Building a Career in Cultural and Heritage Tourism

Cultural and heritage tourism is one of the fastest growing tourism sectors. The increasing number of special interest travellers, who rank culture and/or heritage the topmost reason for travelling, represents a significant trend in the tourism market. The cultural and heritage tourism sector is flourishing by an extraordinary rate of 15 percent per year, according to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

This has led to an increased demand for tourism professionals who are prepared to work in this growing segment of tourism industry. However, in order to be employable and make rewarding careers in this field, they need to possess

• Excellent knowledge in cultures and heritage
• Ability to apply fundamentals to offer an authentic sense of the place/destination to the culture and heritage-motivated travellers
• Experience in promoting sustainable tourism while ensuring a high degree of customer satisfaction
  

Career Prospects

The career prospects in this segment of tourism are bright. And the tourism management graduates can find employment with Ministry of Tourism, museums, major hotel chains, heritage tour organizers and tour and travel companies. They can work in diverse areas of cultural and heritage tourism sector, such as:

• Tour planning and management
• Tourism marketing
• Promoting sustainable tourism
• Contributing to daily operations of a tourism organization
• Customer relationship management
• Accounting and financial management
• Festival management
• Events management
• Cultural and heritage facilities management
  

A formal education and training cultural and heritage tourism management is a must for those who are interested in building a career in this sector. A post secondary program in tourism management can prepare individuals for entry-level jobs in this tourism segment.

Tourism Management Programs in Canada

Centennial College’s two-year, post-secondary cultural and heritage tourism management programs in Canada provides students with knowledge, skills and experience necessary to seek entry level jobs in this sector. These programs combine in-class learning and a cultural and heritage tourism field placement, allowing students to put their classroom learning into practice.

A strong emphasis is laid on a wide range of tourism management courses, such as:

• Introduction to Cultural and Heritage Tourism
• Ontario Cultural and Heritage Tourism Product
• World Geography for Tourism
• Introduction to Hospitality Accounting
• Dimensions of Tourism
• Responsible Tourism
• Cultural and Heritage Principles and Practices
• Managing Cultural and Heritage Facilities
• Human Resources and Career Planning
• Hospitality and Tourism Marketing
• Cross-Cultural Behavior in Tourism
• Tour Planning and Management
• Customer Relationship Management
• Meetings and Incentive Travel Management
• Principles of Hospitality Management
• Festival Management
  

The tourism management – cultural and heritage tourism program is accredited by UNWTO TedQual. The graduates of this program can choose to either pursue their careers or opt for further studies by applying their credits towards it.

Admission Requirements

In order to apply for this program, the students need:

• Secondary school diploma or equivalent
• English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent
  

Students currently in high school can also apply to this program. Their midterm and final grades will be automatically transferred to the college.