Course summary

This comprehensive course combines business and international tourism with a specialism in hospitality, preparing you for management roles in this rapidly growing sector. You unpack the complex nature of 21st-century tourism, while learning the ethics of managing a business, in a curriculum that covers cultural tourism, heritage management, marketing, international operations and sustainable development. There is also a focus on developing your practical skills, applying what you have learnt to real-life scenarios. Professional Practice Year Take your course over four years and include a Professional Practice Year after your second year of studies. It is an opportunity to apply your learning in the workplace while enhancing your knowledge and skills through fee-free paid practice. It also builds your CV and industry contacts with many students progressing to employment within their practice-year organisation or institution. Facilities and Specialist Equipment

• Access to the Oracle hospitality management programme.

• Our simulation software ‘Simulate’ allows you to take control of your own airline and gain key insights into airline management.

• Access to Harvard Business Publishing’s international learning resources, providing immersive simulation software to aid your learning such as Semrush (Marketing), Sage and Refinitiv Workspace.

• You gain competencies in key digital skills such as Excel through SIMnet, our Microsoft Office training platform.

• Excellent Learning Resources Centre with an extensive library, giving you access to a wide range of academic and industry knowledge including e-journals, e-books and information databases as well as traditional printed books.

• The University of Bedfordshire is a member of the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), the subject association for tourism in higher education in the UK. It represents universities that are leading providers of tourism programmes.

• Take advantage of local industry-relevant employment opportunities such as London Luton Airport, TUI, EasyJet, Luton Hoo Hotel, and leading hotel brands such as Hilton, Ibis and Marriott.

• Benefit from our Aviation Job Fair, attended by airlines and airports, providing opportunities to explore further employment or internships.

• Attend talks from international tourism professionals from across the world, broadening your understanding of what is possible in the field. Recent speakers have had influential positions at EGL Tours, Enterprise Rent-a-car, London Luton Airport, Wizz Air, and the Cuban Tourist Board.

• Field trips are organised in conjunction with the Student Union’s Tourism and Aviation Society and may include visits to London Luton Airport, TUI, Olympic Park and the World Travel Market.