Following the success of previous events which DYW Ayrshire have helped facilitate in partnership with Ayrshire College, the Hospitality, Events and Tourism department within the Ayr Campus approached DYW Ayrshire in early 2019 with the idea of hosting an event aimed at school pupils.
‘Cruise into HEAT’ was therefore born, an interactive event where S4-S6 students from Ayrshire Schools were invited to attend to find out more about opportunities in Hospitality, Travel & Tourism and Events Management at Ayrshire College.
Four schools attended, bringing over 40 senior phase pupils to experience a short introduction to the types of courses Ayrshire College offers and the wonderful facilities they have.
Pupils were split into mixed groups and each given a diff erent country to plan a holiday itinerary for, market and present in a competition style setting. The brief was hands-on ensuring those in attendance developed problem solving, team work and communication skills. Current hospitality students cooked up a celebration lunch featuring foods representing the different countries the teams had researched before everyone was taken on a tour of the kitchens and training restaurant.
Susan MacKay, a teacher of Travel in Tourism who attended commented that pupils had really enjoyed the event and in particular working with new people. It was a worthwhile trip for the class and one which hopefully will be repeated next year.
