Minor Digital Marketing in the Tourism Sector
Embrace upcoming technologies to engage tourism customers. The Digital Marketing in Tourism minor equips you with the skills, strategies and mindset to thrive as a marketing professional in a fast-changing industry that urgently needs experts in cutting-edge tools.
Come and meet us
Choosing a minor is an important decision. That's why we will help you make your choice.
Why choose this minor?
- You will learn how to market experiences in today’s digital world
- You will gain practical skills to leverage technologies for business impact
- You will master AI-driven tools and learn how AI is revolutionising tourist behaviour and decision-making
About this minor
The tourism industry is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as artificial intelligence reshapes the way travellers research, plan and book experiences. AI-powered chatbots, personalised recommendations and predictive analytics are fundamentally altering the way tourists make decisions.
This minor will teach you to recognise these changes and apply agile, market-oriented, tech-savvy solutions. You will also be challenged to design a game that will attract tourists to destinations and create engaging experiences.
By working alongside industry experts in areas such as social media, conversion optimisation, UX, analytics, games, and AI implementation, you will gain hands-on experience in online strategy, website development, and marketing channels such as Ads, email marketing, and social media.
You will also explore the latest trends, such as generative AI for content creation, and understand their impact on businesses and travellers.
More information:
- Language of instruction
Blended: two classes (one in English and one in Dutch).
If this is not suitable, we will proceed as follows based on the application numbers: Combi EN/NL (the course will be taught in English, but students will have the option of submitting their assignments/work in Dutch).- Admission requirements
Admission requirements for BUas students:
- Open to Year 3 and Year 4 students from all academies
- Propaedeutic certificate obtained
Admission requirements for external students:
- Propaedeutic certificate obtained
- Learning outcomes & competencies
By the end of this minor, you will have developed a professional perspective on commercial and digital marketing in the tourism sector.
- You will be able to develop substantiated digital marketing campaigns using the latest tools and platforms.
- You can create and optimise a website using principles of usability and conversion rate optimisation.
- You can apply social media and data research techniques, including the relevant ethics.
- You will understand the fundamentals of data, how to visualise it, and how to provide advice based on the insights gained from it.
- You will research a tourism challenge, design a game-based intervention to address it and develop a playable prototype to demonstrate your solution.
- You have expanded your professional network through our expert guest speakers.
- You have developed an inquisitive mindset towards lifelong learning in the field of digital marketing.
- Topics and structure of the minor
Topics
- Online strategy, data analytics and business intelligence
- Website development, SEO, online advertising and influencer and affiliate marketing
- Content, visual communication and persuasion techniques
- Usability and conversion rate optimisation
- Social media marketing and research
- Game-based innovation for a tourism destination
- Connecting to the industry
Structure
You will follow three 5 EC modules: Business Intelligence, Social Media Research and Designing Games in Tourism.
The remaining 12 weeks of the minor consist of a digital marketing project, for which you will work in a team to develop your own website and marketing communication tools.
You will receive continuous feedback on your deliverables and progress.- Teaching & assessment
You will experience a variety of teaching methods: SCRUM project, workshops, (guest) lectures, consultations and self-guided learning.
- Business Intelligence (5 EC, group + individual assignment)
- Social Media Research (5 EC, group + individual assignment)
- Digital Marketing Project (5 EC group presentation +10 EC individual oral exam)
- Designing Games for Tourism Innovation (5 EC group presentation)
- Required study material
We use a lot of online professional and some academic sources. The main book that is used:
- Digital Marketing Fundamentals (3rd ed) by Visser& Berry
- Additional costs
You will be invited to join the field trip, which involves visiting an international trade fair. In 2025, we went to Sevilla. Depending on the destination and duration, the estimated cost will be between 150-300 euros.
- Minor coordinator
Marenna van Reijsen: [email protected]
After this minor
Upon completion of this minor, you will be able to connect marketing communication with technology, a vital skill in today’s tourism industry! You will understand data basics and visualisation, you know how to optimise websites for usability and conversion rates, and are knowledgeable about social media research techniques and their ethics.
Practical information
When
Monday 31 August 2026 – Friday 31 January 2027
Where
All classes and meetings will take place on the BUas campus in Breda.
Teaching method
The teaching methods vary per module and include a SCRUM project, workshops, (guest) lectures, the ‘flipped classroom’ method, and independent study.
How to apply?
You can choose this minor if you study at BUas, but students from other higher education institutes are also warmly invited to join. This makes for a diverse and inspiring classroom!
- How to apply: BUas students
For BUas students, the application option in Osiris opens from 23 to 27 March 2026 (fall semester) & 5 to 9 October 2026 (spring semester). When you apply in Osiris you can indicate two preferences, these can be two different minors at BUas, but you should also indicate if you prefer to take an external minor. For more detailed information please visit the Minor Desk page on the student portal.
Please note that applicants will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis or via a selection procedure as mentioned at the admission requirements on this page.
- How to apply: non-BUas students
All information regarding the minors for 2026 -2027 is available on Kies op Maat. From 2 February to 15 May, the application option and thus the download of the learning agreement will be open on Kies op Maat.
The full step-by-step plan:
- Download the learning agreement on Kies op Maat. Ask your own university of applied sciences to sign the learning agreement for approval.
- Start your application via Studielink – this is possible until 26 June. Go to the Study Programmes tab and click 'add new enrolment application'. Then click at 'Educational institution' on Breda University of Applied Sciences and enter 'Minor' or 'KOM' as search term. A list of BUas KOM minors per academy will appear. Make sure you apply for the right minor. Check the learning agreement to see where your minor belongs to. After registering in Studielink you will receive two emails: one confirming your registration with BUas and immediately afterwards an email containing the login codes for and the link to Osiris Registration from BUas. If you do not receive the second e-mail, check your spam first and otherwise send an e-mail to [email protected].
- Receive access to My Online Application. Here you can complete – and keep track of – the next steps of your application.
- Upload the signed learning agreement in My Online Application (note: the learning agreement must be signed by your own university of applied sciences and yourself before uploading it on My Online Application)
- Since you are coming to BUas temporarily for a minor, it is important that you arrange payment in a correct manner via the following steps to arrange your proof of payment, a so-called BBC (Bewijs Betaald Collegegeld).
- Arrange the payment at your own institution
- Go to Studielink and request a BBC for BUas. Click here to go to the correct webpage (search on this page for the "Request for proof of paid tuition fees") for the step by step plan.
Make sure you complete all steps on time, as mentioned there are deadlines for downloading the learning agreement and starting your application. Once you have made a start in My Online Application, you have until 1 September / the start of the minor at the latest to complete your steps. Please note:
- Some minors have limited numbers of places available. Students will be admitted in order of application.
- If you are a student of an institution affiliated to Kies op Maat, the rules and agreements of Kies op Maat apply. The costs of the minor will be settled between BUas and your home institution. As a student, you won’t notice anything about this.
- If you are a student from a government-funded institution that is not affiliated to Kies op Maat, we will make separate arrangements about financing the minor before the start of the minor.