a multicultural environment, but who are hesitant to undertake a long-term traineeship. Although the study trip is directly linked to the tourism profession, it is also open to students from other study programmes. For example, this year, students from Wellness and Spa Management joined the project activities, but due to pandemic circumstances they had to participate virtually.

“The Nordplus project “Express Mobility for Tourism Students”  is carried out annually by Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences (Latvia)   in cooperation with  the Estonian Maritime Academy Centre for Blue Economy at Tallinn University of Technology (Kuressaare). This is the third year KUAS has participated in this project. The students work in the international team  and earn  3 credits. The Head of the International Relations Department encourages the students of the Faculty of Business not to miss the opportunity to improve not only their communication, foreign language and intercultural skills, but also to acquire social-emotional skills, which are highly valued by future employers.