As a tradition of every year, this year the students of the Tourism and Hotel Management study programme of Kaunas University of Applied Sciences participated in the Nordplus project “Express Mobility in Tourism”. The second-year students organized a 5-day educational study trip on April 25–29^th to one of the Baltic countries, Estonia, in cooperation with students from the Vidzeme University of Applied Sciences in Latvia. During this trip, students had the opportunity to visit 5 different places in Estonia: Pärnu, Kuressaare on the island of Saaremaa, Haapsalu, Vormsi island and Viljandi.

On the first day, Latvian and Lithuanian students visited the Pärnu hiking trail, the churches of Seegi Maja and St. Elizabeth, the Gate Tallinn. The second day was dedicated to the main square and town hall of Kuressaare, the Kuressaare Bishop’s Castle and the monument of “Suur Tõll and Piret”, and the third – to visit the Kali Crater, the Marimetsa Bog Hiking Trail and the Haapsalu Old Town.

The fourth and fifth days of the trip were even more intense: on Thursday, the students rode their bicycles for about 20 km and visited the Farm Museum, St. Olave’s Church and the Allika Hiking Trail, and on the last day of the trip – Lake Viljandi, the old water tower, Sangaste Castle. Throughout the trip, students managed not only to visit many cultural and historical heritage sites, but also to deepen their study knowledge by gaining experience in the fields of marketing, transportation, catering and hotel booking process coordination, tour guidance. Students will be able to use all the experience gained during the Nordplus project “Express Mobility in Tourism” both during their further studies at Kaunas University of Applied Sciences and putting it to practice in their future workplace.

Jolanta Valiaugienė, Head of Unit for International Relations of Kaunas University of Applied Sciences, reveals that students get several benefits from participating in such projects. “By participating in these type of projects, students not only acquire professional skills, but also develop communication, intercultural cooperation and teamwork skills. The essence of this project is that the whole trip from its planning, ordering of transport and other services, communication with service providers is organized by the students themselves, they choose the objects to be visited and coordinate the route. Lecturers are just consultants. This is a great opportunity to put theoretical knowledge into practice and share experiences with students from other countries. The experience gained in this type of project also helps students to decide on the choice of specialization,” says the Head of Unit for International Relations and encourages students to actively participate in similar initiatives. “Contact the Unit for International Relations for more information on the project!”