Tourism study a winner

A STUDY on tourists' perceptions of crime in Port Elizabeth was recognised as the top research paper at a conference this week.

The conference for emerging scholars and postgraduate students representative of all four Eastern Cape universities, titled "Emerging Views on the Eastern Cape Economy", was held at the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) on Tuesday.

Finance, Economic Development, Environmental Affairs and Tourism MEC Sakhumzi Somyo announced the winners at a function on Tuesday evening.

Winner Jaydé Brooks, from NMMU, impressed the panel with his professional presentation and detailed study on tourists' perceptions of Port Elizabeth as a safe travel destination.

Part of his findings were that 13% of the tourists surveyed were robbed while visiting the city, although the majority of both the domestic and international tourists said they still felt safe in the Bay.

Brooks, who is still completing his studies, said he would love to work in the tourism industry full-time or become a lecturer.

In second place was Gladys Fernandes from NMMU who presented a paper titled "The announcement effect of the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on surrounding house prices: a Hedonic Analysis" and third place went to Richard Johnstone from Rhodes University for his paper "Why do historical inequalities in schooling performance maintain salience in the present Eastern Cape?: A Grahamstown case study". – Cindy Preller