International Hospitality and Tourism Management – (M.Sc.)

This course is for people from a business management and commerce background who wish to start or develop a career in the international hospitality and tourism industries.

According to the World Travel and Tourism Council, the worldwide expenditure on hospitality and tourism is set to increase by around 60 per cent over the next 10 years. This creates many opportunities for managers with a thorough understanding of how these global industries work.

The course explores themes and developments such as

* the growth in long haul travel and issues relating to globalisation
* providing high quality customer service through organisational excellence
* increasing market competition and the importance of good leadership and entrepreneurship to maintain a competitive advantage in the hospitality and tourism industries

We show you how to manage destinations rather than a particular product or service. You look at how this differs to traditional marketing techniques and go on to prepare a realistic marketing strategy for a destination of your choice.

You also get the opportunity to work on real consultancy projects. Previous examples include developing responsible tourism policies for the Association of International Tour Operators and carrying out a feasibility study for a large hotel corporation.

You can choose to extend your studies and gain work experience by going on a UK or overseas work placement of typically 6-12 months. This improves your practical management skills and employability by getting real experience in the hospitality or tourism industry.

If you choose the work experience option you complete a work-based dissertation or project.

Previous dissertation topics include

* researching a major airline company´s loyalty scheme and how it affects customer satisfaction
* looking at trends relating to repeat purchase behaviour in the hospitality industry