Tourism Management Courses Offer Students Know-How For Increasingly Popular Field

Those who attend Tourism Management Courses are now more in demand than ever. That’s because although culture has always been a part of travel, now more than ever travelers are looking to experience cultural and heritage tourism. The National Trust for Historic Preservation in the United States defines heritage tourism as “travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past,” and cultural heritage tourism is defined as “travelling to experience the places and activities that authentically represent the stories and people of the past and present.”

Centennial College’s Tourism Management – Cultural and Heritage Tourism is a post-secondary program that offers students the know-how they need to enter managerial positions within this area of the tourism industry. Although there are various roles for those who graduate from Tourism Management programs, all grads have the know-how to help clients choose destinations or sites to visit on vacation, create activity packages, arrange tickets, transportation and more.

The skills to carry out these duties are taught through Tourism Management courses that integrate the challenges facing culture and heritage sector managers with the operative requisites commanded by the tourism industry. This methodology mirrors the convergence of culture, heritage and tourism. Specific Tourism Management courses in which students partake include: Responsible Tourism, World Geography for Tourism, Dimensions of Tourism, Cultural & Heritage Tourism Principles and Practices, Cross-Cultural Behaviour in Tourism and many others. As student Natalie Buckley tells it, “I would say my favourite course I’m actually doing right now is Cross-Cultural Behaviour where we’re talking about not just different cultures throughout the world, but we’re talking about how they behave and how they react to each other...”

Students like Natalie not only benefit from their Tourism Management courses but also from real-world experience gained during a work placement. This feature is an opportunity to apply classroom theory to the real-life situations, add another career educational dimension to students’ career preparation, better understand the dynamics of the industry, increase their knowledge of industry practices and it provides a competitive advantage of experience in the job market.

Once they complete their Tourism Management courses, students also have the option to further their education through the school’s partnerships. Eligible grads may participate in an articulated tourism management program with selected universities, institutes and professional associations. This tourism management program’s partners are: Athabasca University, International Hotel Management Institute (Switzerland), Vancouver Island University, University of New Brunswick and Royal Roads University (B.C.).

Tourism management program applicants must have completed at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. Also required is a compulsory English 12C or U skills assessment, or equivalent.