Bachelor of Arts in Tourism Studies

The mission of the Tourism Studies program is to provide a nationally and internationally recognized program of excellence in teaching, research, and service in leisure, specifically in the areas of tourism, heritage, cultural tourism, and tourism planning and management. This program aims to educate, train, and assist students, individuals, businesses, and other stakeholders to take full use of the opportunities available through the use of responsible tourism development. This program philosophy is driven by the belief that tourism can be a powerful driver for economic development in many emerging and transitioning economies, and can also fulfill a significant role in a community social-cultural development, congruent with the cultural norms and values of the multicultural populations of the UAE.

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Program Objectives

• Basic knowledge of different components and sectors in the tourism industry.
• Competence to address and provide critical insights into the interrelationship between stakeholders, components, and sectors in the tourism industry.
• Solid knowledge about planning, managing, operating, and promoting cultural, heritage, environmental, and leisure tourism resources and products.
• Practical knowledge of planning, developing, managing, operating, and promoting sustainable destinations.
• Ability to conduct research with a focus on the relationships between tourism, culture, heritage, and sustainable development.
• Communication skills, managerial skills, and analytical skills, to enter the junior management level of different sectors in the tourism industry.

Program Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this program, students will be able to:

• Identify the facilities, resources, products, stakeholders, and operational organizations in different sectors of the tourism industry as well as describe their structures and characteristics.
• Demonstrate ethical reasoning in relation to tourism issues.
• Identify the necessary resources for developing tourism products and analyze the factors affecting the success of tourism products.
• Analyze the current and upcoming trends of tourism product development at the local, regional, and international levels.
• Identify the influence of tourists and the tourism industry on cultural and heritage assets, societies, and environments.
• Synthesize the cultural, heritage, environmental, and leisure tourism resources and facilities for sustainable development of a destination.
• Examine materials, reports, and statistics related to tourism, cultural and heritage study, and sustainable development.
• Communicate effectively in both oral and written forms to various audiences.