Fáilte Ireland has awarded it’s fourth round of Tourism Research Scholarships to recent postgraduate students so that they can carry out research in the field at the Waterford Institute of Technology in County Waterford.

The scholarship scheme, established in 2004, aims to encourage and support postgraduate students from a range of disciplines in undertaking postgraduate tourism research at a higher education institution to help develop the tourism industry in Ireland.

Aidan Pender, director of policy and industry development at Fáilte Ireland, said: “Building on models and cases of best practice, the results of the studies will aid the design of education and training programmes for the tourism industry, while also contributing to the work of tourism business providers and tourism educators.”

The national tourism agency’s creation of a Tourism Research Forum has also provided a platform for senior academics to become actively involved in tourism research and share ideas through debate and discussion in order to promote and benefit the tourism sector.