UDTTRMAN - BA Tourism and Travel Management

BA Tourism and Travel Management has been developed to answer destinations and tourism and travel industry's demand for specialised managers and planners. Despite industry’s prime position as global income and employment contributor, this biggest service economy of the world suffers from insufficient investment in its workforce. In United Kingdom, the UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2014) has identified four challenges at national level that needs addressing to meet customer expectations on the level of service: low productivity; low employee engagement; high employee turnover and low investment in skills. Through industry-focused curriculum, this course attempts to address raised issues and provide an opportunity for young people to fill the gap in the current employment market, and at the same time learning effective management strategies that would increase their competence to manage future generations of employers and businesses in tourism and travel industries.
The course is designed to offer an intellectually stimulating and distinctive programme by combining in the syllabus a range of tourism studies disciplines and approaches, including marketing, business management, quality, strategic and risk management, together with sustainable tourism management, cultural heritage and tourism-led regeneration, destination management, niche tourism and entrepreneurship.
Class-based contact is enhanced by multiple blended learning techniques, providing an on-line support and guidance. Learning and teaching includes guest speakers - e.g. tourism destination and visitor attraction marketers, regeneration specialists, sustainability advocates - to engage you in contemporary challenges for practitioners and to enable appreciation of career opportunities and continuing professional development after graduation. Students have multiple opportunities to develop research and professional skills through practical projects, e.g. evaluating tourism-based regeneration projects, advising on development of destination product portfolio, enterprise social media strategy or visitor management practices.
The teaching utilises our London location but also uses residential field course to provide students with the capability to practice field research techniques in an unfamiliar environment. We believe that university experience should be designed to enhance and support student’s professional life hence we place as much emphasis on gaining skills relevant to the workplace as on learning the academic discipline. We embed employability in every year of student journey, starting from level 4 core modules via range of short- and long work placements opportunities (including a one-year sandwich placement) to the professional environment simulation modules such as Destination Management and Marketing. An additional benefit of course recognised by the Tourism Management Institute is student’s eligibility for discounted student membership and alumni’s automatic entitlement to associate membership.

BA Tourism and Travel Management course aims to:
1. To offer an intellectually stimulating, career-relevant and coherent programme, enabling students to develop a thorough understanding of theories, approaches and techniques relevant to professional practice in tourism, travel and destination management
2. To develop a holistic appreciation of the sustainability, ethical management, developments in digital media, including the role of marketing and communications, entrepreneurship, operational and strategic management in tourism and travel industries
3. To provide comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the socio-cultural, economic, technological, and political environment in which tourism destinations and industry operates
4. To enable and ease transformation of undergraduate students into independent learners, able researchers and industry-ready professionals

1. To recognise and explore key concepts in tourism studies, showing the ability to debate and assess the significance and interrelations between key theories, models and concepts in the domestic and international context
2. To discuss the nature, scale and development challenges of various sectors in tourism and travel industries reinforced by critical analysis of product development, operations and management processes in these sectors
3. To demonstrate an understanding of the nature and characteristics of tourism demand and apply management processes and theories to engage visitors and enhance the tourist experience
4. To identify and evaluate contribution and impacts of tourism in social, economic, environmental, political, cultural terms with reference to policy and planning, ethics, quality, sustainability and social responsibility
5. To apply strategic marketing and management principles and models to tourism and travel industries, indicating critical ability to recognise and act on dynamic and competitive business environment in regional, national and international dimension
6. Mature in the process of becoming independent learners and researchers, able to contribute to the learning community, co-creation of knowledge, demonstrating awareness of research methodologies and underlying ethical principles, able to carry out primary research relating to contemporary issues in tourism and travel
7. Develop a professional identity and business insight in professional development, via repeated reflection on personal competencies, skills and developmental needs within the range of identified career opportunities in tourism and travel sectors

Applied Research with Field Course LT5086
Creative Industries and Events Policy LT6067
Culture, Tourism and Regeneration LT5001
Destination Management and Marketing LT6020
Exploring Tourism: Narratives of Travel LT4015
London's Visitor Economy LT4056
Marketing for Aviation and Creative Industries LT4013
Niche Tourism LT5053
Project Management BA6052
Research Methods for Dissertations and Consultancy Projects LT6P26
Risk Management and Business Continuity CA6057
Service Excellence for Tourism LT5026
Skills, Methods and Analysis LT5085
Statistics for Travel and Tourism CA4051
Strategy in Tourism and Travel LT6086
Sustainability, Business and Responsibility LT5078
Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change LT4014
Visitor Attraction Management LT6082
Work-Related Learning module MN6W50 or 55

Learning Outcomes cover LO1-7

The QAA Subject Benchmark statement for Events, Hospitality, Leisure, Sport and Tourism (2016)

Section 3: Nature and extent of EHLST - Programmes broadly concerned with Tourism and Section 6: Subject-Specific Benchmark Standards has been adopted (see table in section 12)

Organised opportunities for work-related learning are embedded in the final year of the curriculum.
Students can embark on the year-long residential placement (MN6W04) in UK or abroad, which in effect extends the full-time course to 4 years.
Within the 3-year long undergraduate curriculum, students are expected to choose one of two alternative core modules that include different levels of engagement with professional workplace environment: Learning through Work or Creating a Winning Business and include one of these in their final programme.

All core modules are required.

Personal, professional development and reflection is embedded at every level of the course curriculum. It is especially strong at level 4, where the need for reflection results from diversity of student cohort, in terms of socio-cultural and educational background. Participation in the London’s Visitor Economy module provides an opportunity for revision of planned (and initially unplanned) career opportunities, while Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change includes career coaching and mid-year assessment aiming at development of career plan.

At level 5 students have an opportunity to review their own code of professional conduct in the university business environment as part of the core module - Service Excellence for Tourism - related to quality management. Research focused Skills, Methods and Analysis module, empowers students to reflect on their achievements in level 4 and self-assess gaps in academic skills. This self-assessment aspect is developed further in an elective Applied Research with Field Course module, where field research provides students with an opportunity to reflect on application of their learning to practice, real experience of primary field research, their individual research strengths and weaknesses, communication and project management skills. Feed-forward and peer learning community created in Niche Tourism module means that students can follow each other’s blogs and comment on posts making learning more engaging, developing critical skills and communication, but also allowing for reflection and stimulating progress. Blogging in the Sustainability, Business and Responsibility module follows the same approach.

Finally, at level 6, modules such as Strategy in Travel and Tourism, Risk Management and Business Continuity and Visitor Attraction Management employ feed-forward approach to assessment, giving students to opportunity to consider their approach to tasks whilst simultaneously having the opportunity to reflect upon informal feedback.

Official, certified CDP opportunities are embedded in the Destination Management and Marketing module as directly linked to course recognition from Tourism Management Institute (TMI). Participation in TMI Annual Convention (additional to usual timetable) increases opportunities for networking and career guidance for students considering destination manager career. All BA Tourism and Travel Management students are eligible for discounted student membership in TMI, while Alumni are automatically eligible for associate membership of TMI (ATMI).

QAA Subject Benchmark Statements have been used to underpin the course design, as demonstrated in the table below, where each of the specific benchmarks for Tourism programmes has been allocated to the module which delivers the benchmark in the most direct and explicit manner.

QAA Benchmark (6.22-6.25) Module LO
Analyse and evaluate the concepts and characteristics of tourism as an area of academic and applied study in relation to business, management and wider social science LT4015 Exploring Tourism: Narratives of Travel 1
Explain and challenge theories and concepts which are used to understand tourism in domestic and international contexts LT4015 Exploring Tourism: Narratives of Travel 1
Critique and challenge the definitions, nature and operations of tourism LT5001 Culture, Tourism and Regeneration 1
Use a range of source material in investigating tourism LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 3
Critique and challenge the nature and characteristics of tourists and associated behaviour characteristics LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 2
Demonstrate an awareness of the dynamic nature of tourism in contemporary societies LT5053 Niche Tourism 1
Explain, assess and challenge theories of sustainability and ethics in the production and consumption of tourism LT5078 Sustainability, Business and Responsibility 1
Evaluate the intercultural dimensions of tourism LT5086 Applied Research with Field Course 1
Demonstrate an understanding of technology and media and how these influences and change tourism products, operations, processes and behaviours LT5026 Service Excellence for Tourism 3
Critique the stakeholder relationships involved in destination management, development, policy, governance and strategy LT6020 Destination Management and Marketing 1
Demonstrate an awareness of security, safety, risk and crisis management on regional, national and international scales CA6057 Risk Management and Business Continuity 1
Evaluate the products, structure, operations and interactions within the tourism industry LT5001 Culture, Tourism and Regeneration 2
Professionalising the tourism industry as both processes and structures, and professional identity and business acumen in professional development LT5026 Service Excellence for Tourism 2
Explain the patterns and characteristics of tourism demand and the influences on such demand LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 3
Understand the ways in which tourists behave at destinations LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 3
Understand the cultural significance of tourism for tourists and societies LT4056 London's Visitor Economy 1
Demonstrate an understanding of the structure, operation and organisation of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and their activities LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 1
Evaluate the factors that influence the development of organisations operating in tourism LT6082 Visitor Attractions Management 1
Analyse relations between consumers of tourism and the providers of tourism services LT5026 Service Excellence for Tourism 2
Analyse the role of Government and policy makers in the development and management of destinations LT5001 Culture, Tourism and Regeneration 3
Evaluate the contribution and impacts of tourism in social, economic, environmental, political, cultural and other terms LT4014 Tourism Industries: People, Processes and Change 3
Understand and evaluate, the approaches to managing the development of tourism through concepts of policy and planning LT6086 Strategy in Tourism and Travel 2
Appreciate the ethical issues associated with the operation and development of tourism LT5053 Niche Tourism 2
Understand the issues and principles of sustainability and social responsibility in the context of tourism LT5078 Sustainability, Business and Responsibility 2

We believe that university experience should be designed to enhance and support student’s professional career. In effect, we place as much emphasis on developing skills relevant to the workplace as on learning the academic discipline. Employability in embedded at every level of student’s journey from exposure to real business environment at World Travel Market, via reflective exercises evaluating employability skills and designing career plan, via professional workplace simulations, industry-relevant assessments and short- and long work placement modules.
The course is designed to offer an intellectually stimulating and distinctive programme that enables students to prepare for a satisfying career. We consult Tourism Management Institute to ensure that curriculum offered equips graduates with knowledge and the set of skills required by the industry. Over the past twenty years, many of our graduates have developed rewarding careers in business, government and third sector tourism organisations, as destination managers and planners, managers in hospitality, transport, travel trade and visitor attractions, but also in research and consultancy.
Interdisciplinary of tourism studies leaves the career options open to other business and management sectors, including events management, marketing, quality and strategic management. It is also a very good foundation for further studies.

We believe that your university experience should be designed to enhance and support your professional life. We place as much emphasis on gaining skills relevant to the workplace as on learning the academic discipline that you are studying. We embed employability in every year of your journey with us, starting from year one modules, through short- and long placement modules to the professional environment stimulation modules such as Destination Management and Marketing.

This course is designed to offer an intellectually stimulating and distinctive programme that enables you to prepare for a satisfying career. Over the past twenty years, many of our graduates have developed rewarding careers in business, government and third sector tourism organisations, as managers in road, rail, sea and air transport, tour operators, destination managers and planners, and in research and consultancy.

In addition to the University's standard entry requirements, you should have:

• a minimum grade C in three A levels in academic subjects (or a minimum of 96 UCAS points from an equivalent Level 3 qualification, eg BTEC National, OCR Diploma or Advanced Diploma)
• English Language and Mathematics GCSEs at grade C/grade 4 or above (or equivalent)

All applicants must be able to demonstrate proficiency in the English language. Applicants who require a Tier 4 student visa may need to provide a Secure English Language Test (SELT) such as Academic IELTS. For more information about English qualifications please see our English language requirements.