Travel and Tourism students from Cornwall College Camborne are celebrating after being awarded the "Aldo Papone Award 2007" for their study into the benefits of the World Heritage Status of the Cornish mining history. The tourism award is a prestigious accolade to receive, and is run by the Global travel and tourism partnership (GTTP), an organisation which supports education and development in the tourism industry around the world.

The Aldo Papone case writing award invites students from Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Jamaica, Russia, South Africa and the UK to submit proposals for case studies they would like to carry out in their local area. The Cornwall College students' application was entitled "Historical Preservation: Cornish Mining World Heritage - Who Benefits?" and was the winning UK entry. The award judges were very impressed by the relevance of the proposal and the planned benefits for learners, as the findings will be shared with schools in Cornwall, other schools and colleges in the UK and those in Europe who also have World Heritage sites.

Students will now receive funding to meet the expenses of developing the case study, which will investigate the benefits to Cornwall's tourists and the Cornish people of the World Heritage status for Cornish mining. Work has already begun, with students visiting the Engine house and discovery centre at Pool, with a series of other trips planned for the coming months. Once the investigation is complete, two students and one teacher will attend the 2007 International Student and Teacher conference in Nice in November, where they will present their findings to other delegates from around the world.

John Latham, Principal of Cornwall College commented, "I would like to congratulate the students and staff involved on receiving this prestigious award. The travel and tourism department at Cornwall College is already a Centre of Vocational Excellence, and this award again highlights the quality this department offers not only to its students, but also the wider community".