IFTM student Hailey Feng Xiying, pursuing a Master’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management, went on exchange to Taiwan’s Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism. She says the experience was enriching, also helping her to advance her thesis on Taiwan-based consumers’ perspectives of travel to Mainland China
An exchange programme provides a viewpoint wider than the classroom environment, with opportunities for exploration, new friendships, and cultural interchange. So says Hailey Feng Xiying, an IFTM student pursuing a Master’s Degree in Hospitality and Tourism Management. During the first semester, she was on exchange at the Kaohsiung University of Hospitality and Tourism in Taiwan.
“I had long been wanting to visit Taiwan, so when I knew there was an exchange opportunity, I immediately went for it,” says Hailey, from Mainland China.
She took advantage of the exchange programme to expand her academic horizons, enrolling in courses in fields she had not explored before, including events marketing management “Hotels and hospitality were unfamiliar concepts to me before IFTM, much like event management before this exchange programme in Taiwan.”
Hailey says she is trying to piece together a comprehensive understanding of the tourism landscape. “The process of learning diverse subjects at different stages aids in identifying what [career path] suits me best.”
A thirst for exploration was what first motivated her to pursue a master’s degree at IFTM, after completing the Tourism Management programme at Shaoguan University in Guangdong Province on the Mainland.
Now in her second year of the Institute’s master’s degree programme, Hailey says the Taiwan adventure was an opportunity to enjoy new cultural experiences and a different lifestyle. Moreover, it enabled her to engage with novel approaches to learning, so she could identify the most effective strategy for her studies.
Talking about the student community in Kaohsiung, Hailey describes a vibrant and close-knit group. Beyond her academic pursuits, she also relished sampling different facets of life in Taiwan during her stay.
Hailey used the exchange to make progress with her master’s degree thesis, as it focuses on the opinions of people in Taiwan that travel to Mainland China. “One of my goals was to collect data and work on their analysis, so that upon my return to IFTM I could focus on the writing stage of my thesis,” she says.
