A tourism immersion internship: Student expectations, experiences and satisfaction

The number of internship models that can potentially be applied to a field of study such as tourism is as broad and diverse. Conceptually, this study draws attention to an ‘alternative’ less structured, multi-stakeholder, knowledge-exchange model, which augments traditional internship approaches. Further, few studies have investigated students' expectations, experiences and satisfaction with these alternative models. This paper reports on a qualitative study of undergraduate students who had participated in a unique tourism internship program focused around a destination immersion experience. The findings demonstrate opportunities to provide meaningful work integrated learning experiences that are different from more traditional internships.