BA in (Hons) International Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management

This BA in (Hons) International Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management course will provide you with the business management skills and practical expertise that the best employers in international hospitality, tourism and events are looking for.

The experiential nature of this course will equip you with excellent management skills and the practical expertise needed to succeed in these vibrant industries, which will put you at the forefront of graduates, and open doors to a wealth of career opportunities.

Why QMU?

• Be part of a Business School that aims to provide you with an exceptional teaching and learning experience designed to help you succeed: The Queen Margaret Business School courses provides students with hands-on experiential learning (placements), provides the optimum balance of theoretical and practical approaches, and has strong industry links. We recognise the need for ethical, social and ecological responsibility in business, and our courses also offer an entrepreneurial focus. Our Business School is a member of the Chartered Association of Business Schools and we are a signatory member of The Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME).
• Develop real world skills: This exciting new course enables students to develop real world professional skills that hold lasting value in the hospitality, tourism and events industry and beyond
• Nurturing your soft skills: We celebrate and nurture critical soft skills that are now so highly valued by employers across all sectors, specifically - resilience, teamwork, problem solving, adaptability, work ethic and leadership
• Range of employment opportunities: In offering a broader range of study areas within one degree, compared with other courses, students can begin to future-proof themselves by having flexible skills and knowledge applicable to a range of employment sectors.
• Excellent support from staff: Smaller class sizes mean you will enjoy more personal engagement with lecturers. We will know you by name and help manage your learning from your first lecture to graduation.
• Staff experience and course relevance: You will be taught by active academics who are doing research in their own right. Some colleagues have recently completed their doctoral studies, and others are publishing in mainstream academic journals. Such engagement is key to the relevance of our courses, and helps equip staff and students with the background to make intelligent decisions about their future.
• Practical experience: The 20-week internship will give you the optimum balance of practical and theoretical learning and boosts your employability.
• Opportunities, awards and scholarships: Various funds will be available to help individuals take part in extra-curricular activities across the four-years. Funds also enable class trips to a range of visitor attractions and events and perhaps even taste the produce on a brewery and distillery tour as part of your studies at QMU.
• Experience: QMU has over 125 years of teaching expertise in hospitality. 
• Location and employment opportunities: As a capital city and top tourist destination, and one of the most famous events' cities in the world, Edinburgh offers many opportunities for part-time employment as a student and your career beyond graduation. 
• Industry links: We have strong links with industry in Edinburgh and further afield. We regularly host guest lectures, either physically on campus or virtually, featuring experts from across the UK and even as far as the Caribbean. This not only enhances our teaching by offering you a well-rounded learning experience, but also provides you with networking and career opportunities.

Why study this course?

International Hospitality, Tourism and Events Management - BA (Hons): The course in brief

• The hospitality, tourism and events sector has experienced significant growth in recent decades, emerging as a significant contributor to both the Scottish and global economy, accounting for 1 in 10 jobs worldwide and supporting a substantial number of enterprises. The events sector in particular has undergone remarkable expansion over the last 20 years, encompassing everything from pop-up food fairs to high profile corporate events, trade shows and our own world-famous Edinburgh festivals. While hospitality, tourism and events can be viewed as separate industries in some ways, they are also deeply interlinked in others, and throughout your course you will deepen your understanding of this through experiential learning, enabling you to put theory into practice. This involves the creative planning, delivery, and execution of live events, participating in a group walking tour, leading live business consultancy among other activities. Moreover, your 20-week paid industry internship will equip you with real-life experience that is sure to boost your employability.
• Our location in Edinburgh is sure to enrich your learning experience: Known as “the festival city” and one of the world’s top tourist destinations, you have an abundance of hospitality and events venues right at your doorstep, which provide numerous opportunities for internships, field trips to distilleries and a wide range of other attractions, as well as part-time work and graduate career opportunities. You will also benefit from guest lectures from some of Scotland’s major tourism, hospitality, and events players.

On this course you will:

• Gain a thorough theoretical understanding of the political, economic and social factors at work in the industry, and what they will mean for you as a manager of the future;
• Learn hands-on how to manage money, resources and talent in the fast-moving hospitality, tourism and events environment;
• Plan and deliver live events;
• Go on a 20-week paid internship that will boost your employability; and
• Acquire the skills to work in exciting and vibrant sectors of increasing importance and relevance to a modern and socially just society.

Careers

• This degree can provide an excellent stepping stone to the management training schemes of multi-national hotel groups, and towards junior management roles in areas such as food and beverage management, sales and marketing, HR, accommodation services etc.
• Other graduates may choose to pursue careers in tourism management, either with tour operators, in national or local tourism bodies or at a variety of attractions.
• Those most interested in events will find roles in festival and events management, arts management, event logistics, conference production, sponsorship management and charity fundraising, as well as with hotel groups.

Our students are in demand, with many securing employment directly through their internships, campus networking opportunities, and independently with the excellent support of our on-campus career services. Our previous graduates have achieved remarkable success, now holding positions with global brands, which include:

• Team Leader, Walt Disney World, Florida
• Assistant Manager, Marriott Hotel, Hong Kong
• HR Director, Dakota Hotels
• Various roles at Balmoral Hotel, Edinburgh
• Event Sales Manager, The Dome, Edinburgh
• Research Assistant, VisitScotland
• Three Chimneys, Skye
• Assistant Manager, Camera Obscura
• Mercat Tours, Edinburgh

Additionally, some have pursued postgraduate studies at QMU and other universities.

As hospitality, tourism and events are global industries, there are great opportunities for international travel at all career stages.