Tourism Schools and Programs in Spain

Tourism Studies in Spain

Tourism can be studied in Spain at two levels: as a four-year university bachelor's degree (grado) and as a two-year higher vocational training (FP) cycle. Universities, university schools of tourism, business schools and FP centres all teach the subject, and some programmes are taught in English. The degrees combine business management, marketing, geography and heritage, tourism law and foreign languages, usually with work placements.

How the degree is organised

Under Royal Decree 822/2021, official bachelor's degrees in Spain have 240 ECTS credits and master's degrees 60, 90 or 120, with 60 credits per academic year. The most common title is the Grado en Turismo (bachelor's degree in Tourism); variants include Tourism Management at the Universidad de Salamanca and Tourism and Hotel Management at the Universitat Rovira i Virgili. The Universidad Rey Juan Carlos lists its degree as "Turismo / Bachelor in Tourism". A search of the ministry's Register of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT) returns 65 bachelor's records containing "turismo", several of them being phased out. At the Universidad de Málaga, for example, the degree has 240 ECTS credits over four years and uses Spanish, English, French and German.

At master's level RUCT lists 74 records with "turismo" in the title, many of them discontinued. Current examples include International Tourism Management at the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Wine Culture and Wine Tourism in the Duero Basin at the Universidad de Burgos, and Sustainable Tourism Development, Management and Policy at the Universidad Católica San Antonio de Murcia (UCAM). Business schools also offer their own programmes (títulos propios), which are not official degrees.

The vocational route consists of higher-level FP cycles of 2,000 hours each in the Hospitality and Tourism family:

• Técnico Superior en Agencias de Viajes y Gestión de Eventos (travel agencies and event management)
• Técnico Superior en Gestión de Alojamientos Turísticos (tourist accommodation management)
• Técnico Superior en Guía, Información y Asistencias Turísticas (tourist guiding, information and assistance)

Admission, language and costs

For a bachelor's degree, students who completed secondary school outside Spain usually apply through UNEDasiss, the UNED service that assesses international students' academic records and runs the tests needed to enter a degree. Documents have to be legalised and translated in good time, and the application is then made to each university within its own deadlines. FP cycles have their own entry routes, including the Bachillerato or an entrance test.

Places are limited. The Universidad de Alicante offers 80 places for Tourism and 100 for its double degree in Tourism and Business Administration, teaches in Spanish or Valencian, and asks applicants from non-Spanish-speaking countries for B2 Spanish. The Universidad de Málaga's degree was approved for 200 places.

Public universities charge per credit: €14.03 on first enrolment at the Universidad de Alicante, around €840 for a 60-credit year at the standard fee, with separate prices for non-resident students from outside the EU. Private universities and schools set their own fees.

Where to study Tourism in Spain

Madrid and Barcelona have most of the schools in our directory. In the Madrid region, the Universidad Complutense de Madrid, the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid and the Universidad Rey Juan Carlos all have official tourism degrees, and the UNED and the Universidad a Distancia de Madrid (UDIMA) teach at a distance. In Barcelona there are specialised schools such as CETT Barcelona School of Tourism, Hospitality and Gastronomy, which offers FP, university degrees (some in English) and master's programmes, as well as the Escola Universitària de Turisme MEDITERRANI, Euroaula and the online Universitat Oberta de Catalunya.

Elsewhere, the Escuela Universitaria de Turismo de Zaragoza (ETUZ) teaches an official degree of the Universidad de Zaragoza and offers placements from the first year. Other examples are the Universidad de Cádiz, the Universidad de Málaga, the Universidad de Alicante, the Universidad de A Coruña, the Universidad de Burgos, the Universidad de Salamanca and the Universidad de La Laguna in the Canary Islands.

Recognition of the qualification

An official Spanish degree is listed in RUCT and valid throughout the country. Tourism is not a regulated profession (the Universidad de Málaga states this on its degree page), so a foreign tourism degree cannot be homologated; its holder can apply for a declaración de equivalencia, which certifies the academic level, through the ministry's online portal.

Careers

Graduates work in hotels and other accommodation, travel agencies and tour operators, event organisation, destination management and tourism administrations. The roles that the Ministry of Education links to the tourism FP cycles include travel agent and travel consultant, event organiser, head of reception, local and accompanying guide, and tourist information officer.

Frequently asked questions

How long does it take to study Tourism in Spain?

A bachelor's degree takes four years (240 ECTS credits). A higher-level FP cycle in tourism has 2,000 hours, usually spread over two years.

Can I study Tourism in English in Spain?

Some programmes are. CETT in Barcelona, for example, offers university degrees in English. Most public university degrees are taught in Spanish, with foreign languages as subjects, so check the language of instruction of each degree.

Do I need Spanish to be admitted?

For Spanish-taught degrees, yes. The Universidad de Alicante, for example, asks applicants from non-Spanish-speaking countries to prove B2 Spanish.

Can my foreign tourism degree be recognised in Spain?

Tourism is not a regulated profession, so the route is a declaración de equivalencia from the Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, applied for online.