Simona, student International Business, and Kaloyan, student Information and Communication Technology, researched ways to minimize unsustainable tourism practices to protect sea turtle conservation in Bali (Indonesia) and in The Philippines.
Travel to Bali and The Philippines
During the Summer break, Simona and Kaloyan travelled to Bali and The Philippines to interview organisations and conservations that work with sea turtles. “It was a good experience,” Kaloyan says. They got the chance to check out the organisations and conservations in person and ask them about their experiences and best practices. During their travels, Simona and Kaloyan realized that some organisations don’t have the best interests of both the sea turtles and the environment at heart. Some organisations are more interested in the donation money than making a positive change or are actually harming the animals with unsafe practices. “We want to promote conservations that are really just interested in helping preserve the turtles, because the population in steadily declining,” Kaloyan explains.
Besides learning more about their chosen topic, Simona and Kaloyan had to challenge themselves to adapt to changes in their plans. When they were travelling in The Philippines, two of their flights got cancelled. They had to rethink how to proceed further, because they had already made interview appointments with organisations. “We learned how to handle a difficult situation in a way to further our project,” Simona says. They changed some in-person interviews to online or asked organisations to send them the materials they needed for their project.
Challenge yourself with the HZ Honours Programme
Are you ambitious and enterprising? Are you looking for more challenges during your studies? Then the Honours Programme is for you! This special programme, which runs alongside your studies, gives you the opportunity to develop yourself to the fullest, broaden your knowledge and contribute to a better future.
A once in a lifetime experience
According to Kaloyan, one of the main benefits of the HZ Honours Programme is that you learn how to work together with someone from a different study programme and background. Simona would definitely recommend second or third year students to consider joining the programme. “It’s a once in a lifetime experience,” she says. “You will learn a lot about yourself, how to work together in a team, how to set goals and how to connect with people who are experts in a specific field.”
Simona and Kaloyan are now busy wrapping up their project. They are writing a guidebook on sea turtle conservation and sustainable tourism. They also recorded a lot of footage during their travels over the summer and are making a documentary about their research. Do you want to keep up to date with their project? You can follow them on Instagram @tourism4seaturtles.
