The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies at the UCF Rosen College of Hospitality Management, has been awarded a research project for the Minister of Tourism of Aruba.
The Institute will be preparing a strategic plan for the development of tourism in Aruba in the 21st century, aimed at maintaining and improving Aruba’s competitive position in the Caribbean in this century.
Additionally, the strategic plan will assist in generating sustainable growth in the tourism sector in a socially acceptable, environmentally sound and economically viable manner. The project will employ a variety of methodologies including focus groups, competitiveness analysis, surveys, marketing intelligence reports, supply analysis, and a variety of other tools. The Institute is expected to finish the project in November 2011.
The Dick Pope Sr. Institute for Tourism Studies was established in September 1979 in the College of Business Administration of the University of Central Florida, through a $25,000 donation by the Orange Blossom Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association. The funds for this donation were collected at an annual Roast and Toast of the Association, which honored the late Dick Pope Sr., then the owner of Cypress Gardens and the first commercial tourist entrepreneur in Florida.
The Institute’s mission is to improve the quality of the tourism product and increase the benefits of the tourism industry to the State of Florida and the local Central Florida community. For more information, please contact Robertico Croes, Ph.D., (407) 903-8028 or robertico.croes@ucf.edu.