Students from schools across Jamaica recently enjoyed exciting, hands-on learning experiences during visits to Sandals Dunn’s River and Sandals Royal Plantation in St. Ann, recently.

The tour formed part of the resorts’ Tourism in Schools Programme, which aims to expose students to different careers in hospitality while helping them complete their School-Based Assessment (SBA) projects.

During the visits, students toured key areas of the resorts, including housekeeping and rooms divisions, food and beverage operations, and sustainability initiatives. 

Sandals said they learned about the resorts’ recycled water systems, energy efficiency practices, and the steps required to achieve and maintain earthcheck certification, the world’s leading scientific benchmarking, certification, and advisory group for sustainable travel and tourism. 

This gave them a practical understanding of how resorts operate while caring for the environment.

General Manager of Sandals Dunn’s River, Kevin Clarke,  highlighted the value of the programme, noting that many students have studied tourism in theory, but seeing it in action is completely different. 

Schools that have participated recently  include Clarendon College, Jamaica College in Kingston and Trelawny-based Muschett High. 

According to Sandals, teachers said the visits give students a new perspective on the hospitality industry and reinforced what they have learned in class.

Many students commented on how inspiring it was to see their classroom lessons come to life and the opportunity to complete their SBA projects in such a real-world setting was invaluable.