Studies & Degrees in Leisure & Tourism Management
Leisure & Tourism Management Study Programs
Leisure and tourism management is the study of how free-time activities and travel are organised as a business and as a public service. It covers hotels and other accommodation, travel agencies and tour operators, destinations and visitor attractions, events, and sports and leisure facilities. The sector is large: according to UN Tourism, an estimated 1.52 billion international tourists were recorded worldwide in 2025.
Programmes combine general management subjects with knowledge of the sector. The Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Sports and Leisure Management at Technological University Dublin (TU Dublin), for example, includes communication, marketing, intercultural competence, entrepreneurship, leisure law and facilities management. Most degrees add foreign languages, a work placement and a final project. Some take a more analytical view: the tourism programmes of Wageningen University & Research look at what travel means for communities, economies, ecosystems and the climate.
Qualifications and levels
- Bachelor's degrees. The TU Dublin degree lasts four years, has 240 ECTS credits and includes a six-month professional work placement. In the Netherlands, the Bachelor's in Tourism is a three-year joint degree of Wageningen University & Research and Breda University of Applied Sciences, taught in English. In Spain, the bachelor's degree in tourism (grado en Turismo) has 240 ECTS credits and lasts four years.
- Top-up and honours years. In Ireland, the one-year BSc (Honours) in Tourism Management at TU Dublin lets holders of an ordinary degree in tourism management reach an honours degree.
- Master's degrees. The Master's in Tourism, Society and Environment at Wageningen runs for two academic years and comprises 120 ECTS credits, including an internship of 24 credits and a thesis of 36. Official master's degrees in Spain have 60, 90 or 120 ECTS credits.
- Vocational training. Spain's vocational training (FP) includes higher-level qualifications in the hospitality and tourism family, among them Técnico Superior en Agencias de Viajes y Gestión de Eventos, Técnico Superior en Gestión de Alojamientos Turísticos and Técnico Superior en Guía, Información y Asistencias Turísticas.
Where to study it
SpainExchange lists 16 active schools for leisure and tourism management. Four are in the United Kingdom, three in the United States, two each in Spain, Ireland and Switzerland, and one each in the Netherlands, Austria and Australia.
In the United Kingdom the list includes Salford Business School, Liverpool Hope University and the University of Gloucestershire. In Ireland it includes TU Dublin, and in the Netherlands Wageningen University & Research. In Austria, Fachhochschule Salzburg has a Department of Business and Tourism with bachelor's and master's programmes in German and English. In Spain, The Open Faculty in Murcia teaches the grado en Turismo as the official seat of the Faculty of Tourism of the Universidad de Murcia; the degree lasts four years, is offered online and on campus, and is taught in Spanish with English and a choice of German or French. UIBS / Barcelona Business School is the other Spanish entry. The list also has Broward College, East Carolina University and Mars Hill University, which lists Recreation & Sport Management among its majors and minors, in the United States, Edith Cowan University in Australia, and the University of Bern and EU Business School Montreux in Switzerland.
Most of the listed schools outside Spain teach in English, including Wageningen in the Netherlands; Salzburg teaches in German and English. Applicants whose first language is not English need to prove their level: TU Dublin asks for a minimum IELTS score of 6 overall, with nothing less than 5.5 in each component, for its sports and leisure degree.
Careers
Graduates work in hotels and resorts, travel companies, airlines and transport companies, tourist boards and public agencies, event companies, and sports and leisure centres. TU Dublin reports that graduates of its sports and leisure degree have become activity coordinators, event organisers, facility managers and sport and leisure development officers, and that tourism management graduates find management positions with airlines, transport companies, the travel sector and statutory agencies.
For the United States, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) gives projections for 2025 to 2035. Employment of meeting, convention and event planners, who typically need a bachelor's degree, is projected to grow 6 percent. Employment of lodging managers is projected to grow 4 percent; people enter that occupation with a bachelor's degree in hospitality or hotel management, with an associate's degree or certificate, or with a high school diploma and several years of experience. Recreation workers, also projected to grow 4 percent, typically need at least a high school diploma.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between tourism management and hospitality management?
Hospitality management concentrates on running hotels, restaurants and similar businesses. Tourism and leisure management is broader: it also covers destinations, travel companies, events, attractions and sports and leisure facilities. Many schools teach both in the same department.
How long does a degree in leisure and tourism management take?
Three to four years for a bachelor's degree in the examples on this page: three years in Wageningen, four years and 240 ECTS credits at TU Dublin and for the Spanish grado en Turismo. A master's degree adds one to two years.
Do I need languages?
They help, and many programmes build them in. The grado en Turismo at The Open Faculty includes English and German or French in its study plan. Programmes taught in English ask non-native speakers for a language certificate.
Is a degree necessary to work in tourism?
Not for every job. The BLS notes that lodging managers may enter the occupation with experience instead of a degree, while event planners typically need a bachelor's degree. A degree or a higher vocational qualification is the usual route into management and planning roles.