Students retreat to the Bellarine for some business lessons

MONASH University students recently visited Lon Retreat & Spa in Point Lonsdale as part of a three-day visit to the Great Ocean Road region. The 80 international students who are currently undertaking the Master of International Sustainable Tourism Management program are from China, India, Singapore, Malaysia, US, Germany, and America.

“Many will return to the tourism industry in their countries and this was an amazing opportunity to show the newly opened Lon Retreat to potential future visitors to the Bellarine region,” Lon Retreat managing director Claire Gemes said.

“The Visiting Friends and Relatives market for international students is huge and the Bellarine has a unique opportunity to take advantage of this market to its beautiful region.”

Ms Gemes said as a former student of Monash University having studied a Masters in Tourism, current students in the course were seeking to learn about opening a luxury tourism business within a regional setting, along with being inspired by how Lon has worked with the community to grow and develop a successful brand.

“I spoke to the student group for around 45 minutes then answered questions concerning barriers to entry when developing a business in a regional setting, working with local government, developing a marketing strategy and how to build strong contacts and relationships within the industry to support and champion your brand and product,” she said.

Dr Joseph Cheer, who runs the Masters at Monash said that students were “buzzing and inspired” by the talk and would take their learnings back to their respective countries in the hope of starting their own businesses within regional settings.