Galloway, N.J. – Six Stockton University students gained insight on tourism and explored Kyoto and
Osaka during the annual Japan University English Model United Nations (JUEMUN) conference
from June 27-29.
The group, sponsored by Stockton Model UN, the School of Social & Behavioral Sciences, the Office of Student Development, and the Lloyd D. Levenson Institute of Gaming, Hospitality and Tourism (LIGHT), enjoyed an action-packed weekend of networking, experiential learning and
more.
💭 Student Leaders in Attendance (A-Z)
Sylar Ballin
Cristian Della Fave
Lindsay Grande
Mary Kpetisgo
KT Muller
Té Sammons
During the conference, the students represented three different countries (the Republic
of Fiji, Chile and Uganda) and explored topics centered on tourism and its impact
on local and national economies and societies. These topics were informed by the UN
World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which seeks to identify challenges facing tourism
and drive positive change throughout the sector by promoting responsibility and sustainability.
Skylar Ballin, a dual major in Criminal Justice and Political Science, said that, while representing Fiji, her committee discussed sustainable tourism
and safeguarding marine ecosystems.
“This simply means protecting ocean life while promoting safe tourism practices in
coastal areas,” the West Creek resident said. “This is something that I was deeply
interested in since I live right near Long Beach Island and work there most of the
year. I always observe poor tourism practices and wish something would be done about
it.”
Echoing her sentiments, Té Sammons, of Minotola, referenced Takuya Horie, the CMO
of the Kyoto City Tourism Association, and how the city works to manage tourism challenges
such as overcrowding, price surging and environmental concerns.
“Takuya Horie presented the current challenges Kyoto faces with ever-increasing tourism
and some of the ways it has addressed said challenges, such as the promotion of off-season
tourism and hidden gem attractions, traveler-specific bus routes and more,” Sammons
said.
Following the conference, the students explored Kyoto and Osaka, where they witnessed
the topics they had discussed at length in real-time. KT Muller, a Political Science
major from Ocean City, said this exploration of various cultural locations and the
ease in which they were able to travel was one of her favorite parts of the trip.
“I also enjoyed the collaboration between the international schools and the Kyoto
International school in guiding us around on our first day. They were incredibly insightful
and sweet to us, and we got to discuss unique cultural differences,” Muller said emphatically.
“I was also surprised by how English-friendly the cities were. The patience the locals
have with tourists is truly unmatched and has changed my perspective on hospitality.”
The trip also revealed parallels between tourism in Japan and at the Jersey Shore.
Te and Mary after representing Uganda and Fiji during their committee meetings.
Five of the six students traveling through Japan.
Lindsay representing Chile during her committee meeting.
Five of the six students traveling through Japan.
Explore | Stockton Model UN
“Overcrowding and disregard for laws or cultural norms are very apparent in both places,
despite many tourists in Japan being international, while the Jersey Shore usually
draws from the tri-state area,” said Psychology major Cristian Della Fave, of Linwood.
Despite these challenges, both Sammons and dual-degree Criminal Justice major Lindsay
Grande believe the solutions to these challenges can be revealed through intentional
collaboration.
“While New Jersey has a division in the state department dedicated to travel and tourism,
it’s difficult to address the unique complexities of tourism in each specific region
of the Jersey Shore without some united body of representatives and locals,” Sammons
said.
“From preserving cultural heritage to managing visitor flows, Japan’s tourism model
showed how collaboration across regions and sectors can make a difference,” said Grande,
of Lacey Township. “If local governments, businesses and communities worked together
the way Japan has, I believe we could find more sustainable and unified approaches
to tourism development.”
The impact of this experience was felt deeply by all the students, but especially
by Mary Kpetsigo, a Hospitality, Tourism, and Event Management major whom LIGHT selected to attend JUEMUN. The conference not only showed her the
importance of research and advocacy in the tourism industry, but it also changed her
perspective on it.
“Not only has it changed how I think about hospitality as a service, but it has also
changed how I think about it as a way to protect culture, promote sustainability and
work together with people from other countries,” said Kpetsigo, of Aflao, Ghana. “As
part of my future academic and professional path, I now want to look into tourism-related
problems and solutions in other nations.
“I believe strongly that tourism should be about quality, education and respect, not
just numbers,” Kpetsigo continued. “We can make travel better for both passengers
and the places they visit if more places like the Jersey Shore adopt this way of thinking,
as Japan is doing.”
#OspreysEverywhere #GlobalOspreys
Tina Zappile, the director of the William J. Hughes Center for Public Policy and advisor for Model UN for over a decade, said JUEMUN provided the group of students
with the chance to think about tourism from a perspective that centers policy, planning
and human behavior.
“The Japanese approach to overtourism blends multiple disciplines to innovate and
test new policies, rules and strategies to ensure tourists are welcomed, while preserving
the natural environment, cultural heritage and residential experience,” Zappile said.
“How does a community preserve its natural landscape and cultural heritage, give residents
a strong voice to protect what they love about their communities, while also welcoming
tourists? Kyoto is struggling with this right now, and it’s a challenge that every
community on the Jersey Shore faces each summer.”
Zappile said the group benefited from learning how to address such challenges as community
stakeholders rather than just through their majors and careers.
“I think our students’ experience in Japan encouraged them to be more active members
of their own community and to bring more effective solutions that build on the experiences
and lessons learned in other places like Kyoto. That’s what international travel is
all about,” she said.
– Story by Loukaia Taylor
Stockton Model United Nations Attends Five-Day National Conference
April 24, 2025
17 Stockton University students attended the National Model United Nations Conference
in New York this April, where they networked with over 3,000 students and received
two awards.
Galloway, N.J. – Several Stockton University students traveled to New York for the five-day National
Model United Nations Conference (NMUN), where they had the opportunity to network
with over 3,000 peers and were selected for two awards.
The 17 students, as part of Stockton’s Model UN, attended the conference April 6-10. During, Stockton’s Model UN represented the
Arab Republic of Egypt and were involved in nine committees during the conference, including the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice.
From that committee, Lindsay Grande and Skylar Ballin received the Best Delegate Award
after being nominated by their peers at the end of the conference. Grande and Ballin
are both dual majoring in Political Science and Criminal Justice, and prepared and researched the committee and Egypt’s role in global criminal justice
reform throughout this spring semester.
Continue Reading | Stockton Model United Nations Attends Five-Day National Conference
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