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Tourism Management Schools and Programs in Barcelona, Spain

About Tourism Management Schools and Programs in Barcelona, Spain

Tourism management is the business side of tourism: running hotels, restaurants, travel companies, events and destinations. Programmes cover strategy, finance, marketing, revenue management, human resources and digital tools, applied to the hospitality and travel sector. Barcelona offers it at bachelor's level, through official master's degrees and through shorter executive programmes, many of them taught in Spanish and English.

How the qualifications are organised

In Spain, a bachelor's degree (grado) has 240 ECTS credits as a general rule, and an official master's degree (máster universitario) 60, 90 or 120 credits. Official degrees are listed in the ministry's Registry of Universities, Centres and Degrees (RUCT). Many schools also offer their own master's programmes (máster de formación permanente or título propio); these can be useful for professionals but are not official degrees.

Where to study Tourism Management in Barcelona

Examples from our directory:

  • CETT Tourism and Hospitality Education: the CETT-UB school teaches the four-year bachelor's degree in International Hotel Management (Dirección Hotelera Internacional, an official degree of the Universitat de Barcelona) in Spanish and English. Its one-year official master's degrees include Hotel Management, Tourism Business Management and Innovation in Tourism Management. It also offers its own master's programmes, such as an Executive Master in Hotel Management and an online master's in Revenue Management, Digital Marketing and Social Media.
  • E.U.T. Euroaula: alongside its Tourism degree, the school offers specialised master's programmes in Tourist Accommodation and Hospitality Management and in Business Tourism and Event Management.
  • Universitat de Barcelona: the university behind the official master's degree in Tourism Business Management (Dirección de Empresas Turísticas).

The RUCT also lists an official bachelor's degree in Hotel Management (Dirección Hotelera) of the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, taught at its School of Tourism and Hotel Management, and one in Tourism and Hotel Management (Gestión Turística y Hotelera) of the Universitat Ramon Llull. At Catalan universities some groups are taught in Catalan, so check the language of each programme.

Admission and recognition

For a bachelor's degree, students with a secondary school diploma from outside Spain usually apply for UNEDasiss accreditation, which assesses international students' records and runs the tests needed to enter Spanish bachelor's degrees. An official master's degree requires a previous university degree; schools also look at professional experience for executive programmes. For a foreign degree, the ministry distinguishes homologación (access to a regulated profession in Spain) from the declaration of equivalence, which certifies the academic level (bachelor's or master's).

Careers

Graduates work as hotel and department managers, revenue and distribution managers, in hotel chains' central offices, in restaurant and food-service management, in event and conference companies, in destination management organisations and in tourism consultancy.

Frequently asked questions

Can I study hotel management in English in Barcelona?

Yes. At CETT-UB, the bachelor's degree in International Hotel Management and the master's degree in Hotel Management are taught in Spanish and English.

How long is a master's in tourism management in Barcelona?

The official master's degrees at CETT-UB, such as Tourism Business Management or Hotel Management, last one academic year.

What is the difference between an official master's and a school's own master's?

An official master's degree (máster universitario) is an official degree listed in the RUCT. A school's own master's programme is a qualification of the school or university, often aimed at working professionals.