Hi everyone! I am Ines Giacon and I am a first-year student of the Bachelor of Science Tourism. I come from Verona, a lovely city near Venice, located in the North of Italy; as you might know, it is very famous thanks to Shakespeare’s masterpiece Romeo and Juliet. I love my city and its amazing history, but I also enjoy travelling and experiencing different cultures. During my last year of Language High School, the dream to continue my studies abroad began to take shape: I learned about the joint degree programme of Wageningen University & Research and Breda University of Applied Sciences from a student of WUR, who also comes from Verona. It took little research online to convince me that this programme was the one that best fitted me, and since I started the first year, in September 2022, I am every day more enthusiastic about what I am studying.

I grew up in a family that was, and still is, open to the world and its diversity, which always encouraged me to take on new experiences. Current classmates and professors that were in my same situation made the same choice as me, that is moving to the Netherlands and experiencing the interesting and joyful Dutch culture. The international environment we created is amazing, in which everybody expresses their original traditions. Needless to say, all of us are curious and interested about different cultures, as our study programme might suggest. However, tourism does not only include the knowledge of other cultures; it also focuses on other aspects that, together, compose tourism itself. During the three years, students are expected to study the environmental issues caused by tourism activities, as well as the complex interrelationship between tourism, the economy and society. At the end of the programme, students become real experts in researching tourism and have access to a wide range of academic master’s degrees.

From what I am experiencing right now, I would choose this programme again a thousand times, considering that it is giving me a lot, both on a personal and academic level. The tourism we are taught focuses on the concept of sustainability and the awareness that the Earth’s resources have well-defined limits. Almost all of us are sensitive to the theme of sustainable tourism, therefore, students and lectures usually plan their travels (if they really need to) in the best way to respect our own planet. The Bachelor of Science Tourism closely considers this and aims to share it with as many people as possible. I hope that you, dear reader, will be as intrigued by this programme as I was before starting it. Stay tuned!