Travel consultant, communications officier, hotel manager, destination developer or event manager? Tourism Studies will give you skills that are in demand on a growing labour market. There is a need for knowledge of urban tourism in both the visitor industry (hotels, travel agencies, event companies, etc.) and in the public sector. Studying Tourism Studies provides expertise in management, destination planning and marketing, concept development for attractions, and skills in communication and service and bookings. Tourism Studies giver you important knowledge for a range of professional roles. During your studies, you will gain insight into both the scope and opportunities of the industry. There are many opportunities available, and positions held by former students include hotel managers, marketers and frontline staff at hotels, travel consultants for travel companies, communications officer at tourist offices, web editors or social media specialists at large tourism companies, as well as destination developers and event managers. The academic study of Tourism Studies also provides sold knowledge in investigation, analysis and writing reports. These are necessary skills for specialist positions and higher positions in the industry. Read about research in this subject

Developing a theoretical framework and writing a Master’s dissertation This course leads up to and includes the writing of your Master’s dissertation in tourism studies. It starts with a 7.5-credit module on your individual specialisation, conducted as a literature review that provides insights into disciplinary approaches in tourism studies and specialist knowledge in research areas in tourism. This results in a theoretical framework. The purpose for you to understand and explain scholarly theories, models, methods and their application to various issues. The next module is also worth 7.5 credits and focuses on research methods. It begins with a study in which you justify your choice and use of research methods based on various scholarly problems and approaches. The module also provides in- depth knowledge of how to search for, critically evaluate, analyse and integrate quantitative and/or qualitative data and information in tourism studies. The final module, worth 15 credits, is your Master’s dissertation – an autonomous scholarly work focusing on one of the research areas in city tourism: sustainable destination, heritage attractions, events, professional meetings, collaborative networks and hospitality management. Course design Work in this module includes essay planning, problem definition, literature review, empirical study and analysis with conclusions, finally bringing together the whole study to produce a scholarly paper.

Growing industry and labour market People are travelling more, the number of destinations is increasing and the tourism industry is expanding. Tourism Studies will give you skills that are in demand on a growing labour market. You will gain insight into the role of tourism and travel for the individual, but also for society and societal development. Tourism Studies covers players in the travel industry as well as travellers. You will learn how businesses and organisations in the tourism industry are run through hospitality management, what the visitor industry is like and what funding may be available from the public sector. You will also learn about how visitors, tourists and business travellers experience, work and receive services when they travel. Visitors and tourism have economic, cultural and societal impacts, as well as an obvious environmental impact. The subject links to issues around sustainable societal development, because the visitor and tourism industries can contribute to the development of a better society. This could be done through the creation of attractive conditions in urban and rural areas, a sustainability perspective on tourism’s impact on the climate, or companies working responsibly for individuals and society. At Södertörn University, Tourism Studies focuses on urban tourism, with particular emphasis on areas such as hospitality management, experiential tourism and sustainable destinations. It has close links to the industry through job fairs, placements and guest lectures.