Bournemouth University students have received awards from the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT) at the House of Commons in recognition of their hard work and talent.
The annual ITT Student Awards recognise the travel industry’s up-and-coming talent, and this year received a record number of entries.
BU’s Zornitza Yovcheva won the PhD Student of the Year award for her work into how augmented reality applications could enhance the experience of tourists.
She said: “It is an amazing honour to receive the award and happy to continue a tradition of research excellence within Bournemouth University. I would like to thank sincerely my supervisors and the staff at BU who have been amazing in supporting me throughout my PhD.”
The awards were presented by Lord Snape at the ITT Summer Party in the House of Commons.
Zornitza attended the awards with her PhD supervisor Professor Dimitrios Buhalis.
He said: “Zornitza's research is cutting edge and I am glad her work is being recognised by ITT. Augmented reality will change the way we consume tourism and will be instrumental in the co-creation of memorable tourism experiences.
“Zornitza's work sets the basis for the presentation of information in the augmented reality environment and illustrates how we can enhance traveller experience.”
The ITT is the only professional membership body for those employed in the travel and tourism industry, and is dedicated to developing and maintaining high professional standards.
Claire Steiner, ITT Director & Chair of Education & Training, said: “The ITT Student awards celebrate the very best in emerging talent in our sector and every year the PhD award showcases just some of the incredible and innovative research that is being undertaken. We congratulate Zornitza on her achievement – she is a worthy winner!”
BU final year Tourism Management student Laura McKendrick was also one of the recipients of the ITT Centre of Excellence Students of the Year award.
