“Dream is the key to us conquering the world. Keep running relentlessly ’til finally, you got it.” (Translated lyrics of Laskar Pelangi by Nidji, 2008).

I had been dreaming to pursue my Master’s degree in Europe since 2016 and the European Master in Tourism Management (EMTM) helped me to make my dreams come true. I had fallen in love with Denmark since the first time I knew EMTM and here I am, back in the one of happiest countries in the world.

The tourism and hospitality industry is not a new thing for me. During my Bachelor’s degree, I had shown my interest in tourism management and travel industries. I spent 3 years working as a tour staff at one of the biggest travel companies in Indonesia and during that time, I felt how hectic the tourism business was during the high season period. In the summer of 2022, I spent 3 months in the Northern side of Denmark, Skagen, where I did my internship as a hotel staff at one of the hotels in Skagen. And again, like déja vu, I experienced the hectic situation of high season in tourism, especially in the post-pandemic situation, when people started to travel again with confidence.

These experiences gave me the idea to write my thesis related to seasonal changes in tourism from the perspective of tourism stakeholders. My thesis is focusing on how tourism stakeholders in Skagen engage with tourism season changes, which is a kind of new perspective that brings to the discussion since the previous research tends to focus on the impacts of seasonality in tourism. 

Currently, I also have an opportunity to do an internship as an Operations Coordinator for the Asian market at Vision of Scandinavia (V.O.S) Destination Management in Copenhagen. The internship allows me to understand the tourism seasonal change in Scandinavian countries from two different major markets, European and Asian. I gained new insights into the differences in tourism flow from these two markets in Scandinavia.

I feel so grateful that I have a supportive supervisor who helped me figure out the impact of tourism seasonal change in Skagen (Denmark) and I have a bunch of supportive and open interviewees who are willing to share their opinion about tourism seasonal change in Skagen.

Hopefully, all these opportunities and experiences will help me to grow and get a better understanding of tourism management, especially in Denmark and European countries.

Written by Cindy Claudia (Indonesia), student of EMTM Generation 2021-2023