Ayr Graduation 2019: Student of the Year for Hospitality and Tourism

It feels amazing to have won the award. My family were absolutely delighted for me

                                                                      Ross Bufton, HND Travel and Tourism

Having worked at a travel agent and local hotel, I knew I wanted to pursue a career in tourism as well as improving my skills, so the Travel and Tourism course was perfect for me.

As well as wanting to learn more about the tourism industry, coming to college has been a great opportunity to meet new people and create a new circle of friends.

At first, I had some concerns about writing reports and essays as it had been a while since I’d had to do that. However, I needn’t have worried as core skills helped me increase my confidence throughout my time at college.

The course was really varied, covering topics like niche marketing, sustainable development, tour operations, food tourism and culture, influences on the travel and tourism industry, managing an event and retail travel.

My favourite moment of the course was the work placements I took part in at Amazonia based in Strathclyde Country Park and the Heads of Ayr Farm Park. It was a really enriching experience as the placements combined my two main interest; tourism and wildlife, while at the same time developing my event management and teamwork skills.

It feels amazing to have won the award. My family were absolutely delighted for me and being able to add this to my CV will definitely help when I am applying for jobs in the tourism industry.

I gained access to third year of Glasgow Caledonian University where I’m now studying Tourism and Business Management.

The knowledge and skills I have gained from my time at Ayrshire College have been invaluable and will help me to continue my career in Tourism.