Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality

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Free Online Course: Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality provided by FutureLearn is a comprehensive online course, which lasts for 4 weeks long, 3 hours a week. The course is taught in English and is free of charge. Upon completion of the course, you can receive an e-certificate from FutureLearn. Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality is taught by Vanesa Cerdán.

Overview
  • 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.

    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.

    If you want to further your knowledge, you may be interested in the following courses. They’re from the same provider and share the same learning outcomes:

    • Event Management in Tourism and Hospitality
    • Hotel Revenue Management
    • Human Capital Management in Hospitality

Syllabus
    • Tourism and hospitality concepts
      • Do you like to travel? What do you know about the tourism industry?
      • Definitions of tourism and hospitality
      • Historical evolution of tourism
    • Tourism as a socio-economic phenomenon and an activity of services
      • Global tourism as a factor of development
      • Tourism growth and economic development
      • Tourism market
      • Complexities of the tourist sector
      • Conclusion
    • New modalities in tourism activity: Investment, connectivity and digital transformation in the sector
      • Technological changes and new ways of doing tourism
      • Conclusion
    • Tourism and global warming: Adaptation and mitigation. Heritage sites and sustainable tourism
      • Tourism and climatic change
      • Towards a horizon of sustainable heritage
      • Conclusion of Week 4 and end of the course