Does tourism education have a serious problem?

Stephen Ekstrom believes it does: Too often, tourism professionals sit through workshops, webinars and conference sessions that leave them with information — but no meaningful transformation. After years working in tourism sales and destination development, Stephen co-founded Learn Tourism, a nonprofit educational platform designed to make tourism education more engaging, accessible and transformational. He joins this episode of the podcast alongside Dee Kansiime, a tourism professional from Uganda whose own career journey reflects the power education can have to change lives and communities.

Stephen and Dee discuss why traditional tourism education often falls short, how accessible learning can empower tourism professionals around the world ,and why stronger education may even help destinations address issues like overtourism and community tension. Plus, we have news about a major lawsuit involving New York City’s controversial motorcoach policies and a Hot Minute about whether tourism is too often harmed by bad government decisions.

Podcast: Embed

Insights from Stephen

Stephen and Dee had a lot of thoughtful perspective on the future of tourism education and the importance of creating learning experiences that actually change people. Here’s what Stephen had to say about what’s missing from traditional tourism education:

“You could sit through a workshop, but there was nothing that you could do with the information that you received. You were simply talked at. So you might have some knowledge, but there’s no change in who you are, your behavior or the work that you get to do because of it.

“The second piece that most were missing was engagement. Somebody talking at you, or that webinar that plays in the background — people weren’t actively participating in their own learning experiences. And a huge part of learning is self-discovery.”

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Follow Learn Tourism on LinkedIn.

Discover more about Learn Tourism at learntourism.org.

Learn how to get involved with high-end group travel at selecttraveler.com/start.

Key Moments From This Episode

1:17 — Travel News: American Bus Association sues New York City

2:39 — News From Us: An amazing resource for high-end group travel planners

8:43 — How Stephen Ekstrom found his calling in tourism education

11:35 — Why traditional tourism education is broken

14:13 — How accessible education empowers global tourism communities

17:28 — Does better education solve overtourism issues?

20:25 — Tourism challenges in the developing world

23:55 — Charting a career future in tourism

32:18 — Learn Tourism’s resources for tourism entrepreneurs

49:10 — Hot Minute: Is tourism always the victim of bad government?

Watch the Full Interview

See the full interview with Jan on our YouTube channel.

About the Podcast

Gather and Go with Brian Jewell is a tourism industry podcast that helps group travel leaders plan, promote and lead better trips. There are also tips and insights for destination marketers and others who support the tourism trade. Each episode reaches thousands of professional tour operators, travel agents and the volunteer group leaders they serve. The audience also includes destination museum leaders, church travel leaders and other tourism enthusiasts around the world. Each show includes an interview with a smart travel pro or an insightful person from outside tourism who’s expertise can help make travel businesses better. You’ll also hear travel news, road tips and more. New episodes are released about twice monthly.

You can find Gather and Go wherever your listen to podcasts or subscribe by email.

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