Developing business leaders for the vibrant and evolving international travel and tourism sector.
Ulster University is ranked highly in the UK for Hospitality, Leisure, Recreation & Tourism and (Guardian University Guide and Times University Guide).
The degree is designed to meet the needs of those who want to work in travel and tourism, which is now one of the world’s largest sectors. You will develop a detailed knowledge of travel, tourism and the associated skills necessary for management in this evolving and dynamic sector that is highly customer focused and media influenced.
We have an award-winning team of academic staff with a wealth of knowledge and experience in research and industry across the range of dynamic areas in travel and tourism.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
In this section
The BSc (Hons) in International Travel and Tourism Management is an internationally recognised passport to a successful management career in travel and tourism. International Travel and Tourism Management is for those who are passionate about travel, tourism, and who thrive in a fast paced and dynamic environment.
It is for those who aspire to work professionally in this exciting and expanding industry and who wish to learn all aspects from understanding tourism and the tourist, to developing and enhancing creativity and innovation through digital media. The four-year degree offers key business management subjects alongside specialist travel, tourism and events modules. You will enhance your knowledge in the key business management areas of strategy, marketing, finance, human resource management, operations management, digital strategy and entrepreneurship.
You will also gain valuable industry experience through a placement year, which offers a wide range of international opportunities.
100% of the teaching team have achieved Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy and 7 of these team members have Senior Fellowship of the Higher Education Academy.
Diploma in Professional Practice DPP
Diploma in Professional Practice International DPPI
Diploma in International Academic Studies DIAS
Four years (including 48 week compulsory placement)
You will normally complete three modules per semester, with class contact time approximately three hours per week per module.
You will be expected to undertake independent study of around 10 hours per week per module.
You will have a minimum of 9-10 class contact hours per week on the Coleraine campus.
At the beginning of year 1, you are also expected to attend a two-day introductory induction to welcome you and help you settle into the course and the University campus environment.
Lectures provide you with the theoretical knowledge for all modular areas outlined in the course structure with practicals and seminars providing the opportunity to participate in hands on aspects and realistic scenarios in relation to the travel and tourism industry.
Regular talks and workshops from industry leaders provide further enhancement. You also have the opportunity to conduct consultancy working on live industry projects and present your ideas and concepts to panels of industry experts, providing excellent opportunities to develop your creativity and innovation in relation to tourism. Assessment ranges from coursework in the form of reports and essays to exams, to live industry projects.
The University employs over 1,000 suitably qualified and experienced academic staff - 59% have PhDs in their subject field and many have professional body recognition.
Courses are taught by staff who are Professors (25%), Readers, Senior Lecturers (20%) or Lecturers (55%).
We require most academic staff to be qualified to teach in higher education: 82% hold either Postgraduate Certificates in Higher Education Practice or higher. Most academic staff (81%) are accredited fellows of the Higher Education Academy (HEA) by Advanced HE - the university sector professional body for teaching and learning. Many academic and technical staff hold other professional body designations related to their subject or scholarly practice.
The profiles of many academic staff can be found on the University’s departmental websites and give a detailed insight into the range of staffing and expertise. The precise staffing for a course will depend on the department(s) involved and the availability and management of staff. This is subject to change annually and is confirmed in the timetable issued at the start of the course.
Occasionally, teaching may be supplemented by suitably qualified part-time staff (usually qualified researchers) and specialist guest lecturers. In these cases, all staff are inducted, mostly through our staff development programme ‘First Steps to Teaching’. In some cases, usually for provision in one of our out-centres, Recognised University Teachers are involved, supported by the University in suitable professional development for teaching.
Figures correct for academic year 2021-2022.
A laid-back campus at the heart of a global tourist attraction.
Find out more - information about accommodation
Our Campus in Coleraine boasts a variety of indoor and outdoor facilities that are open all year round to students and members of the public.
Find out more - information about sport
At Student Wellbeing we provide many services to help students through their time at Ulster University.
Find out more - information about student wellbeing
The feeling of community at our campus makes for a warm and welcoming student experience.
Here is a guide to the subjects studied on this course.
Courses are continually reviewed to take advantage of new teaching approaches and developments in research, industry and the professions. Please be aware that modules may change for your year of entry. The exact modules available and their order may vary depending on course updates, staff availability, timetabling and student demand. Please contact the course team for the most up to date module list.
In this section
Year: 1
Status: C
This module provides students with an overview of trends and challenges that currently affect the tourism industry. Tourist motivation, customer profiles, activities, attractions, economic, technological and political factors, and their impacts on domestic and international travel are discussed. Students are made aware that tourism has continued to develop and evolve through time, and many current trends will wane as new ones emerge.
Year: 1
Status: C
This module explores the major tourist destinations of the world, and examines principal geographic features and concepts relating to aspects such as tourist motivation and destination success. It also introduces the student to the travel trade sector of the industry and its core functions, together with key legal aspects.
Year: 1
Status: C
This module provides students with an overview of the diverse range of food tours, festivals and events that destinations can harness to diversify their tourism product offering and, therefore, increase their competitiveness. Food is a key part of all cultures, a major element of global intangible heritage and an increasingly important attraction for tourists. So therefore, it is important that students are aware of how food festivals, wine and other beverages tasting trails, cooking experiences and competitions, open farms, factories and food markets can contribute to enhance the tourist experience.
Year: 1
Status: C
The module explores the importance of media to business success in the various sectors of the tourism, events and food industries. It develops student skills and understanding in relation to writing and creating content for a variety of media applications as well as providing introductory support in relation to writing and research for their degree studies. As such the module will foster digital creativity in a variety of contexts and situations applicable to the student's course and their respective industries.
Year: 1
Status: C
This module examines the principals of management and applies these to the practice of organisational management. It is an introductory module, which will help the student become familiar with the nature and scope of management. It examines the development of management theories and the impact of the external and internal environments on effective and professional management. The student will explore how to manage others and how to improve productivity for future business success.
Year: 1
Status: C
This introductory module introduces students to the key concepts involved in the study of leisure and tourism, including definition, historical development, supply and demand, impacts, current and future challenges facing leisure and tourism.
Year: 2
Status: C
Managing People is an important part of all managers' jobs whether they are Line Managers or Human Resource (HR) specialists. Successful management and leadership can make a significant difference to the performance of teams and individuals and to the achievement of organisational objectives. This module is designed to provide students with an introduction to people management strategies which can help achieve high performance within the service industry.
Year: 2
Status: C
This module focuses on managerial decision making for both SMEs and larger corporations in the tourism and hospitality sectors. The content includes costing, budgeting, investment appraisal and working capital management. The student will be expected to apply knowledge to the decision-making process and discuss alternatives relevant to the range of service industries studied by students within the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Year: 2
Status: C
The module will develop and enhance the student's ability to carry out appropriate research, process data and utilise effectively the latest ICT packages and applications relevant to their course and their chosen business field.
Year: 2
Status: C
The module provides the student with a comprehensive introduction to land, sea and air transportation issues and explains the role the different modes of transport play in relation to tourism. The module is also designed to equip students with the appropriate skills associated with key supervisory functions in travel companies to ensure vocational understanding relevant for potential employment.
Year: 2
Status: C
This module reviews the impacts of tourism as found across a range of tourism settings, addressing economic, social/cultural and environmental impacts. The module looks in-depth at the relationship between tourism and landscape.
Year: 2
Status: C
This module introduces and explores key areas of marketing theory and their application to the contemporary business organisation. The module defines marketing and examines the development of the marketing concept, the marketing environment and key aspects of contemporary marketing theory and practice including segmentation, consumer behaviour, marketing research, the marketing mix and through assessment provides students with the opportunity to actually apply these concepts to contemporary industry situations.
Status: O
Year: 3
This module is optional
This module provides undergraduate students with an opportunity to gain structured and professional work experience, in a work-based learning environment, as part of their planned programme of study. This experience allows students to develop, refine and reflect on their key personal and professional skills. The placement should significantly support the development of the student's employability skills, preparation for final year and enhance their employability journey.
Status: O
Year: 3
This module is optional
This module provides an opportunity to undertake an extended period of study outside the UK and Republic of Ireland. Students will develop an enhanced understanding of the academic discipline whilst generating educational and cultural networks.
Year: 4
Status: C
This module provides students with an advanced understanding of tourism planning, development and management. It provides students in their final year of their degree with an appreciation of the difficulties associated with planning, developing and managing tourism at varying scales and for certain niche products and markets, all often in the face of externalities that the tourism industry has limited control over.
Year: 4
Status: C
The module explores the current importance and future potential of the internet and digital media to business success in the various sectors of travel/tourism and leisure/events management. It deals with planning, development and marketing of such enterprises in today's evolving electronic marketplace and seeks to develop student skills with regard to digital creativity and innovation from a strategic perspective to aid in future employability.
Year: 4
Status: C
This module investigates theory and current practice in the creation and management of visitor experiences within the event, leisure and tourism industry. The scope and nature of 'experiences' - live events and activities - are explored. There is an emphasis on how leisure and tourism experiences can be actively managed. The professional skills of creativity, innovation and communication are engaged in practical, problem-solving activities including preparing a professional proposal for a customer experience.
Year: 4
Status: C
This module provides students with an opportunity to research, discuss and analyse current issues in leisure, tourism and events. Lectures and seminars provide an overview of key issues but the module also has a research emphasis and students are expected to research a current issue. Although students are not allowed to use the same title this module does provide a foundation for the research paper which is an optional module in the second semester.
Status: O
Year: 4
This module is optional
In this module students are engaged in practical entrepreneurship and will develop their knowledge of entrepreneurship and the entrepreneurial process. This will be evidenced through the development of a business plan for new venture creation, enterprise development, project management or a community based development project.
Status: O
Year: 4
This module is optional
The contemporary workplace is changing and there has probably never been a more challenging time to be in Human Resources (HR) or be responsible for managing people. Human Resource teams and Line Managers have a major role to play in driving performance and achieving competitive advantage. This module provides an opportunity for students to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills needed to help attract, manage and retain the best talent nationally and internationally.
Status: O
Year: 4
This module is optional
This module will assess the student's ability to carry out appropriate academic research, process data and utilize effectively the latest IT applications to provide an independent researched piece of work relevant to their course and their chosen industry.
Status: O
Year: 4
This module is optional
This module focuses on managerial decision making for both SMEs and larger corporations in the tourism and hospitality sectors. The content includes costing, budgeting, investment appraisal and working capital management. The student will be expected to apply knowledge to the decision-making process and discuss alternatives relevant to the range of service industries studied by students within the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management.
Status: O
Year: 4
This module is optional
This module examines and expands on the principle concepts and theories of marketing and their practical application to contemporary marketing management. It is a module that builds on the Contemporary Marketing Practice module at level 5. Issues include the management of the marketing concept, marketing environments, planning, research application and techniques, segmentation, the marketing mix, e-marketing and digital marketing within specific businesses at a local, national and international level as they apply to the marketing management function.
We recognise a range of qualifications for admission to our courses. In addition to the specific entry conditions for this course you must also meet the University’s General Entrance Requirements.
In this section
Grades CCC
Applicants may be able to satisfy the requirement for one A-Level by substituting a combination of alternative qualifications to the same standard as defined by UCAS.
QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Extended Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma (2012 Suite)
Award profile of DMM
RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Diploma (2016 Suite)
Award profile of MMM
QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma (2012 Suite)
Award profile of DM plus A Level Grade C
RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Diploma (2016 Suite)
Award profile of MM plus A Level Grade C
QCF Pearson BTEC Level 3 Subsidiary Diploma/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Introductory Diploma (2012 Suite)
Award profile of M plus A Level Grades CC
RQF Pearson BTEC Level 3 National Extended Certificate/ OCR Cambridge Technical Level 3 Extended Certificate (2016 Suite)
Award profile of M plus A Level Grades CC
96 UCAS Tariff Points to include a minimum of five subjects (four of which must be at Higher Level) to include English and Maths at H6 if studied at Higher Level or O4 if studied at Ordinary Level
Grades CCCCC.
Grades DDD.
Overall profile is minimum 24 points (including 12 at higher level).
Overall profile of 55% (120 credit Access Course) (NI Access Course)
Overall profile of 45 credits at merit (60 credit Access Course) (GB Access Course)
To include a 20 credit Level 2 Mathematics module, passed at 40% or successful completion of NICATS Mathematics as part of the pre-2021 Access Diploma.
For full-time study, you must satisfy the General Entrance Requirements for admission to a first degree course and hold a GCSE pass at Grade C/4 in English Language and Mathematics
Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills - Communication will be accepted as equivalent to GCSE English.
Level 2 Certificate in Essential Skills - Application of Number will be accepted as equivalent to GCSE Maths.
English language requirements for international applicants
The minimum requirement for this course is Academic IELTS 6.0 with no band score less than 5.5.
Trinity ISE: Pass at level III also meets this requirement for Tier 4 visa purposes.
Ulster recognises a number of other English language tests and comparable IELTS equivalent scores.
Acceptable alternative qualifications include:
Pass HND with overall Merit to include 15 distinctions in level 5 credits
Pass HNC with overall Merit to include 45 distinctions in level 4 credits
You may also meet the course entry requirements with combinations of different qualifications to the same standard as recognised by the University (provided subject requirements as noted above are met).
If you have already obtained the required grade in the relevant Foundation Degree you can opt to complete bridging modules prior to progressing onto the final year of the course. Other qualifications may be considered for exemptions and/or advanced entry based on your prior certificated learning or prior experiential learning.
In this section
Graduates from this course are now working for:
With this degree you could become:
This qualification offers a range of management career opportunities in one of the world’s largest and fastest growing sectors. The travel and tourism industry is composed of a diverse range of sectors and employers including national tourist organisations, airlines, visitor attractions (theme/amusement parks, natural landscape sites, castles, museums), tour operators, event venues, ferry/cruise companies, airport operations and management. You also have the opportunity to pursue avenues such as teaching, lecturing, training, research and consultancy in relation to tourism.
Alternatively you have the option after completion to progress on to postgraduate study on programmes such as the MSc International Event Management, MSc International Tourism Management and MSc International Hospitality Management.
During year three of the course, you will complete a compulsory work placement or study aboard. This may be a 48 week work placement with a range of national and international companies. Opportunities include internationally based companies such as CIE Tours, Walt Disney World (Florida, USA) and Aer Lingus (Newark, Boston & Los Angeles) as well as UK and Ireland based examples with local district councils, tourism authorities and the visitor attractions sector. The satisfactory completion of placement leads to the award of Diploma in Professional Practice/ Diploma in Professional Practice (International) upon graduation.
Alternatively, you can opt to complete a period of study abroad. During this period, you spend two semesters in an educational institution, which will provide exposure to alternative business cultures and protocols and enhance your personal and professional development. Successful completion of the placement leads to the award of the Diploma in International Academic Studies (DIAS) upon graduation.
Accredited by the Institute of Hospitality that academic, vocational and professional standards achieved are appropriate and programme content and delivery meet international Institute of Hospitality benchmark standards.
£4,710.00
£9,250.00
£15,840.00
Origin Digital Award - best digital business plan and concept in the eBusiness Strategy module.
Bank of Ireland Digital Innovation Award for the best industry pitch in the eBusiness Strategy module.
Hospitality Review NI Award - best industry magazine style article in the Media & Creativity module
Deans Award - for first year performance
It is important to remember that costs associated with accommodation, travel (including car parking charges) and normal living will need to be covered in addition to tuition fees.
Where a course has additional mandatory expenses (in addition to tuition fees) we make every effort to highlight them above. We aim to provide students with the learning materials needed to support their studies. Our libraries are a valuable resource with an extensive collection of books and journals, as well as first-class facilities and IT equipment. Computer suites and free Wi-Fi are also available on each of the campuses.
There are additional fees for graduation ceremonies, examination resits and library fines.
Students choosing a period of paid work placement or study abroad as a part of their course should be aware that there may be additional travel and living costs, as well as tuition fees.
See the tuition fees on our student guide for most up to date costs.
We know that choosing to study at university is a big decision, and you may not always be able to find the information you need online.
Please contact Ulster University with any queries or questions you might have about:
For any queries regarding getting help with your application, please select Admissions in the drop down below.
For queries related to course content, including modules and placements, please select Course specific information.
We look forward to hearing from you.
'Thanks to studying International Travel and Tourism Management at Ulster University and module areas such as eBusiness Strategy I was able to secure a key management role with Expedia. I learned so much about the tourism industry and key areas of management from the course and the opportunity to conduct consultancy work with real industry businesses was invaluable in helping me achieve the career path I am so grateful to be on'.
Rosie Henderson - Ireland Market Manager at Expedia.
‘The International Travel and Tourism Management course very much developed my interest in travel and in the airline industry in particular. It is thanks to such a course that I have achieved success in the industry and the sector that I first studied about on the programme’.
Aislinn McAlister – General Manager at United Airlines BFS.
‘Studying the International Travel and Tourism programme between 2001 and 2005 was one of the best decisions I have made. The course inspired me from the outset and provided a truly interesting blend of appropriate subjects and motivated me to succeed both in my academic studies and in the workplace’.
Isabelle Ramsden - Head of Department / Lecturer at Girne American University.
‘The International Travel and Tourism Management degree was extremely enjoyable and informative. It really helped me develop the knowledge and skills required to succeed in an industry that I am so passionate about’.
Claire Anderson - Sales and Marketing Manager at Lough Erne Golf Resort, Enniskillen (formerly with Tourism Ireland).
'The industry needs graduates who have the right knowledge and expertise about tourism in today's marketplace. The international travel and tourism course at Ulster very much provides that'.
Aubrey Irwin - Head of Northern Ireland at Tourism Ireland.
