Twenty tourism students from Wollongbar Campus participated in a helicopter flight last month as part of the ‘hands-on’ experience in their course that involved exploration of the tourism offerings of Ballina.

The practical excursion was programmed as a part of the students’ studies in their Certificate III Tourism and Diploma of Tourism at Wollongbar TAFE Campus.

They were accompanied by part-time Tourism teacher Kelly Hodgson who said that the excursion was designed to look at what the local region has to offer tourists and the array of tourism employment opportunities in Ballina. 

“Our students started the day experiencing what tourists might see of our beautiful North Coast by air, with an exhilarating scenic flight courtesy of Air TG Helicopter Services.”

Students also had the opportunity to examine the types of Britz, Maui and Backpacker Campervans available for tourists to hire from Ballina Airport Car Storage, which is the only pick up and drop off location for these campervan companies between Sydney and Brisbane.

“They also had the opportunity to view the arrival and departure of the Jetstar flight from Melbourne and see how local transport operators provide transport options to the popular tourist spot of Byron Bay.”

Students completed the day by touring the accommodation facilities ‘The Arts Factory’ Lodge and the ‘Byron @ Byron’. 

Ms Hodgson said that tourism courses were becoming increasingly in demand, so new tourism courses are scheduled in July in areas like retail and wholesale travel, visitor information services, resort and holiday park management and tour guiding.“New courses in Aviation Flight Services and Aviation Ground Operations will also be offered in semester two and are proving very popular,” said Ms Hodgson.

Courses commence 18 July, so interested people should contact Wollongbar Campus on 66204888 as soon as possible.