Step into the world of tourism and hospitality management

Tourism plays an important role in many people’s lives. It can make us feel enthusiastic and fuel our desire to visit new places, experience different cultures, and establish new memories. But it’s also a vital industry to the world economy.

On this four-week course from the Universidad de Palermo, you will analyse the main characteristics of tourism, its challenges, and its transformation over the years.

By discovering the basic concepts of tourism and hospitality, you’ll be able to address the importance they have in the world economy, culture, and the environment.

Explore the motivations of tourists

Tourists are obviously key to the tourism sector so it’s vital to understand their motivations and how they spend their leisure time.

This course will guide you through understanding tourists and the important role they play in the natural, socio-economic, and cultural environments. You’ll also look at some of the negative effects of tourism such as displacement.

Delve into the challenges of the travel and tourism industry

There are many obstacles that the tourism and hospitality sector has to overcome each year. From supply and demand to seasonality and tourist flows, you’ll look at the tourism market and how to approach its typical challenges.

Discover how the sector has adapted towards sustainable tourism

On this course, you’ll learn the importance of adopting good practices in tourism and hospitality and of respecting cultural diversity, the environment, and heritage in order to create a responsible and sustainable tourism industry.

You’ll also look at the innovations and investments in the tourism sector, especially in the digital space, in order to better understand the roles each area plays in digital environments within the industry.

Syllabus

Week 1
Tourism and hospitality concepts
- Do you like to travel? What do you know about the tourism industry?
  In this activity, we will intoduce the core topics of travel, tourism and hospitality, give a brief historical background, mention their impact and challenges, and suggest you tell us how important it is for people to travel.
- Definitions of tourism and hospitality
  In this activity, you'll learn about the definitions of tourism and hotels and their classification, as well as tourists' motivations and displacement.
- Historical evolution of tourism
  In this activity, we will look at the changes in history about the concept of tourism.
Week 2
Tourism as a socio-economic phenomenon and an activity of services
- Global tourism as a factor of development
  How does tourism become such an important dynamic activity for the global economy?
- Tourism growth and economic development
  Why does the tourist sector stimulate economic development?
- Tourism market
  What are the elements that comprise it?
- Complexities of the tourist sector
  Concepts, measurements and determining factors in the tourist environment.
- Conclusion
  In the second week, we discuss the tourism sector and recognize its importance in the global economy, but there's still a long way to go in our journey.
Week 3
New modalities in tourism activity: Investment, connectivity and digital transformation in the sector
- Technological changes and new ways of doing tourism
  Does the digital age influence our travels? How do technological advances revolutionize the tourism sector?
- Conclusion
  Technology trends and sustainable destinations.
Week 4
Tourism and global warming: Adaptation and mitigation. Heritage sites and sustainable tourism
- Tourism and climatic change
  How does climate change influence the tourism industry? Is it possible to travel and make tourism sustainable?
- Towards a horizon of sustainable heritage
  The essential transformation and adaptation of tourism destinations in viable environments.
- Conclusion of Week 4 and end of the course
  Approach to the different concepts discussed and comments about this experience.

Learning on this course

On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.

What will you achieve?

By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...

Explore and understand the complications of the tourism sector.
Recognise the importance of the relationship between the tourist and the natural, socio-economic and cultural environment.
Identify the characteristics of transport companies, hospitality and food services as essential members in the tourism industry in digital environments.
Develop familiarity with the specific technical language of the sector.
Identify the techniques, the strategies, and the policies to facilitate a sustainable tourism development.

Who is the course for?

This course is designed for anyone with an interest in the tourism and hospitality sector. It will be especially useful to university students currently studying hospitality or for any professionals in the industry.

Who will you learn with?

Vanesa Cerdán

Bachelor's Degree in Tourism with orientation in Tourism Planning. Teacher.
With experience in retail sales of tourism services in the private sector and corporate travel in the public sector.

Who developed the course?

Universidad de Palermo

Universidad de Palermo is global university based in Argentina, recognised as one of the best and most innovative in Latin America.

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