A group of students can be seen in amongst greenery at the Eden project
Aerial view of an estuary with sandy beaches and fields
Aerial view of the Eden Project domes with fields and sky

Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons)

Shape the tourist landscape of tomorrow on this innovative course.

Key details
Location
Penryn Campus
Course duration
3 years / 4 years
Attendance
Full-time / Placement year
UCAS code
N833/PY58
Subject to validation during this academic year
Yes

Course overview

Shape future tourism on this innovative, sustainability-led course, designed in partnership with the visionary and pioneering Eden Project – a top UK visitor attraction. This degree offers a unique approach with sustainability at its core, offering you the opportunity to learn about the industry’s environmental, social and economic impacts. You’ll be encouraged to manage tourism in a more responsible manner and contribute to a more sustainable future.

You will:

  • Have the chance to work on a live project at an international tourism destination, with your travel and accommodation expenses (up to a value of £400) funded as part of the course
  • Study on a course that’s accredited by both A Greener Future and Attitude is Everything
  • Develop a sustainable approach to management in the globally expanding tourism industry
  • Explore the moral and political pressures of tourism and how to manage them sustainably

This course is accredited by A Greener Future and Attitude is Everything:

Eden Learning, Attitude is Everything and A Greener Festival logos

The placement year pathway for this course is new for entry year 2023 and is subject to validation.

Course details

On this Sustainable Tourism Management degree, you'll have the opportunity to gain a BA(Hons) degree over three years or study Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons) with a placement year option.

You’ll gain a firm grounding in the processes of tourism planning as you develop an understanding of creative and innovative approaches. 

You’ll consider accessibility and inclusivity in the tourism industry while exploring topics in destination management, crisis management and driving successful digital marketing activities. 

Developing skills in project management and communication, you'll become an innovative and resilient leader within the contemporary tourism sector.

During the first year of your degree, you’ll explore sustainability challenges within the tourism industry, including tourists themselves, host communities and the environment. On top of this, you’ll develop key skills in marketing, teamwork, communication and negotiation. 

Modules

Marketing & Digital Media

Whether you’re marketing a major global event or a small community-based fundraising experience, you’ll need to understand your customer and communicate your value proposition accordingly.   

In this module, you’ll learn about experiential marketing and how to make an impact, explore marketing techniques such as the use of social media influencers, user-generated content and second screen advertising. 

Contemporary Tourism Impacts

Exploring both mainstream and niche sectors of the tourism industry, you’ll work in small teams to focus on a particular area of tourism that you’re interested in. You’ll delve into your specialist field of interest and identify the size, scope and trends within that area. You’ll also address impact and sustainability issues and identify best practices for sustainable tourism management. 

Wellbeing in Experience Management

Looking at how wellbeing is connected to experience management and wider aspects of customer satisfaction, you’ll explore ways to develop wellbeing as a customer offer while addressing its importance within an organisation. Crucially, you’ll explore the value of wellbeing for your own personal and professional development through a micro-placement opportunity.

Creative Innovation in Experience Management

You’ll explore a range of innovations including the use of virtual reality and artificial intelligence, Blockchain, naturescaping, social infrastructure projects, passive energy systems and the development of the sharing economy. You’ll also gain valuable skills such as communication, persuasion and negotiation that are essential in industry.

Live Sustainable Tour Guide Project

A high-quality tour can often be the most enjoyable and ‘real’ experience that a tourist can take part in. In this module, you’ll learn how to design captivating and engaging tours for a range of audiences and markets. 

You’ll work with a small team of colleagues to construct a tour based on a specific destination, interest and customer profile and then deliver that tour in a real-world setting.

Real World Skills

You’ll explore a range of ‘real world’ skills that relate to your own professional goals and have the opportunity to take part in several technical inductions that may include health and safety, for example. There will also be opportunities to take part in a work-based learning placement.  

You’ll reflect on what you have learnt and how you have developed through a series of blog entries.

You’ll build on your knowledge about sustainability and take part in a live challenge designed to provide innovative solutions to a tourism industry challenge. 

You’ll also explore legal and financial issues that relate to the industry, while developing your professional profile within the wider tourism sector by producing a sustainability-focused blog. 

Modules

Legal & Financial Management in the Experience Sector

You’ll learn how to accurately analyse a range of financial materials including industry-standard financial templates such as balance sheets, profit and loss statements and cash flows. 

You’ll also get to grips with legal and regulatory considerations such as data protection, equality and diversity, health and safety, consumer protection and workplace legislation.

Live Sustainability Challenge

In this module, you’ll develop an understanding of how to generate meaningful intelligence from audience data. In order to better understand audience motivations, expectations and experiences, you’ll learn to collect and interpret relevant data.  

You’ll also undertake a micro-placement to further your understanding of the real-world sustainability challenges that face experience sector organisations. 

Team Learning & Performance

In this module, you’ll take part in a micro-placement and complete a review of your own team working skills, assessing how you contribute to overall team performance.  

You’ll also reflect on the practices of others while devising a development plan to help enhance your professional growth.

Cornish Attraction Project

You’ll learn about key aspects of the operational and strategic management of a Cornish attraction. You’ll analyse the environment of the organisation to understand the challenges that it faces as well as the opportunities that are available. 

You’ll work in a small collaborative team to devise a development plan for that attraction that fits the organisation’s vision and enhances their current tourism offer. This is your opportunity to add real value to an existing organisation.

Demonstrating Sustainability

In this module, you’ll explore the theory and practice of ‘experience impact’. Investigating the huge benefits that experiences can bring, as well as the, sometimes, devastating effects of unsustainable practice, you’ll analyse a range of impacts and learn to develop a holistic view of experience activities.  

You’ll select a particular sustainability related issue that you’re passionate about and discuss this within a blog format. You’ll also utilise examples of best practice to inform and justify proposals designed to address the issue that you have identified.

You can choose to take an optional placement year after your second year on a three-year programme, or after your third year if you’re studying for a degree with an Integrated Foundation Year. 

You’ll be responsible for finding your own placement, with support from the RealWORKS employability team. 

Choosing this option will enhance your industry experience and skills while studying. 

How you’ll study during your placement year 

You’ll spend time working in a professional context, as part of a business or organisation. This can be in one role, or up to three, and must be for a minimum of 24 weeks. 

You’ll develop in-demand workplace skills, deepen your insight into industry and grow your network of contacts, all of which could help you get ahead in your career after graduation. 

Throughout this year, you’ll develop a portfolio of work that includes critical self-reflection on what has been learned from the experience. You’ll be required to evidence your experiences, the skills you’ve learned and your professional growth. 

In your final year, you’ll develop an in-depth understanding of leadership and crisis management, as well as gain real-world experience from a micro-placement and international residential trip. 

Through the completion of a personal research project, you’ll explore an industry topic that relates to your intended career interests – allowing you to focus on what you’re passionate about

Modules

Crisis Management for Tourism

In this module, you’ll develop your management capability to deal with complex crisis situations before immersing yourself within a live crisis scenario to test your skills. You’ll be assessed on your ability to respond to and evaluate this crisis scenario within a realistic multidisciplinary team situation.

Tourism Innovation Project

In this module, you’ll complete a market audit of an area of the tourism industry that interests you and plan the introduction of an innovative, sustainable and inclusive product or service to launch into that market.

Through the completion of a business plan, you’ll communicate both your innovative concept and its key financial, marketing and operational information, and justify the value of your innovation – either as a commercial venture, using an ROI metric or with social, cultural or ecological benefits in mind.

Creative & Ethical Leadership

In this module, you’ll further develop your industry experience through the completion of a micro-placement. You’ll also continue to develop your understanding of creative and ethical leadership and build a portfolio to showcase the range of experiences and attributes that you have developed throughout the course.

Personal Research Project

In the form of an extended research project, you’ll address the important aspects of a topic of your choice, giving you the opportunity to contribute to the theoretical and applied landscape within your field of interest. 

You’ll also be supported by a research project supervisor, who’ll be there to guide you through the research process and act as a sounding board for your thoughts, ideas and approaches.

Live International Destination Project

In this module, you’ll explore the complexities, nuances and interconnectivities of international destination management. In order to research and appreciate the ‘sense of place’, you’ll complete a live project by visiting an international destination on an optional residential trip. You’ll then work in small collaborative teams to produce a destination management strategy that you’ll present to a range of interested parties.  

Travel, accommodation and organised activities during the optional international residential trip are funded by your course fees, however you’re expected to pay for food and free-time activities.

The modules above are those being studied by our students, or proposed new ones. Programme structures and modules can change as part of our curriculum enhancement and review processes. If a certain module is important to you, please discuss it with the Course Leader.

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How you'll learn

On top of lectures, seminars and tutorials, you’ll learn through field trips, independent study, live projects and inspiring talks from visiting professionals. You’ll also have the chance to go on a residential trip to an international tourism destination and work on a live project, with your travel and accommodation expenses funded as part of the sustainable tourism management degree.

At Falmouth, we use a 'digitally enhanced learning & teaching' approach. Your experience will always be predominantly in-person, including seminars, tutorials and studio teaching, with some, more targeted elements, being online either live (synchronous) or pre-recorded (asynchronous). You can read more here.

How you'll be assessed

100% of your assessment will be coursework. 

Assessment methods

  • Practical assessments include crisis management simulation, discussions and team meetings, digital and industry panel presentations and a live tour guiding experience
  • Coursework assignments, with no formal written examinations
  • Continuous assessment through visual, verbal and written assignments

 

    Staff

    Our teaching team is made up of experienced tourism and hospitality practitioners and highly-regarded published academics. Our staff specialise in a range of areas within the tourism industry, including dark tourism, wellbeing, cultural events, food tourism as well as destination and crisis management.

    Some members of staff only teach on specific modules, and your course might not feature every staff member who teaches on the course.

    Paul Russell

    Course Leader - Sustainable Tourism Management and Sustainable Festival Management

    Paul Russell started his career in the hospitality, tourism and events sectors after achieving under...

    Paul Russell

    Dr Donna Poade

    Senior Lecturer in Experience Design (Tourism)

    Donna is Senior Lecturer in Experience Design (Tourism) at Cornwall Business School and joined in Au...

    Dr Donna Poade

    Natalie Semley

    Lecturer in Sustainable Tourism Management

    Growing up in a traditional seaside resort on the North coast of Cornwall, Natalie Semley has a deta...

    Natalie Semley

    Adrian Bossey

    Head of Business & Experience Design

    Adrian Bossey is Head of Subject at the Cornwall Business School, Falmouth University and a former a...

    Adrian Bossey

    Helen Worthington

    Senior Lecturer, Experience Design, Cornwall Business School

    Helen Worthington is a Senior Lecturer at Falmouth University, having joined the Cultural Management...

    Helen Worthington

    Facilities

    • Lecture theatres 
    • Seminar rooms 
    • Group working base room 
    • Subject librarian 
    • Libraries housing a collection of books and electronic and journal resources 
    • Professional design and prototyping tools 
    • IT suites and software packages 
    • Excellent media facilities for producing promotional material and audio-visual content 
    • Activity within the Eden Project, including visits and learning experiences 

     

    Take a virtual tour

    Aerial view of the Eden Project domes with fields and sky
    Eden Project Domes

    Careers

    As a graduate, you could become:

    • A manager within the leisure and tourism or cultural and heritage industries
    • A tourism organisation sustainability manager
    • A travel consultant or tour operator
    • A sustainable destinations manager
    • A travel writer

    How to apply

    Apply via UCAS

    Ready to join us? You can apply through UCAS. You'll need to reference the course and University code (F33).

    Apply now

    Applying as an international student? 

    International students can apply for a course through UCAS, via an agent or directly with the university. For more information about how to apply as an international student, visit our international applications page.

    International applications

    Course route UCAS code
    Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons) three year degree N833
    Sustainable Tourism Management BA(Hons) with placement year PY58

    All applications are considered on their individual merit and we welcome applications from all subject backgrounds including science, technology, engineering, mathematics, the arts or humanities.

    Course route Entry requirements
    BA/BSc(Hons) three year degree 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
    BA/BSc(Hons) with placement year 104 – 120 UCAS Tariff points
       

    Check the title of your course to see if it's a BA or BSc award. UCAS Tariff points will primarily be from Level 3 qualifications such as but not limited to A-levels, T Levels, a BTEC/UAL Extended Diploma or a Foundation Diploma.

    Check how many points your qualifications are worth

    For applicants whose first language is English we require you to have or be working towards GCSE English Language Grade 4 (C), or equivalent. 

    If English is not your first language you will need to meet the same standard which is equivalent to the IELTS Academic 6.0 overall score, with at least 5.5 in Reading, Writing, Speaking and Listening. We accept a range of in country equivalencies and approved tests.  

    If you need a student visa to study in the UK, you may need to take a recognised language test. You can read our English Language Requirements for more information.

    For starting your studies in 2023

    UK applications: 25 January 2023 (for equal consideration)

    Applications after the 25 January will be considered on a first-come, first-served as long as there are places available. Apply for this course now.

    International fee payers

    International fee payers can apply throughout the year. But we recommend applying as early as possible, to make time for visa and travel arrangements.

    Fees, costs & funding

    Tuition fees

    Annual tuition fee Student
    £9,250 per year Full-time UK
    £17,460 per year Full-time EU/international
    Annual tuition fee Student
    £9,250 per year Full-time UK
    £17,460 per year Full-time EU/international
    £1,850 per placement year Full-Time UK and EU/international

    Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible. 

    The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs

    Typical course costs

    The Sustainable Tourism Management course includes a number of destination visits and live industry projects – all of which are included within the course fees, including the international residential experience. You will be required to pay for your own food, drink and refreshments during visits, and fund any free time activities that you may choose to engage in. 

    If you need to bring equipment or materials with you, these will be outlined in your Welcome Letter.

    Ask a student

    What better way to find out about life at Falmouth University than by asking our current students?

    From course details and academic support, to the social scene and settling in, our students are ready and available to answer any questions you might have. Simply set up your account, send them a question and they'll get back to you within 24 hours.

     

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