Tourism at the Eastern Border of the EU. Interdisciplinary Training for Tour Guides

On the track of Tourism’s best-kept secrets

Overview: Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi offers this 2-week module to worldwide students (or graduates) who share a passion for tourism research and tourist guiding.

The approach is interdisciplinary and is divided into two main directions:

• fundamental notions and practical aspects of tourism (geography of tourism, weather forecast tools, geolocation, map reading, marketing & travel sales, heritage, etc.)
• tour guiding techniques and tools (persuasive speeches, the structure of speech, body language techniques, etc.)

Number of contact hours: 65 

Assessment method(s): Multiple choice test and oral presentation.

Contact (module coordinator):  Lecturer dr. Mihai Bulai (mihai.bulai@uaic.ro)

MODULE OUTLINE

Lectures (L), workshops (W), and field activities (FA)

Tourism-focused activities

• Tourism in EU peripheral and cross-border areas (L)
• Principles of the Geography of Tourism (L)
• How to Make your First Map (W)
• Capitalization of communist legacy (L)
• Stone identification. Rare precious & semi-precious stones (L)
• Weather forecast for tour guides: from reading the sky to smartphone applications (L)
• Meet a Travel & Tourism professional of Iași (FA)
• How can urban tissue provide storytelling for tour guides? (W)
• Technology trends in the travel and tourism industry (L)

Tour Guiding-focused activities

• Walking Tour Techniques (L)
• Using Visual Story Maps for Tour Guides. (W)
• How to use your body language as a tour guide (W)
• Structure of a tourist guide commentary (W)
• Interpretation of architecture by Tour Guides (L/W)
• Guided tour of the city of Iași (FA)
• Introduction to UAIC building and attractions – guided tour (W)
• Practical introduction to kayaking (FA)
• Wine technology and tasting techniques (W)
• Guided visit to the Palace of Culture, the Former Princely Palace of Moldavia (FA)
• Birdwatching and Ecotourism principles. Plants and birds’ diversity – visit to Botanic Garden of Iași, owned by UAIC (FA)
• Outdoor Activity in the Surroundings of Iași (FA)
• Guided tour by Historic Tram in Iași. Sightseeing tour guiding techniques (FA)