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.
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
Over the past year, Professor Lori Pennington-Gray has published a number of articles in the realm of destination resilience as well as crisis communication and management. This type of research has arisen from the increased frequency and intensity of threats to the tourism industry; whether terrorism, natural disasters, or even health and wellness (diseases).
One of our PhD students, Pamela Montero-Alvarez has been selected to take part in a semester long business development program with the UF Warrington College of Business. This program was created to assist students with entrepreneurial ideas by teaching those selected to partake how to properly build a business plan and what steps they need to take for the future.
Here at EFTI, we are working with the state of Florida in a number of different ways to push tourism and development progress. One of our EFTI Faculty Members, Dr. Heather Gibson spoke at Visit Tampa Bay’s 4th Annual Marketing Summit on behalf of the institute and gave a presentation on “Girlfriend Getaways” and really hammered on the importance. Dr. Gibson then gave the group some ideas on how to market to the niche segment.
EFTI is very happy to announce that two of our PhD candidates, Hongping Zhang and Yuhua Xu were recognized within the University of Florida International Center (UFIC) with a Certification of Outstanding Merit. Both Hongping and Yuhua we’re recognized for their work for the College of Health an Human Performance, specifically within the department of Recreation, Parks and Tourism.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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, 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.
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.
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.
