Taylor's University places a great deal of emphasis on the importance of gaining relevant industry experience through internships. Recently one of our tourism Masters students completed a paid internship with one of the agencies of the United Nations in China. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) has been promoting the use of sustainable tourism indicators since the early 1990s. In order to encourage sustainable tourism development worldwide, the UNWTO launched the concept of the Global Observatory of Sustainable Tourism (GOST). In 2010, they signed an agreement with the Guilin Municipal Government of China about collaboration on promoting sustainable tourism in Guilin and Yangshuo County (China). Sun Yat-Sen University (SYSU) was then entrusted by UNWTO to take charge of monitoring the sustainable development of Yangshuo’s tourism, and in 2010 established the “Monitoring Centre for UNWTO Sustainable Tourism Observatories” (MCSTO). To date, six observatories have now been set up in China: Yangshuo, Zhangjiajie, Huangshan (Yellow Mountain), Chengdu, Kanas and Henan Province.
In 2014, MCSTO stated an International "Internship For Summer Monitoring" programme, and Karun Rawat, one of the Masters by research students from the Taylor's University School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts (HTCA) was one of the international students selected as an intern for 3-weeks.Karun is from Nepal, and he commented that "This was a fantastic opportunity for me, and I was able to see China through the lenses of researcher rather than that of a tourist. It also gave me a much wider understanding of the local context, and to better respect the views of host communities towards tourism". For more about the School of Hospitality, Tourism & Culinary Arts, please visit the official website.