Travel & Tourism Management Diploma

Tourism being one of the world’s largest industry, its size and scope necessitate a full introduction course for learners. Tourism is growing, dynamic, and global, with a tremendous economic, environmental and cultural impact. It is both a product and a service. This course introduces all 5 sectors of the industry and is designed to help the learner identify the factors which influence the industry in both positive and negative ways as well as what motivates people to partake in tourism activities.

This course is designed to introduce major tourism destinations; it is comprised of an in-depth study of most countries in the world. Students discover more about natural and man-made attractions, culture, currencies, food and beverage facilities, hospitality establishments, and all documentation required to travel. The focus is on better understanding geography in order to succeed in the tourism industry: it shows how a realistic knowledge of destinations can translate into a travel and tourism career success in tourism businesses where selling a destination is an essential skill for employment.

In order to be effective in a global world, more specifically in the tourism industry, people must have high cultural intelligence. Cultural intelligence (CQ) is a rich and dynamic skill set that can be developed through self-awareness and study. Learners in this course will develop skills they can take with them and use at work, at home, abroad, or in any setting where cross-cultural awareness, understanding, and interaction is required.

The focus is on developing competence in cross-cultural communication in a variety of settings related to the tourism industry.

COPS BC Unique Scenario 2009 (BC Work Futures) projects employment openings in the Restaurant and Food Service Managers occupation to be at 23,960 by the year 2015. As the restaurant and food service industry is often the entry level position for numerous businesses in the tourism industry, this is an essential course for graduates of the Tourism Management program. The purpose of this course is to provide the student with an introduction to the world of restaurant and food service operations. More specifically, the course will provide an opportunity to understand the structure, nature and operating characteristics of food service as well as being able to identify the role of managers in the food service industry and to highlight their principal responsibilities.

This course is designed to provide an overview of tourism products and services such as: Surface and Ground Transportation (Rail, Car Rental and Motor coach companies), Accommodation, Cruise Industry, Tour Operators, and Activities and Events. The emphasis is on obtaining detailed knowledge of these products, services and suppliers, and sharing this information and costs associated with products and services with clients. The course introduces terminology, preparing itineraries, costing, verifying documentation and informing the client.

This course presents insights into key issues related to the successful operation of destination management organizations (DMO’s); it includes perspectives from the United Kingdom, Canada, and Mexico. Topics include services, sales, marketing, research and performance measurement, communications, product development, technology, human resources, member care, finance, governance, and alliances. The focus is on the functions of convention and visitor bureau (CVB’s) such as Tourism Vancouver, and other marketing organizations such as the Canadian Tourism Commission (CTC).

This course will guide through, and expose the learner to, a variety of information, website, articles and diverging point of views on sustainable tourism. The course will start by introducing ethical theories and the responsibilities of tourism business owners and stakeholders towards sustainability in tourism. The learner will be expected to demonstrate reflective thinking and problem-solving skills on the topic of sustainable tourism.

This course focuses on the operations of travel agencies, airlines, and airports. All aspects of this large component of the tourism industry are examined: regulatory bodies; management of information; communication with clients; policies and procedures; promotional activities, and human resources development. The course ends with a seminar on career preparation.

This course outlines legal issues in Canadian sport and recreation management. Topics covered include a range of key topics that students in Sport and Recreation programs must understand as they enter the field, including risk analysis, insurance, legal liability, issues in tourism and casual recreation, and professional and amateur sport participation.

This course outlines four key components of human resources management: Challenges and the Legal Context, Attracting and Selecting People for the Organization, Developing People in the Organization, and Employee Relations. Each of the topic will be examined from two lenses: 1) General HR practices; 2) HR practices in the tourism industry.

Quoting airfares, issuing tickets, collecting payment, and processing refunds and exchanges are all essential components of the travel profession. This course provides a complete overview of domestic and international airfares, taxes, currency, and ticketing processes. Accurate interpretation of faring information is stressed. This includes all ticketing entries, domestic and international, fare calculation lines, tax codes and mileage system symbols. The ticketing portion presents current ticketing documents and procedures as mandated by the Billing Settlement Plan (BSP) – Canada: Manual for Passenger Sales Agents and the IATA Ticketing Handbook.

This hands-on course is designed to learn how to operate a Global Distribution System (GDS), also called a Computerized Reservation System (CRS). These systems are an important part of the travel industry and perform many duties, including operating as a sales tool, a communication device and an inventory management tool.