The Department of Tourism (Faculty of Central European Studies) has achieved significant international success in the field of publishing. At the beginning of 2020, four members of the given department, namely Mgr. Zuzana Sándorová, PhD., Ing.Terézia Repaňová, PhD., PhDr. Zuzana Palenčíková, PhD. and Ing., Norbert Beták, PhD. published a joint article in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education on the integration of an innovative teaching method called “design thinking” in the Tourism Product Development course, within the Regional Tourism Management Master’s study programme.

The article entitled “Design thinking – A revolutionary new approach in tourism education?” reached a total of 13 citations in 2020, four of which appeared in journals indexed in the WOS and SCOPUS databases. Based on this achievement, it was included among the 25 most cited articles in the given source in the period from 2018 to 2020. The Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education, which is registered in the SCOPUS and WOS databases, (IF in 2019: 1,439; citation index in 2020: 2.3), is the only journal that specializes in tourism education and, in which, no case study from Slovakia on innovative methods of teaching future professionals in tourism has been published so far.

The cited article presents a case study on testing the method of design thinking in selected courses of the Regional Tourism bachelor’s and the Management of Regional Tourism master’s study programmes. It discusses the advantages of the method in terms of enhancing teamwork, creativity and interpersonal communication when solving problems and finding possible solutions. According to the authors of the study, the design thinking method is a revolutionary and fascinating teaching method that, opposed to traditional teaching methods, simulates real-life situations and motivates students to be more active, cooperative and creative.

The application of design thinking in tourism education is so far unique not only in Slovakia but in the world, as well, even though, based on the practical experience of the Department of Tourism, it significantly helps students acquire skills related to finding solutions in the conditions of uncertainty and the ever-changing visitors’ needs and expectations. Based on the successful pilot testing of the method in 2018, it was integrated into the syllabus of the subject of Tourism product development. During the distance education in the 2020/2021 academic year due to the ongoing pandemic, it was applied using the MS Teams online platform which makes it possible to divide students into teams.

Congratulations to the authors and wishing them similar international publication successes in the future, as well. Link to the most cited articles published from 2018 to 2020 in the Journal of Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism Education:

https://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-hospitality-leisure-sport-and-tourism-education/most-cited-articles?utm_campaign=STMJ_137874_TOPA_TC&utm_medium=email&utm_acid=122242698&SIS_ID=&dgcid=STMJ_137874_TOPA_TC&CMX_ID=&utm_in=DM147161&utm_source=AC_

Text: Mgr. Zuzana Sándorová, PhD. a PhDr. Palenčíková Zuzana, PhD.

Photo: PhDr. Palenčíková Zuzana, PhD.