Rosen College Associate Dean Dr. Tadayuki Hara, recently presented research in Dublin, Ireland. He attended the 58th World Statistics Congress of the International Statistical Institute (ISI) held August 21-26.
His refereed paper titled “Exploratory Responses to Challenges in Teaching Tourism Statistics and Tourism Satellite Accounts” was presented in the Tourism Statistics session. The study collected responses from undergraduate students enrolled in his Spring 2011 Tourism Impact Analysis course. The course features video lectures as opposed to the traditional face-to-face method.
The purpose of the study was to collect responses from undergraduate students at a hospitality management program in the United States and discuss how the current stalemate towards the expansion of tourism statistics education may be mitigated.
Of the 27 students who responded anonymously to the survey, a generally favorable response demonstrated that most are interested in delving deeper into the topics of Tourism Satellite Accounts and tourism statics.
Dr. Hara posits, “It is my assessment that many of the hospitality management curricula at hospitality and tourism programs today are focused on traditional management objectives of optimal resource allocations and profit maximization. This does not allow time for students to explore issues that many national statistics offices and international organizations are emphasizing, such as TSA, SNA and the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals.”
The 58th Congress was held in the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD). The ISI has held biennial Congresses since 1853 and recent sessions have attracted over 2,500 delegates. Participants include academics, government and private sector statisticians and related experts from various institutes.