The Tourism, Hospitality, and Outdoor Recreation (THOR) Institute hosted its inaugural conference at the University of Southern Maine from July 31 to August 1, 2023. Titled the Vacationland Conference, the event brought together over 100 education and industry partners from … Read More
High school counselors and educators from every county in Maine will gather July 31 – August 1 to learn more about careers in tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation – the industries that employ 1 in 5 in the state.
The Vacationland Conference will be hosted by the Tourism, Hospitality, and Outdoor Recreation (THOR) Institute of the University of Maine System, a partnership among all of the system’s public universities to create new education and training pathways that bolster Maine’s largest industries.
Conference attendees will travel to Portland as “tourists” – enjoying Portland’s tourism and recreational amenities, as well as attending the two-day event at the University of Southern Maine, where they will learn about connecting their students’ passions to careers in Maine’s tourism industries.
According to Dr. Tracy Michaud, chair of the THOR Institute, the conference will showcase careers that tap into all that Vacationland has to offer – from Midcoast to the western Mountains, from the County to the southern beaches, and everything in between.
“Our goal is to increase the number of graduating Maine high school students who pursue study in Maine’s public universities as a pathway to a rewarding career in the THOR industries,” Dr. Michaud said. Each school that participates in the conference will receive a $1,000 scholarship to award to a graduating senior pursuing study in a THOR discipline in the University of Maine System for Fall 2024, she said.
Every university in the University of Maine System will have representatives at the event, which will also feature workforce representatives talking about the wide range of opportunities in the THOR fields. Workforce representation includes Maine Tourism Association, Visit Portland, Olympia Hotels, Cruise Maine, Maine guides, L.L. Bean, Sugarloaf, Maine Bureau of Parks and Lands, The Maine Sportsman, and much more.
The conference is made possible by a grant from the Maine Jobs & Recovery Plan – the proposal put forth by Governor Mills and supported by the Maine Legislature to invest the state’s share of federal American Rescue Plan relief funds, including in University of Maine System workforce development.
The newly-formed University of Maine System (UMS) Tourism, Hospitality, and Outdoor Recreation (THOR) Institute is inviting students to travel around the state of Maine, taking courses at different campuses to not only gain fundamental knowledge for fulfilling careers in the tourism, hospitality, and outdoor recreation sectors but to experience why millions of visitors make Maine destinations their choice of vacation, year after year.
The THOR Institute Summer Conference for Maine School Counselors will be held July 31 – August 1, 2023. Submit your application to be an attendee now! Learn more.
Save the Dates: July 31 – August 1, 2023, for an all-expenses paid conference for high school guidance counselors to learn about THOR career paths. Learn more and join the mailing list; registration opens soon.