October 22, 1996

News

The Panther Prints

Student Gearing up for Tourism Apprenticeship

It may seem an unusual time of year for someone to embark on a research tour to look attourism in North Atlan- tic Islands, but it suits the pur- poses of Laura Hagen. The graduate student from Prince Edward Island, who has been selected for a 1996-97 Appren- ticeship position in the North Atlantic Islands Programme at the Institute of Island Studies, is intent on studying the whole issue of off-season tourism. Her research has convinced her that there is something to be learned from how other islands have approached seasonality in their tourism planning.

"Seasonality has always been a hurdle that Island tour-

ism operators have had to cope with. It isn't so different in othercold water islands," says Hagen."Although tourist op- erators in islands such as Ice- land, Isle of Man, the Aland Islands, Greenland, Newfound- land and the Faroe islands also enjoy very active short sum- mer seasons, they too are cap- tive to the hazards of weather, and therefore find it difficult to offer long-term employment in their sector.

Laura is looking, not only at niches where the Prince Edward Island tourism indus- try can find a foothold in the off-season, but at ways in which the Island community can work towards developing

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this sector in a harmonious manner. She feels that tourism must reflect or enhance the lifestyles of Islanders, and that any further development must have the full private and pub- lic support of the population if it is to be successful.

All of the talk about re- search is, of course, secondary at the moment. The PEI stu- dent is now working out her itinerary, and deciding what to bring with her on the first leg of her journey, and what to pack for shipping later. She has a quite varied schedule, which includes studying in Scotland until January, spending the late winter and spring months work- ing in the Aland Islands and

the Isle of Man, and carrying out research on the other is- lands involved in the project.

This is anatural progres- sion in her career. A graduate of the University of Prince Edward Island with a Bach- elor of Business Administra- tion, Laura has spent the last six summers working in the tourism industry on Prince Edward Island. She expects that her experience over the next year will give her insights that she can use to promote an

integrated approach to off-season tourism on the Is- land.

This is where the people of Prince Edward Island are

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the big winners. By encourag- ing

future business leaders to expand their expertise and busi- ness knowledge, and by asking that the apprentices return to theirhome province and apply their newly-honed skills in the local economy for thenext three years, the provincial govern- ment is investing in the economy of the future.

If anyone is interested in learning more about the Apprenticeship Programme, he/she

can contact the Institute of Island Studies at the Univer- sity of Prince Edward Island

(902)566-0956.

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