4-days study tour for the THM major students, FBA at Cox’s Bazar

A 4-days study tour for the Tourism and Hospitality Management (THM) major students were organized at Cox’s Bazar from March 25 to 29, 2014. Students and faculties from THM major subjects at large participated in the study tour. Hotel Sea Palace, Cox’s Bazar, one of the major sponsors of the event, has provided the accommodation to the participants and supported the study tour. The key objective of the study tour was to provide practical ideas on day-to-day hotel operations and guest services to the participants.

The study tour was incarnated by a wide range of academic and experiential learning activities. The participating team started from Dhaka to Cox’s Bazar on March 25. Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, AGM, Front Office/H.R. & Admin, Hotel Sea Palace Ltd. warmly welcomed and greeted the participants on their arrival at the hotel on March 26 morning. The participants attended the Independence day celebration beach festival concert organized by Clemon Beverage Company Ltd. in the late afternoon and participated the beach football game at Laboni point in the evening on the day. In the next day morning, the participants went to the Kalatoli point beach for beach activities. After the breakfast Mr. Showkat Ali Khan, Housekeeping Manager, Hotel Sea Palace, demonstrated housekeeping activities of the hotel rooms to the participants. Followed by this, Mr. Mohammad Ruhul Amin, AGM Front Office/H.R. & Admin., demonstrated the guest cycle procedure to the participants. The morning session was concluded by Mr. Md. Billal Hossain, General Manager, Hotel Sea Palace Ltd. through his warm note of appreciation.  It is important to note that Mr. Billal is an Alumnus of AIUB. The Faculty Members, AIUB, then delivered vote of thanks, gift boxes, and T-shirts to the Hotel Sea Place team.     
In the late afternoon, the participating team visited some renowned hotels at Cox’s Bazar. These include Ocean Paradise Hotel and Long Beach Hotel. Mr. Subir Kumar Banerjee, General Manager, Ocean Paradise Hotel welcomed the participating team. The Food and Beverage Manager assisted the participants to know about the hotel establishments and operations. Later in the evening, Mr. Md. Shah Amanat, Food & Beverage Manager demonstrated the participants a party for 200 guests at the F & B Production and F & B Service Area. At night the participants joined at a BBQ party and enjoyed the light and sound music event next to the swimming pool area. As the concluding activity of the day, the participants gathered for an orientation program presided by Mr. Md. Al-Mamun, Executive, Administration, AIUB at the conference room, Hotel Crown Plaza.   
    
On March 28th morning, the participants enjoyed a swimming session at Hotel Sea Palace followed by a visit to the local shopping areas. As a concluding event of the tour the participants went to the Inani Beach at Ukhia in the afternoon. The students started for Dhaka on the day and safely reached Dhaka on the March 29 morning.
The participants would like to express their gratitude to Mr. SM Kibria Khan, President, Tour Operators Association of Cox’s Bazar for sharing his valuable knowledge and ideas on the prospects of the Tourism Industry in Bangladesh. AIUB would like to show gratitude to Mr. Mohammed Nasimul Azim, CEO, Hotel Sea Palace Ltd. who has facilitated a wonderful opportunity to observe the daily hotel operations. The participants would also like to thank the AIUB Management, Office of Student Affairs, Officers of the Administration and the Parents of the Students for their coordination and support in making this Study Tour a success.

Mr. Md. Golam Mostofa, Assistant Professor, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management took the lead initiative and organized The Study Tour and was assisted by Mr. Redwan Salam, Lecturer, Department of Marketing, Mr. Mohammad Rajib Uddin, Lecturer, Department of Operations Management, Mr. AKM Kamrul Haque, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing, Mr. Stanley Rodrick, Assistant Professor, Department of Marketing and Mr. Md. Al-Mamun, Executive, Administration of AIUB.