Lived Stories of Student Event Organizers from Eastern Philippines: A Case of Leyte Normal University
Abstract
The event industry is currently making a significant contribution to the tourism industry. This is attributed to the presence of social media through FB, Twitter, Instagram and other social platforms which record the highlights of an event successfully organized by a professional organizer. This study explains the experiences shared by a group of student organizers from Leyte Normal University after they have conducted a "Weddings, Special Events, and Travel Fair "as one of their course requirements for the events management class. This is a phenomenological case study and data were gathered through interviews and statements from narrative reports submitted by students. Data Analysis was done using the word cloud, one of the features of Nvivo. Findings of the study revealed that after organizing the Fair the event management students have a wider perspective on how the chain of tourism suppliers connect and complement each other in the midst of competition. Student's experiences will serve as inputs for an industry-driven curriculum.
Keywords: event organizers, lived stories, Eastern Philippines, industry-driven, phenomenology   ÂÂ
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