International Tourism Management BA(Hons)

Course in brief

Internationally oriented and recognised, this course brings together the academic study of tourism and the practical development of management skills to give you a balanced start to your career.

The programme is informed by the ongoing and active research of our tutors to ensure that you are up to date with contemporary issues and debates in the highly globalised tourism industry. The option of a placement year offers you a great opportunity to gain first-hand experience and improve your employment prospects following graduation.

We are an affiliate member of the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), which helps to inform our teaching and your learning. We are also accredited by the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT).

Specialist pathways

This course offers two specialist pathways:

International Tourism Management with Marketing BA(Hons)
International Tourism Management with Travel Business BA(Hons)

You can choose to follow either of these pathways at the end of your first year. Alternatively, you can continue to study for the single-honours International Tourism Management BA(Hons) award.

Key facts

Location Eastbourne

UCAS code N840

Full-time 3 years
With placement year 4 years

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Entry requirements

The entry requirements listed here are our typical offer for this course if you wish to begin studying with us in 2017. They should be used as a general guide.

We operate a flexible admissions policy – this means that you could receive a lower conditional offer than the typical offer, informed by our assessment of your complementary non-academic achievements and experiences. For courses that require interview or portfolio review, this may also be considered in the level of any conditional offer that follows if your application is successful.

A-levels
BBC (typically translates to 280 points in the UCAS tariff).

BTEC
DMM.

International Baccalaureate
28 points.

Access to HE Diploma
pass with 60 credits overall. Level 3 units in business or management preferred. At least 45 credits at level 3, with 18 credits at merit or above.

GCSE (minimum grade C)
at least three subjects including English language and mathematics.

Foundation degree/HND/HNC
may enable you to start the course in year 2 or 3. Check with the course team for specific requirements.

For non-native speakers of English
IELTS 6.0 overall, with 6.0 in writing and a minimum of 5.5 in the other elements.

Course in detail

Course structure

The course will take either three or four years to complete, depending on whether you opt for a placement year. It is designed to cover everything you might need for a career in tourism management.

If you specialise in marketing or travel business, you will take a specialist module in your second year and choose from a different selection of optional modules in your third year. Otherwise, the curriculum is the same.

The style of teaching will differ according to module, but it will variously involve lectures, seminars, group exercises, case studies and student presentations. Your contact hours will gradually reduce over the three years as you learn to work more independently.

Although you will in part be assessed by essays and exams, we will also test your ability to work in teams, make presentations and appraise the work of fellow students. These methods of assessment are intended to reflect real-life management practices.

Tourism course news

Find out all the latest tourism course, student, staff and research news.

Year 1

Year 1 will focus on operational issues of the tourism industry and the principles of management.

Modules

The Travel and Tourism Industry
Impacts of Tourism
Resort and Destination Management
Economics and Finance
Marketing, Branding and Consumer Psychology
Organisations, Management and People

International Tourism Management (top up degree)

Year 2

Year 2 will focus on the application of management techniques and introduce the core theoretical debates of international tourism.

If you follow a specialist pathway, the Tourism Planning and Development module will be replaced either by Marketing Planning or by Business Practices for the Travel Industry, depending on your chosen specialism.

Modules

Tourism, Society and Culture
Tourism in Action
Transport, Travel and Mobility
Managerial Accounting
Research Methods
Preparation for Placement (if applicable)

One from:

Tourism Planning and Development (management routeway)
Marketing Planning (marketing pathway)
Travel Business Management (travel business pathway)

Placement year

We encourage you to take a placement year between years 2 and 3 because it is an excellent opportunity to gain contacts, professional experience and an advantage in the job market.

Most placements are paid, with many students managing to save money for their final year of study. Students who take a placement are usually among the first to find jobs after graduating.

Previous students have worked with companies including:

Civil Aviation Authority
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Park Plaza Hotel Group
TUI
Sandele Eco Lodge
Amadeus
Cosmos Holidays
Sea Pines Resorts
Sportif Travel
British Airways
Disney and Universal Studios
Gatwick Airport
Destination Management Organisations (eg with local Councils)

After graduation, many students are offered full-time job opportunities with their placement employers.

Final year

The final year will blend management theory and practice at a strategic level. You will also be able to choose from a selection of optional modules, which vary according to your chosen pathway.

Modules

Global Issues and Travel and Tourism
Business Strategy
Dissertation or Placement Project

Options

Leadership
Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management
International Management
Business Morality
Change Management
Public Relations
Social Media and Marketing Metrics
Management in the Not-For-Profit Sector
Festivals and Events: A Cross-cultural Comparative
The Law Relating to Events
Cruise Management: A Critical Perspective
Aviation in the Twenty-first Century
Sport Tourism
Destination Marketing
Destination Niche Tourism
Destination Niche Tourism: Development and Management
e-Travel
Adventure and Activity Tourism and Society
Customer Relationship Marketing
Employability, Enterprise and Innovation
Competitive Marketing Strategy
Management of Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions (MICE)

Staff profiles

Dr Nigel Jarvis

Course leader

"Before returning to academia, I worked for six years as a consultant in Toronto, Canada, specialising in tourism, recreation, cultural master plans and feasibility. I have a keen interest in gender and sexuality issues in leisure and tourism.

"I completed my PhD in 2006 at the University of Brighton, which examined the meaning of sport in the lives of Canadian and British men. My research and teaching interests relate to sport tourism; sport and event sponsorship; the economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts of tourism; and attractions management."

Graham Shephard

Senior lecturer

"I come from an established travel industry background having worked in both tour operations and the leisure industry in past years. I studied my first degree in International Tourism Management at the University of Brighton and for my MSc in eTourism at the University of Surrey.

"I joined the university as a lecturer in 1995. I am committed to maintaining links with the industry sectors of both travel and tourism and ensuring that these links continue to benefit both students and the courses available."

Dr Clare Weeden

Principal lecturer

"I had extensive experience in the hospitality and tourism industries both in Europe and the USA before beginning my career with the School of Sport and Service Management. I as involved in licensed retail management for a small microbrewery and a range of senior operational roles within a large multinational hotel chain.

"I was awarded my PhD in 2008 from the University of Glasgow, where I explored the influence of personal values on the holiday choice decisions of ethical consumers.

"I teach and research in the following areas: ethical and responsible tourists, CSR in tourism, cruise tourism, destination marketing, and travel and visual culture."

Professor Marina Novelli

Marina is Professor of Tourism and International Development. As a geographer with a background in economics, she is known as an expert in the field of international tourism policy, planning, development and management.

She has advised on numerous international cooperation and research assignments funded by International Development Organisations (IDOs) such as: The World Bank, the European Union, The UN (UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO), the Commonwealth Secretariat, National Ministries and Tourism Boards, Regional Development Agencies and NGOs.

She is known globally for her excellence in leading and collaborating with multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder and multi-cultural teams and for her commitment to generating new knowledge on ways in which tourism can play a key role in sustainable development by stimulating local economies, conserving the environment, developing peoples and changing lives.

Other staff who teach on this course include:

Careers and employability

This course develops the transferable skills needed in the competitive and dynamic tourism industry. We'll help you with business communication, CVs and covering letters to maximise your chances of post-degree employment. Other key skills such as public speaking, research methods, team working, leadership, numeracy, assertiveness and creativity are developed throughout the course.

All teaching takes place on the Eastbourne campus, an excellent location for the study of tourism given its close links to both local and national attractions. This gives you the opportunity to contextualise your learning and gain first-hand experience of a tourism management environment.

Students graduating from this programme find jobs across the tourism and management sectors. Previous graduates have begun their careers with organisations including Virgin Atlantic, Kuoni Destinations, the Civil Aviation Authority, international airports and hotel groups.

Our careers team will support you from your first day at university. They will help you to find your career path, giving advice on the skills you'll need to develop.

Fees and funding

Your fees

UK/EU 9,000 GBP

Island Students 9,000 GBP

International 12,420 GBP

If you choose to take the professional placement (sandwich) year offered on this course you will pay a reduced fee during this year. Our fee for the professional placement year is £1,000 for home students and £2,000 for international students. This fee may be subject to small increases, in line with inflation.

The fees listed here are for full-time courses beginning in the academic year 2016–17. Further tuition fees are payable for each subsequent year of study and are subject to an annual increase of no more than 5% or RPI (whichever is the greater). The annual increase for UK/EU students, who are subject to regulated fees, will increase no more than the statutory maximum fee. Further details regarding tuition fees are available from the university’s student contract and tuition fee policy (pdf).

The tuition fee you have to pay depends on a number of factors including the kind of course you take, and whether you study full- or part-time. If you are studying part-time you will normally be charged on a pro rata basis depending on the number of modules you take.

What's included in the fee?

When costs such as health or DBS checks, field trips or use of specialist materials are incurred as a mandatory requirement of the course they are included in your tuition fee.

You may incur additional costs depending on the optional modules or activities you choose. The cost of optional activities is not included in your tuition fee and you will need to meet this cost in addition to your fees. Before you apply check with the school that provides your course using the contact details in the Find out more tab (at the end of this page) for advice about what is included and what optional costs you could face so you can budget accordingly.

See our finance pages for advice about funding and scholarships as well as further information about fees and advice on international and island fee paying status.

Location and living here

Location

About Eastbourne

Eastbourne is known for being sunny, friendly and relaxed, with natural attractions such as the beach and the beautiful hills of the South Downs. Beachy Head, the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain, is just outside of town and a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Arts and culture: Eastbourne is home to the award-winning Towner Art Gallery, one of the finest contemporary art museums in the south-east. The town also has four Grade II listed theatres: the Congress Theatre, the Devonshire Park Theatre, the Winter Garden and the Royal Hippodrome Theatre.

Festivals: Set in the Winter Garden and the Birley Centre – a contemporary performing arts venue – the Eastbourne Music and Arts Festival promotes the study and practice of music, dance and drama. Eastbourne’s Annual Beer Festival meanwhile is the biggest beer festival in East Sussex, featuring 150 real cask ales, a cider bar, a wine bar and live music.

Nightlife: Eastbourne has a great selection of clubs for your night out. Top picks include Cameo – the town’s largest nightclub – and Atlantis on Eastbourne Pier. If you don't feel like dancing, take advantage of the student deals at Hudsons Bar.

Shopping: The town’s main shopping centre is the Eastbourne Arndale Centre. For a more boutique experience, head to Little Chelsea – an independent shopping and dining district specialising in contemporary art, interior design, antiques and jewellery.

Sports: Eastbourne hosts some major sporting events, from Eastbourne Extreme – one of the biggest extreme sports festivals in the UK – to Eastbourne International, an annual tennis tournament where some of the world’s finest players prepare for Wimbledon.

Campus where this course is taught

Eastbourne campus

Located in one of the sunniest towns in the UK, our Eastbourne campus sits between the hills of the South Downs National Park and the south coast.

The campus has extensive sporting facilities, including a sports hall, fitness suite, climbing wall, swimming pool, three gyms, a dance studio and an artificial training pitch. For sport and exercise students, there are also exercise physiology labs, a human movement laboratory and an environmental chamber.

Podiatry students gain real-life experience in the Leaf Hospital clinic, with its comprehensive range of diagnostic and therapeutic equipment, while physiotherapy students are taught in specialist practical skills rooms. The Culinary Arts Studio allows hospitality students to engage in workplace simulations and consumer research.

Accommodation

Eastbourne

Our Eastbourne hall of residence, Welkin Halls, is in the residential Meads area, next to the Hillbrow and Welkin site and within walking distance of Darley Road. The train station is about 20 minutes away on foot.

You can choose between a standard room and a large room. In both cases, the rent covers bills and internet access, as well as breakfast and an evening meal during term time. There are more than 150 rooms available here, with six to eight rooms per flat, and all are ensuite.

Aside from halls, you have the option of Unihomes, which we let out to our students on behalf of private landlords. The rent covers internet and £5,000 of contents insurance but excludes gas, electricity and water.*

You can also choose to join the many students who live away from campus in private rented accommodation. We have a list of high-quality, university-endorsed private sector accommodation and can help you find housemates to move in with.

If you have any questions about accommodation in Eastbourne, our accommodation team will be happy to help. You can contact them by email at accomeastbourne@brighton.ac.uk or by telephone on 01273 643810.

*Please note that all Eastbourne Unihomes have been let for students starting in September 2016.

Welkin Halls

Welkin bedroom

Maps

Accommodation

University building

Eastbourne campus map

Unistats

Unistats and key information sets

Unistats is an organisation that collects specific data about university courses in the UK which enables you to compare information that is important in your decision-making when choosing a university. All universities publish Unistats data on their online course pages.

Wherever we can we have provided extra information here to help put the data into context so that it is as useful as possible when you are making decisions.

Programme specification

Programme specifications are the official university documents that describe each course in detail. They reflect the course as it is being taught to students who started their course in this academic year. They are updated every summer, and give a very detailed breakdown of what your course might look like.

Programme specification

Find out more

If you have a question about this course, our enquiries team will be happy to help.

01273 644644
enquiries@brighton.ac.uk

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Student views

Bernadette Aquino

"I didn’t have any background in tourism – I studied business management in college, but this course was something I wanted to pursue as I thought it would add skills and widen my knowledge in a completely different sector.

"The course has definitely helped me gain transferable skills for the future and I am enjoying learning about the impacts of tourism. We’ve had group debates which really helped us to get our own points across and simulation exercises where we role played as managers. The teaching and support staff have been helpful throughout and there's always someone I am able to contact.

"I feel so confident that I made the right decision being at the University of Brighton. I had the choice to be somewhere else, but when I visited Eastbourne campus it just felt like home. Studying in Eastbourne was definitely a great pick for me and every student would agree it's like a small community. You get to see the same students and get to know them more.

"The campus is peaceful and has plenty of places that are perfect if you want to study and have your space."

Emily Hadfield

"I acquired many skills from the University of Brighton. I learnt how to conduct thorough research on a topic, identifying what information is vital in order to write succinctly and accurately. Management skills enabled me to understand real management issues that could occur and how to deal with them.

"I learnt many presentation skills that enabled my confidence to grow and that are helping me in my current working environment. I always ensured that I put my all into a piece of work, which taught me how to work under pressure and be extremely organised.

"My placement year was at Amadeus, who provide technology and solutions in the travel sector. I acquired an abundance of knowledge regarding the industry and was able to interact with many of Amadeus' partners to discuss marketing opportunities. I was also in close contact with many of their customers, ensuring the relationship was managed in the correct manner.

"I organised weekly events for up to 70 of their customers to ensure they were satisfied with the service we were providing. Overall, the experience taught me how to work independently under extreme pressure and how important attention to detail is.

"I have had a great experience at the university and I am eternally grateful and thankful for everything the staff have taught me, which will help me so much in my career."

Georgios-Istvan Svanias

"One of the best things about studying at Brighton is the level of multiculturalism in the student body, which helps you to develop the intercultural competence that is so important in our field. Other strengths include the teaching, the facilities and the degree of industry contact.

"If you are considering studying tourism at the University of Brighton, I would say - do it! You will learn a lot. With the knowledge I have acquired, I feel able to choose where I want my career to go."

Lizzie Rumens

"I applied to the University of Brighton not only because of its reputation for tourism studies but because of the friendly, welcoming atmosphere I was greeted with when I visited on an open day.

"The course offered a high calibre of teaching and a broad range of subjects to study, and it helped me to gain confidence on a personal level. The placement year was a particular highlight, giving me a chance to develop practical skills and boost my career prospects.

"Although Eastbourne campus is smaller than Brighton, it has a great community atmosphere. I have earned a huge amount of knowledge while being here and also met some great people who I consider to be friends for life."