By Dr Ilze Mertena & Dr Amanda Miller

Within the UK over the next few weeks, it is the time for universities to welcome students new to courses and returning to their studies. As International Tourism Day is celebrated globally on 27th September 2025, it is timely that it coincides with the start of the academic year – a perfect moment to celebrate. For tourism academics in the triple-accredited Business School at Manchester Metropolitan University (UK), this week has been spent welcoming new and returning undergraduate students and new postgraduate students onto their Tourism programmes. Welcome Week is always a highlight in the calendar — a chance to meet the next generation of tourism shapers and to celebrate the start of their academic journeys.

The eagerness and readiness of the students to embrace the complex issues and challenges facing the tourism industry and immerse themselves in new learning is exciting. For these students, as part of our elite Business School – in the top one per cent of Business Schools due to three prestigious accreditations – we are committed to transforming lives, businesses, and communities, which resonates with the UN International World Tourism Day theme. This year’s theme, “Tourism and Sustainable Transformation”, highlights tourism’s transformative potential as an agent of positive change. Education plays that role too, as we seek to offer transformative learning experiences within an inclusive environment.

Tourism is more than an industry; it’s a subject that connects people, places, and cultures. As educators, we are proud to guide our students in exploring the critical role tourism plays in economies, communities, and sustainable futures. From their very first day, our students are encouraged to think critically, engage with real-world issues, and see themselves as future practitioners who will help shape how tourism evolves in the years ahead. Our researchers actively bring their expertise into the classroom, drawing on current projects in areas such as sustainable tourism, destination management, tourist experience and digital transformation. This ensures that our teaching is research-informed and closely aligned with the challenges and opportunities shaping the global tourism industry.

Our educators are truly international, bringing experience from teaching and research across different countries and cultures. They draw on global professional networks — such as EuroCHRIE — and our recognition as a Centre of Excellence by the Institute of Travel & Tourism, to keep learning connected to the latest debates and industry practice. Students benefit from live client briefs, work-integrated learning, and opportunities to engage directly with tourism professionals.

“I have the privilege of being the longest-serving tourism academic and each year I am impressed with the drive and passion of our students as they arrive for their studies. Manchester offers such a vibrant place where they can see the immediacy of tourism and the need for sustainable solutions to enrich place and communities. We see the study of tourism degrees (both undergraduate and postgraduate) as having a transformative effect on our students as they enter the world of work in the tourism sector and become impactful, informed leaders — and we challenge them to be the agents of positive change.”
Dr Amanda Miller, Tourism Subject Lead | a.miller@mmu.ac.uk

“It’s inspiring to welcome our students each year and to see their enthusiasm for tackling the big issues in tourism, such as sustainability. As Programme Leader, my priority is to ensure they gain not only academic knowledge but also real-world opportunities that prepare them for careers in the tourism industry and related sectors such as hospitality, events, marketing and place management.”
Dr Ilze Mertena, Programme Leader, BA (Hons) International Tourism Management | i.mertena@mmu.ac.uk

If you’re interested in collaborating with us on teaching, research, or student opportunities, please get in touch.  

Here’s to a year of learning, collaboration and new experiences! đźŚź

#InternationalTourismDay #TourismEducation #FutureTourismShapers #TeamMIBT