Course summary

By studying this hybrid degree, you’ll gain the knowledge and understanding needed to dive into a career in the tourism and air travel sectors. Accredited by the Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT), this course has been designed with input from top industry professionals, ensuring you gain the skills employers are looking for. This course is offered as four-year programmes, including an initial Foundation Year. The Foundation Year will allow you to develop your academic study skills and build confidence in your abilities, identifying your own strengths and development needs for progression onto an undergraduate programme. Why study this subject? If you have a keen interest in working in the international travel and tourism sectors, then this subject is a perfect fit for you. Pursuing a degree in these areas offers an understanding of the behind-the-scenes operations, planning and management required by employers in these industries. This degree will give you a comprehensive insight across all aspects of tourism, with a focus on air transport. It could help you take your first steps in a range of careers, including working for airlines or tour operators, marketing agencies, ground handlers, destination management companies, tourism planning, events management and air cargo operators. Why study at Buckinghamshire New University? This degree has been designed to ensure you are learning the latest from the industry, so that you graduate with the most up-to-date knowledge and skills that this energetic sector demands. Our teaching team includes skilled lecturers with a high level of working knowledge from years of industry experience, which will allow you to gain a deep insight into the latest trends and requirements of tourism and air travel. Guest speakers often deliver sessions to enrich your learning – the School has been proud to have welcomed speakers from the likes of TUI and British Airways. We are all about gaining practical and real-life experience, and our programme offers seasonal employment opportunities so that you can gain valuable skills to help kickstart your future career – previous placements have been with London Heathrow Airport, easyJet and British Airways among others. Being accredited by The Institute of Travel and Tourism means you can hit the ground running from day one through gaining student membership of the institute. This membership affords you access to their rich industry-focused networking and careers events. Opportunity modules are a key part of the BNU curriculum. You’ll choose modules from a broad selection in areas such as sustainability, entrepreneurship, creativity, digital skills, personal growth, civic engagement, health & wellbeing and employment. Opportunity modules are designed to enable you to develop outside the traditional boundaries of your discipline and help you to further stand out from the crowd to future employers. What will I study? In the first year, core topics introduce the variety of social and economic impacts that the tourism sector drive forward at destinations and upon societies. Two specialty areas are also offered focusing on the air travel sector. In the second year, you'll study sustainable and responsible tourism operations in the business tourism sector and niche tourism markets such as music tourism, religious tourism, culinary tourism and dance tourism among many others. You'll also have topics on aviation management, and be offered the opportunity to undertake seasonal employment. The third year comprises the study of critical and contemporary issues in tourism such as dark tourism, the use of animals in tourism, sex tourism, terrorism and tourism, and the impact of pandemics on tourism among others. You’ll also study the management of tourism organisations at strategic levels in addition to the air travel-specific areas. You will also be given the option to either write a dissertation or study a course on business and enterprise.