Dr. Irit Shmuel from the School of Management has returned from a six-week research stay in Peru, during which she led a groundbreaking study on the development of emotional, social, and physical skills among mountain trekkers.
The research was conducted in collaboration with the National University of San Antonio Abad of Cusco (Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco), under the leadership of Dr. Álvaro Recharte Cuentas from the Faculty of Tourism, with the participation of tourism students and the academic guidance of Prof. Paolo Mura from Zayed University in Abu Dhabi.
As part of the study, more than forty trekking tourists from around the world were interviewed, and the initial findings reveal new insights not yet identified in the academic literature on this subject.
At the conclusion of her stay, Dr. Shmuel participated in the International Geographical Union (IGU) Joint Conference – “Exploring Local and Regional Development, Land Use Change, Health, and Biodiversity in a Changing World”, held at the Pontifical Catholic University of Peru (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) in Lima.
During the conference, Dr. Shmuel presented her research titled “Limited Collaboration? Urban–Rural Relations in the Israeli Periphery”, which examines the complexities and boundaries of cooperation between urban and rural areas in Israel, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Bar-Ilan University and the University of Haifa.
