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Business and Management (Tourism Management)

BA (Hons)

Undergraduate degree - single honours

Award
BA (Hons) Business and Management (Tourism Management)
School/s
Bath Business School
Campus or location
Newton Park
Course length
Three years full-time. Four years full time (with year placement). Part-time available.
UCAS codes
Institution Code: B20
Course Code: N832 or 11W3
Campus Code: A,BSU

Entry requirements

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed under 'Typical offers' in the main column below. For combined courses, please check both subjects. If your qualification is not listed, please email admissions@bathspa.ac.uk with your specific details.

Discover new ways of thinking about the tourism industry with this practical degree in Business and Tourism.

  • Explore tourism management from a broader business perspective.
  • Go beyond theory and learn from industry experts.
  • Take advantage of our professional accreditation opportunities from the Institute of Hospitality.

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This Business and Management (Tourism Management) course gives you a grounding in the theory and practice of business in the context of contemporary tourism. You'll cover a broad range of topics including marketing strategy, and take a sociological approach to tourism. You’ll also open up your thinking to alternative visions of the tourism sector.

You'll make the most of the local and regional context of Bath and the South West as a busy tourist destination. The region is a rich cultural destination with internationally renowned attractions, from coasts to heritage sites, to bustling cities and quaint villages. You'll develop your network by working with hotels and public sector organisations, such as local councils or tourism boards, on real-life client briefs, giving you a solid basis on which to build your career.

You'll look at tourism management in an international context, discussing contemporary issues such as sustainability, globalisation, innovations and creativity in the industry. You'll benefit from the views, knowledge and ideas of our international community of students, speakers and educators.

This course will enable you to become a confident professional in both a local and a global context. Your future career prospects could include roles in airlines and travel organisations, jobs promoting or marketing tourist attractions, and key positions in hospitality management.


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“The Bath Business School team are very knowledgeable, enthusiastic and dedicated to helping you achieve your potential.”

Alex Appleton, Business and Management graduate

What you'll learn

Overview

Following our tourism management pathway, you’ll develop specialist skills. You’ll learn to:

  • Evaluate different approaches to destination management
  • Understand contemporary social changes as they relate to tourism
  • Demonstrate your knowledge of a range of emerging tourism forms.

In addition to this, you’ll develop the key skills and knowledge of business and management that will enable you to thrive in a variety of business settings. You’ll cover a range of disciplines across tourism, hospitality, the public sector, destination organisation and management. With a global mindset, hands-on experience in working with real-life briefs and specialist knowledge of the UK and international travel sector, you’ll be well positioned to kick start your career in a travel and destination business.

You can also bring in modules from areas outside of the Tourism Management pathway if you want to explore issues around a particular theme, such as sustainability or global affairs.

Course structure

Year one
Gain a broad understanding of today's business environment – from the context in which organisations operate through to trends in economic thinking and the importance of data in business. Modules will cover topics such as:

  • organisations and the business environment
  • economics and globalisation
  • managing data.

Year two
Focus on the inner workings of businesses. Use business techniques to solve problems and start developing the skills that employers look for. Modules cover key themes including creativity and innovation in business. At the end of the year, you can choose to embark on a ten-month business placement or a ten-week summer placement - applying what you've learned so far in the real world.

Year 3
Develop and explore your business learning and focusing on contemporary tourism issues. Undertake an in-depth business research project in tourism management. You'll also have a chance to set up a business on your own or with fellow students. Other topics to explore include:

  • managing sustainability
  • organisational strategy
  • new trends in management
  • creating and hosting festivals and events
  • strategic human resource management.

 

How will I be assessed?

You'll be assessed in a wide range of ways that will test your business knowledge and management skills. These could include presentations, work related projects, group work, computer based simulations, podcasts, exams, essays, videos and business reports.

How will I be taught?

We offer variety in the way we teach: sometimes we’ll set you problems so that you can find the answers for yourself; sometimes we’ll lecture. Most modules use a mix of lectures and small group seminars. There’s a good blend of online activities using our Virtual Learning Environment, Ultra. We invite business leaders in to talk about their experiences, and we arrange visits to local businesses. All of our teaching methods facilitate your development as a self-directed learner.

You’ll be given personal support in your studies – we’re a friendly team of academics who are committed to helping you achieve your goals.

To find out more about how we teach and how you'll learn, please read our Learning and Teaching Delivery Statement.

Course modules

This course enables you to develop your own learning pathway, depending on your interests. There are a selection of core and optional modules each year. Core modules will depend on your chosen pathway and you can choose optional modules to complement or diversify your core skill-set each year. The programme document gives you more information on module choices.

Year one (Level 4) modules
  • The Business Environment
  • Organisational Behaviour and Management
  • Economics and Globalisation
  • Managing Data
  • Design Thinking for Enterprise
  • Professional Practice
Year two (Level 5) modules
  • Creativity for Business
  • Innovation Management
  • The Marketing Business
  • Human Resource Management
  • Financial Accounting
  • Operations and Project Management
  • Destination Management
  • International Business
  • Entrepreneurship
  • Applying Economics
  • Festival and Events Management
  • Law for Business Enterprise
  • Fashion Marketing and Management
  • Work Placement
  • Professional Placement Year
  • Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages

Opportunities

Study abroad

As part of your degree, you could study abroad on a placement at one of Bath Spa’s partner universities.

Business community projects

We give you the opportunity to work with regional and national businesses. You’ll be working on live project briefs, helping organisations find creative solutions to their business issues.

Professional accreditation

Depending on your pathway and the modules you study, you can gain accreditation by professional bodies and get exemption from professional exams.

Work placements, industry links and internships

In addition to the business community projects mentioned above, you’ll have fantastic opportunities to work closely with business and industry through placements, projects and internships.

Careers

Employers such as Logica, NHS, Liberty, Ocado, IBM, Marks and Spencer, American Express, Sky and Numatic International have recruited graduates from this course. After completing this course, graduates can progress to roles and areas such as:

  • Hotel/hospitality management
  • Tourism hospitality
  • Social media
  • Travel trade
  • Public sector work
  • Destination organisation
  • Local tourism.
Global Citizenship

If you’re a full-time undergraduate student starting your first year at Bath Spa University, you can apply for the Certificate in Global Citizenship, which you’ll study alongside your degree.

You’ll gain global awareness and add an international dimension to your student experience, and funding is available. On successful completion of the programme, you’ll be awarded a Certificate in Global Citizenship. This is in addition to your degree; it doesn’t change your degree title or results.

Adobe Creative Campus

Develop a wealth of indispensable digital skills that you can take into your future career. One of only three Adobe Creative Campuses in the UK, we provide all Bath Spa students with access to the full Adobe Creative Suite, giving you the tools to communicate creatively, whatever your course or chosen professional field.   

Facilities and resources

Where the subject is taught

You'll have access to excellent facilities at our Newton Park campus and city centre studios as well as online resources. These include:

Resources

Our libraries offer a wide range of business resources, including a wealth of online material that can be accessed on- and off-campus, enabling you to work at times that suit you.

Fees

2024 entry
Student Annual tuition fee
UK full time £9,250
UK part time £4,625

Professional Placement Year

During the placement year, the fee is reduced to 20% of the full time fee. This applies to UK and EU/International students.

  • UK: £1,850
  • International: £3,150

Interested in applying?

What we look for in potential students

We’re looking for individuals who are enterprising and creative. You’ll need to have drive, motivation and the get-up-and-go to achieve in a challenging environment.

Typical offers

We accept a wide range of qualifications for entry to our undergraduate programmes. The main ones are listed below:

  • A Level – grades BBB-BCC preferred.
  • BTEC – Extended Diploma grades from Distinction Distinction Merit (DDM) to Distinction Merit Merit (DMM) accepted in any subject.
  • T Levels – grade Merit preferred.
  • International Baccalaureate – a minimum of 32 points are required.
  • Access to HE courses – typical offers for applicants with Access to HE will be the Access to HE Diploma or Access to HE Certificate (60 credits, 45 of which must be Level 3, at Merit or higher).

If you don’t meet the entry requirements above, we may be able to accept your prior learning or experience from outside of formal education. See our Accreditation of Prior Learning (APL) page to learn more.

English Language Requirements for International and EU Applicants

IELTS 6.0 - for visa nationals, with a minimum score of IELTS 5.5 in each element.

Course enquiries

For further information about the programme or entry requirements, please email us at admissions@bathspa.ac.uk.

How do I apply?

Ready to apply? Click the 'apply now' button in the centre of this page.

Need more guidance? Head to our how to apply webpages.

Get ahead

You’ll already be actively interested in business through activities such as looking at business news and relevant specialist online journals e.g. Marketing Week.

Course leader: Marc Leverton
Email: m.leverton@bathspa.ac.uk

Three year course
With placement year

Website feedback to web@bathspa.ac.uk