UF EFTI

EFTI Welcomes New Director: Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu

The Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute welcomes exciting leadership changes this Summer. Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu assumes the role of Director of EFTI, as well as Chair of the Department of Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management at the University of Florida.

EFTI Welcomes New Director: Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu The Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute welcomes exciting leadership changes this Summer. Dr. Rachel J.C. Fu assumes the role of Director of EFTI, as well as Chair of the Department
UF EFTI

EFTI Student and Faculty develop rural community’s resilience post-hurricane through home sharing

Although some communities are just now having to deal and learn from a crisis, this time caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, facing the importance of resilience for a crisis is not a new concept for some communities. Yu-Hua “Melody” Xu is a PhD candidate whose research focuses on destination resilience, community development, and sharing economy

EFTI Student and Faculty develop rural community’s resilience post-hurricane through home sharing     Although some communities are just now having to deal and learn from a crisis, this

SUMMER 2018, ADVENTURES IN THE TROPICS, GATOREYE DRONE LIDAR - DR. ANGELICA ALMEYDA ZAMBRANO November 30, 2018

SUMMER 2018, ADVENTURES IN THE TROPICS, GATOREYE DRONE LIDAR - DR. ANGELICA ALMEYDA ZAMBRANO

Dr. Angelica Almeyda-Zambrano, Assistant Professor in the Tourism, Recreation & Sport Management department and her husband Dr. Eben Broadbent along with their two field assistants (pictured to the side) this past summer did some extensive research across a variety of ecosystems: ranging from the Amazon in Peru, tropical rain forests in Costa Rica, and ancient Mayan archaeological sites in Mexico while utilizing new drone technology and the Light Detection and Ranging sensing method (LIDAR) for land surveying and 3D modeling and mapping of the various terrains.

BENEFITS OF ECOTOURISM FROM PROFESSOR EMERITUS, DR. STEPHEN HOLLAND November 26, 2018 Professor Emeritus Stephen Holland was invited to do a presentation  on the 'Benefits of Ecotourism' at the Citrus County (Florida) forum on

BENEFITS OF ECOTOURISM FROM PROFESSOR EMERITUS, DR. STEPHEN HOLLAND

Professor Emeritus Stephen Holland was invited to do a presentation  on the 'Benefits of Ecotourism' at the Citrus County, Florida forum on Economic Development hosted by the Economic Development Authority for Citrus County, November 15, 2018. His talk generated a discussion about the need to create a training program for local hospitality front-line workers (e.g., waitresses, hotel front-desk clerks) ​to educate them about local nature-based attractions to able to ​encourage tourists to enjoy the local parks and waterways. Also, the importance of natural areas and parks to sustain perceptions of high quality of life in the region as a factor in attracting new companies and workers to the area was noted.

DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS DIGITAL - WHAT’S NEXT? November 16, 2018 With 20 years’ experience at Disney, Gary Daniels (Vice President of Digital Experience) leads teams that create end-to-end, digital-plus-physical experiences for Disne

DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS DIGITAL - WHAT’S NEXT?

With 20 years’ experience at Disney, Gary Daniels (Vice President of Digital Experience) leads teams that create end-to-end, digital-plus-physical experiences for Disney Parks, Experiences and Consumer Products globally. Gary also serves as a member of the Walt Disney World Resort steering committee, leading digital efforts across Marketing, Sales, and Guest Experience. In this seminar, Gary discussed recent trends and how Disney Parks & Resorts is evaluating their strategy for the future.

TRSM STUDY ABROAD PROGRAMS - SUMMER 2019 October 31, 2018 This upcoming summer, undergraduate students in the TRSM program degrees and specializations will have the option to study abroad in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji.

UF IN SORRENTO - STUDY ABROAD PROGRAM COMING SUMMER ‘19

This upcoming summer, Undergraduate students in the TRSM program degrees and specializations will have the option to study abroad in Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji. Through coursework and site visits, students will become more familiar about global issues affecting the Mediterranean in general and the Campanian region in particular.

FOOD WASTE AND YOU - TOURISM’S IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPING WORLD October 26th, 2018 On Friday, October 26th, Dr. Jamie Murphy Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow for the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Western Austr

FOOD WASTE AND YOU - TOURISM’S IMPACT ON THE DEVELOPING WORLD

On Friday, October 26th, Dr. Jamie Murphy Adjunct Professor and Research Fellow for the University of Eastern Finland and the University of Western Australia. Dr. Murphy has been focusing his research in the past couple of years on the importance of sustainable practices in the Tourism industry, doing research across the globe and learning what techniques are working and which techniques are falling short.

FROM GATOR GROWL TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, UF ALUM ALICE NORSWORTHY CONNECTS AUDIENCES WITH MAGICAL EXPERIENCES October 25, 2018 Alice Norsworthy, the chair for the EFTI Advisory Board and Chief Marketing Officer for Uni

FROM GATOR GROWL TO THE WIZARDING WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, UF ALUM ALICE NORSWORTHY CONNECTS AUDIENCES WITH MAGICAL EXPERIENCES

Alice Norsworthy, the chair for the EFTI Advisory Board and Chief Marketing Officer for Universal Parks and Resorts was featured in a University of Florida Foundation article which showed how our Gators “Go Greater.” With over 10 years with Universal Parks and Resorts, Norsworthy is an innovator in the tourism industry and is constantly putting together some of the most comprehensive and detailed marketing strategies of this era.

WHY TO CONSIDER TRAVELING SOLO - AND HOW TO GET STARTED October 22, 2018 One of our very own TRSM faculty - Dr. Heather Gibson was featured in the UF News Update on October 22, 2018. Dr. Gibson in the Fall 2017 semester took part as

WHY TO CONSIDER TRAVELING SOLO - AND HOW TO GET STARTED

One of our very own TRSM faculty - Dr. Heather Gibson was featured in the UF News Update on October 22, 2018. Dr. Gibson in the Fall 2017 semester took part as an adviser for the Semester at Sea program where she lead students on a 100 day cruise around the world visiting 10 countries and 4 continents. This program helped lead to her research on the individual traveler as well as her research on the individual woman traveler.

EFTI’s “Insights” Seminar Series – Fuad Mehraliyev on Expert Power of Social Media Platforms October 12th, 2018

EFTI’S “INSIGHTS” SEMINAR SERIES – FUAD MEHRALIYEV ON EXPERT POWER OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS

Fuad Mehraliyev is a visiting scholar from Azerbaijan, where he received his bachelor’s degree in Tourism and Social Cultural Service from Baku State University in 2008. After his graduation from Umeå University in 2012, he returned to his home country and worked as a Lecturer for four years at Western University. His research interests are information communication technologies, social media power, and experimental design in tourism studies.

THOMAS HILL DISCUSSES TOURISM DATA MODELS - THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION October 5th, 2018

Thomas Hill discusses Tourism Data Models –The Florida Department of Transportation

Thomas Hill, State Modeling Manager for the Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) spoke on Friday, October 5th to EFTI Faculty, Staff, and students about the importance of Tourism and Travel in Florida. Hill holds both his Undergraduate and Master’s degree in Urban Planning from Florida State University, and is currently working on updating the Florida Statewide Passenger and Freight Model which is in charge of monitoring the planning of freight routes and processes across the state of Florida.

Canadian students travel to UF, Disney to complete Disney International Academic Exchange Program July 10, 2018

Canadian students travel to UF, Disney to complete Disney International Academic Exchange Program

From June 28th to July 9th, 17 students from various Canadian universities spent the week in Gainesville before traveling down to Orlando to complete the Disney International Program. These students are all prart of the Disney International Academic Exchange Program at UF.

EFTI to co-host Future of Tourism conference in Petra, Jordan June 19, 2018

EFTI to co-host Future of Tourism conference in Petra, Jordan

The Eric Friedheim Tourism Institute will be co-hosting a conference titled “Future of Tourism in the Golden Triangle, Jordan: Destination Competitiveness, Connectivity, and Sustainability” from August 8-9, 2018 with the University of Jordan and the Petra Development and Tourism Regional Authority.

Tourism Analytics Program

Tourism Anayltics Program

The Master of Science in Tourism and Recreation Management (TRM) is a 30 credit hour degree and offers two concentrations and two specializations.

EFTI presents at Alachua County Hospitality Council June 6, 2018

EFTI presents at Alachua County Hospitality Council

On June 6th, 2018, Dr. Craig Schmitt spoke in front of the Alachua County Hospitality Council at their monthly meeting held at Backstreet Blues Chop House & Oyster Bar.

Chris Thompson awarded the first-ever National Tourism Leadership Award May 9, 2018

Chris Thompson awarded the first-ever National Tourism Leadership Award

Chris Thompson, CEO of Brand USA and one of EFTI’s newest board members, received the first-ever National Tourism Leadership Award presented by Skal International- USA.

Dr. Pennington-Gray featured in Newsweek Japan May 7, 2018

Dr. Pennington-Gray featured in Newsweek Japan

Dr. Pennington-Gray highlighted the work that the Tourism Crisis Management Initiative has been conducting to help the tourist to be responsible and engage in safe tourism practices and to help the industry to be prepared for terrorism attacks.

Dr. Stepchenkova awarded 2018-2019 Term Professorship May 7, 2018

Dr. Stepchenkova awarded 2018-2019 Term Professorship

The University of Florida established 750 Term Professorships university-wide to further recognize and reward faculty achievements.

Drs. Kim and Thapa travel to Maryland for NERR Symposium April 26, 2018

Drs. Kim and Thapa travel to Maryland for NERR Symposium

Dr. Jin-Won Kim, Dr. Brijesh Thapa, and graduate student Eunjung Yang traveled to Annapolis, Maryland to participate in the 2018 National Environment and Recreation Research Symposium (NERR).

Drs. Fesenmaier and Schmitt joined by advisory board members to present research at FADMO April 23, 2018

Drs. Fesenmaier and Schmitt joined by advisory board members to present research at FADMO

Dr. Craig Schmitt and Dr. Dan Fesenmaier traveled to Palm Coast, Florida to present in the Florida Association of Destination Marketing Organizations’ 2018 Marketing Summit.

Faculty and graduate students travel to AAG Annual Meeting for research presentations April 20, 2018

Faculty and graduate students travel to AAG Annual Meeting for research presentations

From April 10-14, 2018, six graduate students and three faculty members traveled to New Orleans, Louisiana for the American Association of Geographers Annual Meeting.