Tourism Management - Breda University

During the Tourism Management programme you will work in project groups on issues taken from professional practice, linked to basic courses such as online and offline marketing, e-business, financial management, and consumer behaviour. In addition to acquiring knowledge, you will also develop competencies. These involve a mix of characteristics, behavioural aspects and skills which you use in your work as a professional.

Year 1 consists of twelve course modules that make up the core of the study programme. These modules focus on the travel industry and tourism destinations, in which you will address topics such as e-business, marketing, research, financial management, and consumer behaviour. You will find further details in the student handbook of Year 1 of the degree programme.
Year 2 consists of twelve course modules: six general modules and six modules which relate specifically to the area of specialisation (track) you have chosen to explore. The six general modules will be Online Consumer Behaviour 2, Change Management, Smart Organisation, Experience Design 2, Online Marketing & Communication 2 and Financial Management. In addition, you will take English, one other foreign language course and Personal and Professional Development. In this year, you will choose one of the following four tracks:

Travel Industry
The international travel & aviation industry is continually ‘on the move’ because of online developments, changing consumer behaviour and increasing competition. A continuous focus on the holidaymakers and travellers of the future is essential to understand how consumers search and make reservations and what there needs and requirements are. Therefore, it is important to detect trends and developments in the travel industry and keep on developing innovative services.
Recreation & Hospitality
Today’s guests are in for an original, authentic experience, like their comfort and take a top service for granted. You will learn how you as an entrepreneurial and innovative manager could succeed in meeting their requirements.
Tourism Destinations
A rising number of people are travelling around the globe. Tourism is an increasingly important source of income to more and more people. You will learn to study a destination from various perspectives (governments, companies, local residents and tourists) and how a destination can be developed, promoted and managed.
Attractions & Theme Parks Management
Attraction and theme parks are continuously innovating. Attraction parks are evolving into holiday resorts featuring various hotels, holiday parks, entertainment centres and water parks. VR additions are being made for attractions, zoos are building climbing parks, shopping centres are expanding with attractions such as an aquarium or simulator, and museums and science centres do not focus exclusively on education, but are adding entertainment and experiential elements to their offerings in the form of themed exhibitions, interaction and attractions.
If you choose this specialisation, you will gain insight into marketing, finance, staff planning, hospitality and security and safety. You will also have the opportunity to do a work placement at leading parks such as Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Europa-Park in Germany and Efteling.
This English-taught specialisation is also offered to students of the Tourism Management and Hotel and Facility Management degree programmes. More information on this specialisation can be find on the website Discover Attractions and Theme Parks Management.

As from Year 3, you will determine your own learning path more and more. You have meanwhile gained enough knowledge about the tourism industry to determine where your interests lie. You will do a 20-week work placement. You will gain practical experience and prepare for a position in the tourism-recreational field. The department boasts an extensive national and international network, which means that there are many options in terms of placement positions, both at home and abroad. You can make use of this network or set out to look for a suitable placement position yourself.

Areas of specialisation
In this year, you will choose one of the following areas of specialisation:

E-Tourism: thinking up, implementing and executing digital marketing and management strategies for organisations operating in the tourism industry;
Tourism Design & Development: developing innovations, an approach and strategies for the development of international sustainable tourism;
Tourism Business: developing an entrepreneurial spirit, and inspiring employees to offer tourists high quality and services;
Tourist Experience: giving advice to organisations in the tourism industry to excel themselves in service-orientedness.

- In the fourth year of your studies, you will choose a minor to either start gaining more in-depth knowledge of your area of specialisation (Year 3) or choose to broaden your knowlegde, which will be followed by a graduation track during which you will write a thesis. Every area of specialisation offers a number of deepening course modules. In addition, you will work on a practical assignment for a commissioner in the Tourism Impact Lab during three terms, where innovation and impact are central. It is also possible to combine your graduation track with a year’s work experience at student training company Newways or YTP@Work. As you will work for the student training company for three days a week and work on your graduation assignment for two days a week, you will have many contacts with industry partners.
- If your academic results are good, you will be offered the opportunity of attending the pre-master’s programme Strategic Business Management and Marketing. This degree will give you access to several universities where you can subsequently earn your Master of Science (MSc) degree within one year.