Analysis of Travel Writing Enhances Student Learning in a Theoretical Tourism Subject

Analysis of travel writing was adopted as an assessment tool for teaching cross-cultural issues in a tourism degree. A research program was instigated to answer two questions: how does analyzing travel writing contribute to student learning in a tourism subject and how could the analysis task be improved to enhance learning? Class discussion, a survey and content analysis were used to investigate these questions. Incorporating an analysis of travel writing into a theoretical tourism subject was an effective way to enhance student learning. It helped students link the theoretical content of the subject and “real life” and the travel writers' descriptions of interactions between cultures helped them learn about other cultures and cross-cultural issues.