New ideas for sustainable tourism in Indonesia

Kleve/Kamp-Lintfort, 11 November 2016: The fourteen students from Yogyakarta State University visited Kleve and Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences as part of an exchange organised by the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD). The students, who study German as a Foreign Language in Indonesia, were interested in exploring the topic of sustainable tourism in the Faculty of Society and Economics, as a portion of the visiting students look forward to working in the local tourism industry in Yogyakarta. By participating in lectures and discussions relating to sustainable tourism, they hoped to gather new insights into the theory and practice of this important field.

The students were officially welcomed to Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences by Professor Diana Marquardt, head of the Sustainable Tourism degree programme, and Sebastian Amrhein, a researcher in the programme as well. After being introduced to both the University and the Faculty of Society and Economics, the visiting students learned more about the contents and goals of the Sustainable Tourism undergraduate degree. An important goal of the exchange visit was to facilitate a mutually beneficial dialogue between the visiting students and students at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Both groups, for example, were able to interact in regularly-scheduled lectures as well as collaborative workshops designed to introduce the visiting students to the principles of sustainable tourism and heighten their awareness of key topics. Professor Marquardt, who led lectures in ‘Fundamentals of Tourism Management’ and ‘Development Policy and Tourism’, felt the exchange had a positive impact on all participants: “This exchange was an excellent opportunity to discuss sustainable tourism in emerging markets like Indonesia in intercultural workshops and reflect on how best to implement socially and environmentally responsible policies with people from there.”

The three-day visit concluded with a ‘Tandem Day’: students in the Faculty of Society and Economics paired up with one visiting student each to offer an integrated look at the day-to-day life of students in Germany and at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences. Melina Kouroutos, who studies Sustainable Tourism, was one of the participants in Tandem Day: “With presentations and individual chats throughout the day with the visitors from Indonesia we were able to learn a lot about the many differences between our two countries for students at home and on campus. The cultural differences are particularly important to learn about and experience. Though communication was a bit difficult at the start, we quickly found common ground and were able to enjoy many interesting and thought-provoking conversations with one another.”