UDTTOMAG - BA (Hons) Tourism and Travel Management (Top-up)

This year-long top-up course offers students an opportunity to enhance their knowledge and understanding of managing the interconnected industries of travel and tourism, particularly to answer destinations and tourism and travel industry's demand for specialised managers and planners. Despite being one of the largest industries in terms of global income and employment contributor, this major service economy of the world suffers from insufficient investment in its workforce. The UK Commission for Employment and Skills (2014) has identified four challenges at national level that need addressing to meet customer expectations on the level of service: low productivity; low employee engagement; high employee turnover and low investment in skills. The curriculum focuses on addressing those issues by providing an opportunity for final year students to become adequately equipped, and ready to fill gaps in the current employment market. Upon graduation, our students can be confident in the level of competencies and skills they gain to manage future generations of employees and businesses in the travel and tourism 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 strategic and risk management, project management together with visitor attractions management, destination planning and marketing, and employability in the travel and tourism industries.
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, risk and sustainability specialists - 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. advising on development of destination product portfolio or visitor management practices and so forth.
The top-up year-long course is designed to enhance and support the student’s professional life, which is why emphasis is as much on gaining skills relevant to the workplace as on learning the academic discipline. Employability is embedded in several of the course’s modules, including the professional environment simulation in Destination Management and Marketing (core) and Learning Through Work / Creating a Winning Business (alternative core), the latter being work-related learning modules. An additional benefit is that the course is recognised officially by the Tourism Management Institute, so that students are eligible for discounted membership and alumni automatic entitlement to associate membership.

The BA Tourism and Travel Management Top-Up course aims to:
1. Offer an intellectually stimulating, career-relevant and coherent programme, enabling students to apply their understanding of theories, approaches and techniques relevant to professional practice in tourism, travel and destination management
2. To produce confident graduates capable of initiative and collaboration in progressing their learning, able researchers and industry-ready professionals.

1. To recognise and explore key concepts in travel and 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 travel and tourism 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 travel and 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 travel and tourism industries, indicating critical ability to recognise and act on dynamic and competitive business environment in regional, national and international dimension
6. To become 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
The above learning outcomes were adapted from the latest QAA Subject Benchmark Statements on Events, Hospitality, Leisure, Sports and Tourism – the most relevant subject-specific being ‘Tourism’. Below is the outline of Benchmarks used for this Top-Up programme, and which can be found at: QAA SBS EHLST
“An Honours graduate in Tourism is able to demonstrate an understanding of the concepts and characteristics of tourism as an area of academic and applied study, including being able to:
i) 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
ii) explain and challenge theories and concepts which are used to understand tourism in domestic and international contexts
iii) critique and challenge the definitions, nature and operations of tourism
iv) use a range of source material in investigating tourism
v) critique and challenge the nature and characteristics of tourists and associated behaviour characteristics
vi) demonstrate an awareness of the dynamic nature of tourism in contemporary societies
vii) explain, assess and challenge theories of sustainability and ethics in the production and consumption of tourism
viii) evaluate the intercultural dimensions of tourism
ix) demonstrate an understanding of technology and media and how those influence and change tourism products, operations, processes and behaviours
x) critique the stakeholder relationships involved in destination management, development, policy, governance and strategy
xi) demonstrate an awareness of security, safety, risk and crisis management on regional, national and international scales
xii) evaluate the products, structure, operations and interactions within the tourism industry
xiii) professionalising the tourism industry as both processes and structures, and professional identity and business acumen in professional development.
An Honours graduate in Tourism is able to demonstrate an understanding of the products, structure of and interactions in the tourism industry, including being able to:
i) demonstrate an understanding of the structure, operation and organisation of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and their activities
ii) evaluate the factors that influence the development of organisations operating in tourism
iii) analyse relations between consumers of tourism and the providers of tourism services
iv) analyse the role of Government and policy makers in the development and management of destinations
An Honours graduate in Tourism is able to demonstrate understanding of the relationships between tourism and the communities and environments in which it takes place, including being able to:
i) evaluate the contribution and impacts of tourism in social, economic, environmental, political, cultural and other terms
ii) understand and evaluate, the approaches to managing the development of tourism through concepts of policy and planning
iii) appreciate the ethical issues associated with the operation and development of tourism
iv) understand the issues and principles of sustainability and social responsibility in the context of tourism

Please consult Course Handbook

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)

The assessment strategy is based on the model of progressive and inclusive curriculum, QAA Subject Benchmark Standards and University Assessment Framework, with study skills being introduced, then practiced and finally assessed in one or consecutive modules.

Assessment methods intend to be appropriate to the aims and level of the module and its desired learning outcomes. Building on prior studies (levels 4 and 5 – where assessments focus on student knowledge and comprehension, moving on to application and analysis skills), at Level 6 assessments measure the ability of the student to synthesise and evaluate information. At this level also, assessments require more advanced digital literacy and link directly with the professional business environment (e.g. business pitch, report, audit, consultancy, etc). Th variety of assessments considers the diverse socio-cultural body of students and offers opportunities for engagement suitable to different learning needs. Many assessments allow for personalisation, with students being given a choice of the object of study.

The number of assessments is limited to a maximum of two in 15 credit modules, and three in 30 credit modules. Effort was made to ensure spread of assessments with obvious limitations such as end of academic year. The full schedule of assessment is available to students at the beginning of the academic year, hence student’s practice of effective time management skills is essential in ensuring even workload.

Formative feedback and feed-forward is embedded in each of the course’s modules, with students being given opportunities to discuss draft work and early research findings. Modules use varied feedback mechanisms, including immediate oral feedback in taught sessions, written feedback on draft work (e.g. comments on blog posts), feedback sessions (in-class and online via Blackboard Collaborate), written and audio feedback on the final work and sometimes visual feedback (e.g. mind maps of feedback on draft work, e.g. dissertation). Timeline of feedback provision is in line with University policies and standards and marking schemes for levelness (Level 6) are employed in all modules.
All assessments (apart from artefacts) are to be submitted online via Weblearn/Turnitin to ensure timely submission and monitoring of engagement. Online submission enables anonymous marking and guarantees equal access for all module tutors and external markers to assignments.

Organised opportunities for work-related learning are embedded in the final year of the curriculum.
In Level 6, students are expected to include one of the alternative cores in their study programme, which reflect different levels of engagement with the professional workplace environment:
• MN6W55 Learning through Work
• MN6W50 Creating a Winning Business

n/a

All core modules are required.

Personal, professional development and reflection is embedded in the curriculum of level 6 modules such as Strategy in Travel and Tourism, Risk Management and Business Continuity, and Visitor Attraction Management which all 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 students on the course are eligible for discounted student membership in TMI, while Alumni are automatically eligible for associate membership of TMI (ATMI).
QAA Subject Benchmark Statements (see above, section 11) were 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(s)
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 LT6020, LT6P26, LT6067
Explain and challenge theories and concepts which are used to understand tourism in domestic and international contexts LT6020, LT6082, LT6067
Critique and challenge the definitions, nature and operations of tourism LT6020, LT6086, CA6057
Use a range of source material in investigating tourism LT6P26
Critique and challenge the nature and characteristics of tourists and associated behaviour characteristics LT6082
Demonstrate an awareness of the dynamic nature of tourism in contemporary societies LT6020, LT6082
Explain, assess and challenge theories of sustainability and ethics in the production and consumption of tourism LT6020, LT6082
Evaluate the intercultural dimensions of tourism LT6082
Demonstrate an understanding of technology and media and how these influences and change tourism products, operations, processes and behaviours LT6020, LT6086, CA6057
Critique the stakeholder relationships involved in destination management, development, policy, governance and strategy LT6020
Demonstrate an awareness of security, safety, risk and crisis management on regional, national and international scales CA6057
Evaluate the products, structure, operations and interactions within the tourism industry LT6020, LT6082
Professionalising the tourism industry as both processes and structures, and professional identity and business acumen in professional development LT6020
Explain the patterns and characteristics of tourism demand and the influences on such demand LT6020, LT6082, LT6086
Understand the ways in which tourists behave at destinations LT6020, LT6082
Understand the cultural significance of tourism for tourists and societies LT6082
Demonstrate an understanding of the structure, operation and organisation of the public, private and not-for-profit sectors and their activities LT6020, LT6086
Evaluate the factors that influence the development of organisations operating in tourism LT6082 Visitor Attractions Management
Analyse relations between consumers of tourism and the providers of tourism services LT6020
Analyse the role of Government and policy makers in the development and management of destinations LT6020, LT6082
Evaluate the contribution and impacts of tourism in social, economic, environmental, political, cultural and other terms LT6082
Understand and evaluate, the approaches to managing the development of tourism through concepts of policy and planning LT6086
Appreciate the ethical issues associated with the operation and development of tourism LT6020
Understand the issues and principles of sustainability and social responsibility in the context of tourism LT6082, LT6086

We believe that university experience should be designed to enhance and support student’s professional career. For this reason, we place as much emphasis on developing skills relevant to the workplace as on learning the academic discipline. Employability in embedded in a range of modules and throughout the student’s journey, from exposure to real business environment at World Travel Market, to professional workplace simulations, industry-relevant assessments and work placement opportunities.
The course is designed to offer an intellectually stimulating and distinctive programme that enables students to prepare for a satisfying career. We consult the Tourism Management Institute to ensure that the 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.
Interdisciplinarity 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 you're studying. We're committed to helping you enhance your job prospects and preparing you for a rewarding and successful career.

This course is designed to offer an intellectually stimulating and distinctive learning experience that will help you build a rewarding career. Many of our graduates have gained employment 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 one of the following:

• 240 credits from a Higher National Diploma (HND), Foundation Degree (FdA/ FdSc) or equivalent international qualification in a relevant subject
• 240 credits from years 1 and 2 of an undergraduate degree (BA/BSc) in a relevant subject at a different institution