Studies & Degrees in Leisure & Tourism Management
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Leisure and Tourism Management is involved with the management of various tourist attractions, such as hotels, historical sites, amusement parks, etc. By undertaking this degree, you would also be prepared to plan and market these tourist facilities, build strategies to attract tourists and raise awareness of the specific area or attraction.
Depending on the field in which the leisure and tourism manager works, he or she can be responsible for organizing hotel stays, or planning the whole holiday experience of guests (from booking airline tickets, to accommodation, to visiting historical places and attractions, etc.). You could also be concentrating on the food sector alone and manage a restaurant, organizing the food process and the whole customer experience. Another example is the organization of cruise trips, deciding on destinations and customer entertainment during the trip.
Personal Qualities
Very good communication and interpersonal skills, while taking joy in working with people are qualities that will benefit you in a Leisure and Tourism Management degree. Together with the following abilities, you would thoroughly enjoy and succeed in such a career:
- Excellent customer service skills
- Great organizational and time-management qualities
- IT skills
- Creativity
- Some geographical knowledge.
Study Options
A wide range of courses in this area are available, and they principally encompass strategies of how to manage other people, ways to market and improve the business in terms of efficiency and attractiveness, as well as theory of leisure and tourism management.
Both two-year colleges and four-year universities offer such courses. Aside from the general degrees, there are also programs that concentrate in a specific area, like restaurants, hotels, entertainment parks, etc. However, when there is a highly specialized field that is of particular interest to you, it might be a good option to just follow a workshop, together with the general course of study, rather than study this area alone. There are institutions that offer introductory courses in tourism management, while many students also decide to take their education to a higher level, especially if they are aiming at higher management positions.
Career Options
Career options range from being a travel agent, who manages and oversees the travel and accommodation plans for personal vacations, to entertainment park managers, whose responsibility spreads to a greater array of aspects. Director or senior management positions can be achieved in cruise lines, for instance, and in this case you would be closely interacting with passengers, giving presentations, arranging onshore tours and other special activities to ensure full customer satisfaction.
Positions such as project management and catering sales are available within hotels. Project management can include the organization and technical aspects of an event, while catering sales is involved with meeting the business objectives of that specific department. A degree in Leisure and Tourism could also be very helpful in a career of event planning, and can also lead to a job in public institutions, managing various historical places.