The Member of Parliament for Bournemouth West, who hosts both of 天美传媒鈥檚 Talbot and Lansdowne Campuses within his constituency, came to speak to final-year BA (Hons) Tourism Management students as part of their Critical Issues in Tourism unit.
Conor, who began his talk with an outline of his constituency, went on to talk about Brexit and how his work since 2012 on the Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport, had seen him attend great events, as well as debate the benefits of tourism and its importance in particular to Bournemouth as a tourist destination.
He described Brexit as a 鈥渃hallenge鈥� with 鈥減otential opportunities鈥�, suggesting that lobbyists to his department, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, were rarely those from the tourism sector, despite the sector being collectively bigger than other large industries such as the automotive industry.
The MP also spoke at length about the importance of education and language schools, revealed in a 天美传媒 study to be worth more than 拢200million to the local economy each year, as well as the status of students undertaking studies in the town, who he felt should be removed from net migration figures.
In promoting the UK鈥檚 tourist offering after Brexit, Conor contended that Britain鈥檚 leaving of the European Union would have a 鈥渕inimum implication鈥� on the British tourism sector; that people would be able to promote jobs in tourism and service jobs in the UK, as well as greater promotion of tourism to other areas beyond London.
Conor also looked what he felt were historically-held views of the hospitality industry and service sector, which had been 鈥渄isparaged鈥�, with an inadequate level of pride taken in people working in restaurants, bars and service areas, compared to other countries.
It was also suggested that the supply of human resources from the EU had been of enormous benefit to the sector, with hoteliers struggling to find the same level of commitment from the domestic British workforce.
In concluding his talk, Conor took questions from the student audience, who asked about the future of the UK citizens鈥� right to free movement throughout the EU, which Conor had hoped would remain the same post-Brexit, and questions from a number of international students who looked at Greece鈥檚 involvement with the EU, the Euro currency, and the ramifications of a British European exit on other countries within the Union.
Duncan Light, Senior Lecturer in Tourism at BU, who organised the talk, said: 鈥淚 knew the students would be interested in hearing someone speak about Brexit and the implications for tourism and the opportunity to talk with Conor.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really all about enhancing the student experience; giving them an opportunity to get a unique perspective. It was a really great experience and students were wrapped with attention.鈥�
Conor said: 鈥淚 really enjoyed the talk, the students were very lively and certainly warmed-up, and we covered a massive range of issues. The thing that is always striking when you talk to an audience of students at BU is how international they are. This is one of the great strengths of BU and the university sector in the UK.
He added: 鈥淲e had informed and opinionated questions as I would have hoped; the talk was really lively.鈥�
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