Tourism Management Education in Kamloops
Tourism department – by Mudit Kataria 
Scratch Cafe, Culinary Arts Building – by Mudit Kataria
Situated at 805 TRU Way, Kamloops BC, the faculty of adventure, culinary arts, and tourism offers students a variety of program options. The school has come a long way since it started. Initially, what was once a leisure recreational diploma in the 1980s evolved into The Bachelor of Tourism Management during the mid-90s, giving birth to one of the first TRU homegrown degrees.
The school kept adapting to the change in the tourism industry and has continued expanding throughout the years. The faculty of Adventure, Culinary Arts, and Tourism has also been known to do more than just provide tourism education. For example, the latest news that excited the whole TRU community is, “TRU offers pop culture course with former Rolling Stones manager” and organizing unique events like “Big Air“.
Professionalizing Tourism
The school has professionalized and raised the standards in every sector of tourism in the region. The notable part is that the school has produced successful tourism graduates who are running a majority of local tourism businesses. There are many examples in the Kamloops area alone. Lian Dumouchel, the former chair of the tourism department and David Carter, lecturer, and graduate of the school, both touch on how the school’s graduates have populated a lot of tourism jobs in various capacities throughout the region, and internationally.
Fauve Garson, BTM graduate, and former employee at Tourism Kamloops stated, “The tourism stakeholders of Kamloops have eager and innovative students and recent grads to work with as well as employ thanks to the TRU Tourism Management department. The future of tourism in Kamloops is bright and will only continue to flourish with the opportunities that are offered through our wonderful school of tourism”.
Local Impact
The students who have travelled domestically or internationally, friends and families visiting students are all tourists too. They also utilize all the tourism hotspots nearby at some point, so having the school in Kamloops means more tourism for Kamloops. Fauve also noted, “The Tourism Management program at TRU serves as a tremendous asset to the community of Kamloops. With the city’s award-winning wineries, internationally recognized ski hills, world-class golf courses, and many other enticing tourism enterprises, Kamloops truly is the best place for tourism professionals to work and play”.
Fauve Garson, BTM graduate – by Fauve Garson 
Aditya Rathore, Events and Conventions Management Diploma, FACT – by Aditya 
CORINA CHECCHIA, BTM, FACT – by Katey Sigurdson
International Impact
Aditya, a current student at the school stated, “Tourism in British Columbia and TRU’s reputation made me travel all the way from India”. He plans to stay in British Columbia after graduation because of tourism opportunities, weather, and geographical conditions. He is currently working in the hospitality industry in the city. He stated, “I have also utilized various tourism services provided in and around the city during my stay here.”
Corina Checchia, from Argentina, states that she chose the tourism program at TRU because she heard it was one of the best programs in B.C. She hopes that through her studying in the faculty she will be able to reach her dream career of working for a destination marketing organization. She also wants “to be able to organize incentive travel for businesses and connect with individual customers to help them with their holiday.” Corina tries to contribute to the local tourism industry by exploring the area when her busy school and work schedules permit it.