07282014Mon
Last updateFri, 25 Jul 2014 3pm

Students free to tag on to US, China trade missions

Guadalajara city officials are inviting tourism students to join them and other business leaders on upcoming trade missions to Portland, Oregon, and Xiamen, China.

Often those interested in pursuing a career in tourism don’t have many opportunities to put their learning into practice, said Mario Reynoso Ochoa, the director of Guadalajara’s Foreign Affairs and Sister Cities Department.

The trips to Portland and Xiamen will give students a chance to work with city officials as they build links between Guadalajara and cities abroad.

Reynoso Ochoa said there would be room for two students on the trip to Portland and four to Xiamen. There’s a wrinkle though; students will have to pay their own way.

The students must also be available to make the trip – the one to Portland is from August 25 to 29 – have their passports and visas, speak English, and most of all have a desire to broaden their horizons through travel and interacting with those living internationally, Reynoso said.

The idea is “to give students an opportunity to live the experience of a trade mission,” he said.

Thus far, the program is a pilot project and whether or not it continues is going to depend upon student interest.

At a news conference, Reynoso highlighted the similarities between Portland and Guadalajara. The two have a relationship that stretches back for decades, having been sister cities since 1983. Portland has a robust community of Hispanics, with the demographic making up 29 percent of the population, the majority of those from Mexico. The region has strong high-tech, health services and agriculture sectors, and residents there put a strong emphasis on the environment.

All of those are areas where Guadalajara residents and businesses can benefit from shared knowledge.

Reynoso Ochoa said Portland represents a hub for Guadalajara to reach further into the region, especially into a city called Woodburn, where more than 50 percent of the population identifies itself as Hispanic or Latino. Like Guadalajara, Woodburn has been growing from an agricultural center to an increasing focus on the high-tech industry.

Tourism students will also have the opportunity to expand their horizons on a trip that will take place September 4 to 16 to the Chinese port city of Xiamen, which sits on the country’s southeast coast.

Xiamen has been a sister city of Guadalajara since 2003. Given the growing commercial power of China, building connections to the Asian market has become increasingly important for anyone doing international business.

Both trips will give students the opportunity to learn about foreign economies as well as develop their tourism skills.

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