On Tuesday 6 July, Ms Joyce’s Year 12 and 13 Tourism class went on a trip to the Dunedin Airport and the New Zealand School of Tourism; looking at different careers in the tourism industry.

Things at the airport started off a little hectic, a flight from Wellington had to turn back due to the wind making conditions too dangerous for landing. This then left passengers who were hoping to fly to Wellington stranded until arrangements could be made for a later flight. With this we got to experience the other side of flight cancellations, and how an airport manager maintains order during a busy day at the airport.

After this we were shown the job of an Aviation Security Officer, who ensure that everyone travelling on a flight is safe and that no restricted items are bought onboard. Two of the students in our class got to walk through the body scanners to detect if they had any metal or restricted items on them, they did set the scanner off but only because of an apple watch and a necklace. The officers informed us about different restricted items and the reasons for them being restricted; they also told us some fun stories like the time they searched a bag that was infested with ants which then got loose. From this we were able to get an insight into how much work goes into security for the safety of plane passengers.

Another aspect of the airport we experienced was the work of the fire fighters. While they have a very important job and make sure that everyone is safe in case tragedy does strike… I think the class will agree that the most fun part was getting to work the fire hose and attempting to carefully move an egg without breaking it, using the jaws of life. Finally, no airport would be complete without the control tower. The workers there manage not only the flights coming to and from their own airport, but can monitor any flying aircrafts in New Zealand air space, including drones! After this informative and fun morning we drove back to Dunedin and visited the school of tourism, after a well deserved lunch break of course.

Holly, who worked six years as an air hostess, was our main advisor and tourism expert, throughout the day. Once we arrived at the school of tourism, she had us play some "brain reviving" games based on tourist destinations. She was also kind enough to give us a guided tour through the classrooms, which are all themed on different locations. There was New York, with Disney posters covering the walls, and Edinburgh with tartan windows. Some of the classrooms were also set up for practical work, one was designed to look like an airplane with real plane doors on the wall.Teachers from the school of tourism then talked to us about different career pathways that are possible within tourism, and why they love the industry so much.

Overall the day was a wonderful look into the different opportunities that a career in tourism could lead to, and made my study choices for next year a lot more interesting. A big thanks to Ms Munro who helped out with with trip.