Student Demi Karssen - MSc Tourism, Society and Environment

Could you tell us something about your study programme? How have you arranged it to fit your interests?

I am interested in a lot of things, which is sometimes very hard because making the right decision feels difficult. However, during this master I could try out many different subjects within the field of tourism, taking different perspectives. This made it very interesting and I would not make any other decision if I had to choose again! I had a variety of subjects as my free-choice, like Tourism & Globalization, Marine Governance and Tourist Experiences. These course supported me greatly during my thesis. Because of Tourism & Globalization, I understood that there were several trends and developments related to tourism which were globalizing. This relates to my thesis subject ‘social inclusion of disabled guests in the hotel industry’. Social inclusion is an important ‘issue’ all over the world and develops more and more, mostly in wealthy countries.

So, the subject Tourism & Globalization really made me think about what is such an impactful topic to tackle that it can be of influence in the tourism or hotel industry, that it actually enhances the hotel industry. That is what I tried to reach with my topic. Of course it had to be of academic relevance, but I could also make it more practical and of use for the hotel industry. In addition, Tourist Experiences was a subject which made us think about different perspectives while looking at experiences of tourists. This really helped me to look at ‘social inclusion in the hotel industry’ from a variety of perspectives, the tourist, the hotel employees and experts in accessible tourism. Therefore these free choice subjects were a good addition and support for writing my thesis.

Which part of your study did you find the most interesting? Which courses did you like best?

I think the nicest part is the internship, since you learn how to bring all the knowledge gained in the first year into practice. The subject I liked most was Tourism & Globalization, since it relates to many topics all over the world, in the tourism industry. And, of course, the ACT project, which is an amazing chance to work with an interdisciplinary group on a real company case, amazing to do!

What thesis did you work on? How did your study programme (trajectory/courses) contribute to this theses?

I finished my thesis in April, related to social inclusion of disabled hotel guests in the Netherlands. Very interesting topic, which I could also relate to the work I now do during my internship.

What are your plans for the future?

I currently do my internship with ZKA Leisure Consultants and Seinpost Adviesbureau, amazing colleagues, nice work and... lucky me – I signed my contract with them. I will start there after finishing my Master’s at 5^th of July.

What do you do besides studying? Do you have a special interest or talent?

I am working in an elderly home, which is fantastic to do. It is a very rewarding job. Besides that I did a board member year for the study association Licere. It was a nice chance to bring our year students together for educational and social activities. Furthermore, during my study I did ballroom/Latin dance as a hobby, with my boyfriend, which was an amazing hobby to destress.

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