STUDENT ACTIVITIES

• Aldo Papone Case Writing Competition
• International Student and Teacher Conference
• Travel Writing Competition
• Student Exchanges

Aldo Papone Case Writing Competition:

Aldo Papone was president of American Express Travel Related Services Company and a strong believer in tourism education and student creativity. When he retired, a fund was established in his name to support excellence and innovation in tourism education. The GTTP’s share of the fund is used to help students learn how to conduct research, write their findings in a report that can be used in the classroom, and orally present their findings to others. Two students and a teacher from each country attend the international student teacher conference and share their research.

Research topics are selected by the GTTP Directors. The topic for 2008 is “Responsible Tourism Development .”

For more information, click here.

The 2008 International Student Teacher Conference:

Each year GTTP hosts an International Student/Teacher Conference where representative students and teachers from our member countries present their winning case study research. Our Global Partners provide the facilities, travel and meals. Attendees stay at Starwood's Le Meridien hotel in Nice, France. The conference takes place at the Amadeus conference center in Sofia Antipolis, France. Lufthansa provides tickets for the attendees. Global Partner funds cover meals and sightseeing.

Student Travel Writing Competition:

Being able to communicate well in writing is important in any career in today’s global economy.

For information on the upcoming year's competition click here.

The winners in the GTTP's first Travel Writing Competition in 2007 received $500 scholarships for winning first prize in their age group (junior or senior). Two students each received an additional $1000 scholarship for writing the best article in their age group.

The judges were Fran Gendlin, author of travel books and a former editor of Sierra Magazine; Michael Verikios, editor, Travel Daily News, and Georgie Shields, vice president of the American Express Foundation.

Winner of the US$1,000 prize for students over 15 years of age was Hong Kong's Sandy Tam Shuk Ting, who wrote her essay about the small village of Lo Wai, a tranquil and quiet home to three monasteries dedicated to Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism just 10 minutes away from the high rise buildings of Tsuen Wan, and one of Hong Kong's largest shopping centers.

The US$1,000 prize for students under 15 was won by Russia's Valeria Androvna of Moscow for her essay on a small 18th century palace built by the Tsars at Valday near Novgorod, on the highway from Moscow to St. Petersburg.

For more information on how the winning essays were judged, click here.

Student Exchanges:

The Directors of the GTTP's member country programs arrange student exchange opportunities as feasible. Each international conference is an opportunity for networking and life-long friendships.