BTEC Travel & Tourism Year One students at Weymouth College have just returned from a successful Residential Study Visit to C’an Pastilla, Majorca.
The Residential Study Visit is an integral part of the two-year course, for which students must plan and participate in all travel arrangements and activities. Previous destinations have included Cyprus, Barcelona and the Belgian city of Bruges.
Planning for the Majorca trip began in February this year when each student was allocated a section of the itinerary, which included day-trips to popular tourist destinations such as the Caves of Drach, Kathmandu Theme Park and the beach resort of Magalluf.
The students were individually responsible for booking all activities and arranging daily travel to and from their base in C’an Pastilla, near the capital Palma. The week’s activities also included a workshop from local Thomas Cook Resort representatives.
18 year-old student Chelsea Miller, from Broadwindsor, who hopes to work for a travel agency in future, said: “our residential stay was an amazing way to learn more about the industry and my classmates. “
Abigail Maynard, who is 17 and from Weymouth, said “the overseas element of the course has really made our class closer and our final year together will be great because of the trip.”
Now back in the classroom the students will write letters of thanks to participating businesses and complete a full evaluation of the trip for the travel company, which will comprise part of several written assignments the students must complete.
Travel and Tourism lecturer Janine Hodson, who accompanied the students to Majorca, said the trip had been an enormous success: “students really benefit from the Residential Study Visit, which helps develop their leadership and teambuilding skills whilst also providing valuable insight into the Travel and Tourism industry.”
