TRAVEL and tourism students from Bolton Sixth Form College got a taste of life inside the town's new high profile hotel.

The group was invited to take a look behind the scenes at the DeVere Whites Hotel at the Reebok Stadium.

The visit was a vital part of the course, giving students the chance to get practical experience of new trends in the leisure industry.

DeVere Whites personnel and training manager Joanne Alcock gave the group a comprehensive guided tour of the 125-room four-star hotel.

The hotel is the first in Europe to be fully integrated into a football stadium.

Bolton Sixth Form College travel and tourism teacher Alison Wilson said: "The students were highly impressed by the hotel's facilities."

Although their trip to the Reebok was very close to home, the students are due to travel to New York next spring to investigate international travel and tourism in action.

The students are taking a new course which is being run as an alternative to the leisure and tourism vocational A-level already taught at the college.

It offers students the chance to specialise in specific areas of study.