University students help shape Malvern Hills tourism strategy
A group of students from University College Birmingham (UCB) has helped shape tourism goals for Malvern Hills.
Taking the role of consultants, a team of students from the UCB’s tourism and hospitality department, were given a chance analyse visitor data and map digital behaviours to develop a suite of recommendations.
The team included Nafsika Kasapi, Sarthak Kant Sedhain, Skye Smith, Diego Funes de la Torre and Alexandra Tousouni, all undergraduate or postgraduate students from the International Hospitality and Tourism Management BA (Hons), International Tourism Management BA (Hons) and Marketing Management for Events, Hospitality and Tourism MA courses.
They worked to identify the key drivers behind Millennial and Gen Z travel behaviour, establishing the need for authenticity, sustainability and experience-led tourism.
Final strategy recommendations focused on drawing Malverns natural beauty as a haven for boosting wellbeing, embracing nature and digital detoxing.
They also targeted Birmingham’s wealth of international students as a ready audience for The Malverns’ heritage spaces and picturesque landscapes.
Speaking about the experience, UCB student Alexandra Tousouni, said: “Building something from scratch really sparked my interest in branding.
“Turning research into something Gen Z would engage with was a great opportunity to put what we’ve learned on our degree into practice.”
Their work has since informed the council’s wider tourism plans and sparked new conversations about how rural destinations can evolve to meet changing expectations.
Simon Faulkner, a senior tourism and hospitality lecturer at UCB, said: “Projects like this give students a platform to excel, apply their knowledge in a real-world setting, and enhance their personal brand and employability.
“At the same time, University College Birmingham benefits from the opportunity to show the industries in which we work, that our students are ready to make an impact.”
The students were also able to deliver a presentation of the strategy at the Tourism Forum, to an audience of 50 stakeholders.
Attending the presentation, Victoria Carmen, visitor economy officer at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “The work was thoroughly researched, highly relevant and professionally presented.
“The students delivered their ideas with genuine passion and enthusiasm for destination marketing, and the presentation was extremely well received by both myself and all attendees.”
Simon continued: “Since the presentation, another three organisations represented at the Tourism Forum have reached out to collaborate with us.
“The next confirmed project is with the Great Yarmouth Community Engagement Team, it will focus on analysing tourism trends and aligning local strategies with emerging visitor expectations.
“I am excited about working with our students again; they consistently demonstrate enthusiasm, professionalism, critical thinking, with strong communication and teamwork skills – they’re an asset to any organisation.
“This type of collaborative project work establishes UCB as an organisation that doesn’t just teach the industry, we’re part of it.”
Pictured from left to right: Nafsika Kasapi, Skye Smith and Jabir Jidan Ahmed
