In the first semester of year 2, you will work on two tourism projects. After that, you will have the opportunity to determine your own study route by choosing a challenge, an exchange or a placement.
 
A challenge is a form of education in which students, together with lecturers and professionals from the field, work on issues from the world around us. These are mostly real-world issues in society for which they develop solutions, aiming to improve the travel industry. 

Available options:  

Year 2:  

• In semester 3: two tourism challenges
• In semester 4: tourism challenge or challenge in another BUas programme, exchange, minor or placement  

Year 3

• In semester 5: tourism challenge or challenge in another BUas programme, exchange, placement or minor  
• In semester 6: tourism challenge or challenge in another BUas programme, exchange, placement or minor  

Year 4

• In semester 7: tourism challenge or challenge in another BUas programme, exchange, placement, minor or graduation project  
• In semester 8: tourism challenge or challenge in another BUas programme, exchange, placement, minor or graduation project  

The building blocks / The basics / The ground rules are as follows:  

• You will do a placement of at least one semester  
• You can spend one semester doing an international exchange  
• You can spend one semester doing a minor  
• You will do one graduation project 

Placement

You will go on a placement of a minimum of twenty weeks. During your placement, you will gain practical experience, discover what suits you best and prepare yourself for a job in the tourism and recreation field. The programme has an extensive national and international network, offering a wide choice of placements, both at home and abroad. You can make use of this network or look for a suitable placement yourself. The student affairs team will support you in your search for a placement.

Do you think 20 weeks is not enough in terms of a placement? You can also choose to do several placements during your studies. 

Here are a few placement examples:  

• Communication at Landal GreenParks
• Sun holidays at TUI
• Sustainability at Transavia
• Marketing & social media influencer at NBTC Holland Marketing
• EF International Language School in Madrid
• Marketing at Corinthia Hotels Malta 
• Sales at Happy Gringo Travel in Ecuador 

Read Rianne’s story to find out how everything she learned in her studies fell into place during her placement. And check out a day in the life of Jaleesa’s placement at EF International Language School in Sydney. 
 

Exchange

Spending time studying abroad offers you the opportunity to push your boundaries, both literally and figuratively. You expand your international network, learn another language and gain more insight into intercultural differences (and similarities!). Breda University of Applied Sciences has contacts with numerous universities all over the world where you can go as an exchange student. 

Minors

During a minor, you can choose whether you want to delve deeper into your current field of study or broaden your horizons in a different subject. You can choose to take a minor at BUas. Check out all the minors that BUas offers here. You can also choose a minor at another university of applied sciences in the Netherlands or go abroad.

Foreign languages

Would you like to spend a block or semester studying a foreign language such as French, German or Spanish? If so, the Languages & Culture minor is right up your street. This minor will immerse you in the country’s culture. You will enter at your own level and learn what you need to be effective and successful in this language.  
 

Attractions & Theme Parks Management

If you are pursuing the professional bachelor’s degree in Tourism Management, you can specialise in Attractions & Theme Parks Management. This specialisation is also offered to students in the Leisure & Events Management bachelor’s programme, so you will be in a mixed class which is super educational.  

Why this specialisation?
The number of attraction and theme parks is still growing and the competition is fierce. It’s not just theme parks that are constantly reinventing themselves; holiday resorts, zoos, shopping centres and museums - to name a few examples from your future field of work - also focus more and more on creating memorable experiences. In addition, there is still much to gain in terms of corporate social responsibility. In short, things can and must change to become more experiential and more sustainable.

A new generation of managers
There is a high demand for a new generation of managers capable of creating successful and meaningful concepts and experiences (concept design) from a business perspective (business design). In this specialisation, you will learn how to innovate the offerings in such a way that it adds value for both the visitor and the company you work for.

The challenge
There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all business model in the world of attraction and theme parks. The challenge lies in making the right combinations and coming up with ideas that make you stand out and builds goodwill. An example? Zoos are making a turn towards a more ethical and educational approach, whereas museums are adding more experience and interaction. And theme parks are trying to immerse people in complete thematic worlds.

What will you do?
You will dive into the world of marketing, finance, workforce planning and security, as you need this knowledge. But you will also explore the fields of Hospitality, Imagineering and Storytelling. You will work on your creative leadership skills and learn about change management. Each subject is linked to a real client from the world of attractions. During your studies, you can do a placement at ‘world parks’ such as Walt Disney World in Orlando, Europa-Park and Efteling.  

Why choose Attractions & Theme Parks Management?

• You learn to look at the business model from different angles 
• You learn all about operational and business management, as well as Imagineering and Storytelling 
• During your studies, you will work for major (international) parks or suppliers to the parks  
• You get a chance to take part in the Disney International Programme in Orlando (USA)
• You are taught by international lecturers and guest speakers 
• The programme is recognised by the World Tourism Organization/ World Leisure Organization

More information can be found on the website of Attractions & Theme Parks Management and in the video below.

 

Social Innovation

From the second year onwards, you have the option to pursue the three-year Social Innovation track. This track is about devising solutions not just for people, but with people – that’s the essence and power of Social Innovation. Together with others, you will come up with creative solutions to social issues. Initiatives in the field of Social Innovation are connected to major challenges in society such as sustainability, equality or public perception.   

There are two ways of looking at it: 

• You use tourism with the specific purpose of trying to solve these social problems.
  • Social problem: today’s busy and rushed society
  • Tourism’s contribution to the solution: facilitating relaxation and slowing down
• Within tourism, you try to improve the way in which we deal with these challenges.  
  • Tourism problem: profits leaking out to big foreign investors
  • Tourism’s contribution to society: ensuring that profits flow back to local initiatives   

Within the Social Innovation specialisation area, you will engage with practical issues. You will do so for organisations within and beyond the field of leisure, such as sports, theatres, museums, festivals and for care institutions, retail organisations or government authorities. You will mostly operate at the interface of multiple sectors. The knowledge acquired in your courses can be used to create a broad support base among stakeholders involved - citizens, residents and organisations. Everyone contributes from their own background or expertise, which collectively leads to useful solutions. 

What makes this specialisation so special is that you do not attend a fixed curriculum. You will shape your own learning process by choosing certain topics and projects. Each academic year, you will work on about eight real-life projects, using methods from the fields of experiences, community building, facility management, and tourism design. In addition, you will work in self-selected multidisciplinary teams. In other words, you will work together with students from other years and other programmes.

Transformative Aviation & Airport Management

From the second year, you can choose Transformative Aviation & Airport Management (TAAM). This is a specialisation for students from the Tourism Management, Facility Management, and Logistics Management and Engineering programmes. This specialisation trains you to become a manager or policy- maker in the aviation sector, a sector that is grappling with sustainability challenges due to growing air traffic. Teaming up with companies in the aviation industries, we will explore innovative approaches and find new ways to do things differently.  

You will learn about climate change and aviation challenges, exploring solutions such as air-rail integration and electric flight. We will also examine alternative growth perspectives and try to find ways to guide travellers towards more sustainable options. As well as learning theory, you will also gain hands-on experience working with leading aviation companies. 

You will work on assignments related to passenger transport, logistics and facilities processes. By attending modular terms alongside students from various programmes, you will benefit from mutual learning experiences. You may also choose not to do the entire specialisation, but just one or two terms. 

Pre-master

We offer all students the chance to attend the academic pre-master Strategic Business Management and Marketing (SBM). This pre-master gives you direct access to Master of Science programmes in business-related studies at our university partners, such as the University of Amsterdam, Maastricht, Tilburg, Brussels (B) or Warwick (UK). After this pre-master, you also have direct access to our academic master’s programme of Leisure and Tourism Studies. In this way, you can obtain an academic master’s degree in just five years, or even in four years (if you opt for a three-year bachelor’s track)!

During your four years of study, you will work on assignments for real companies. In year 1, you start with projects and from year 2 onwards, these become challenges within tourism themes or other BUas programmes. You will work on these projects and challenges in a learning community. A learning community is a small group of students, lecturers and industry professionals, where students learn by doing, exploring and discovering, and reflecting collaboratively. This way, you will develop skills that you can put to good use later in the business world. In addition, you will work on individual skills. You will also learn how things work in practice through company visits and fieldwork. 

In a project, the process is structured and the end goal is fixed. In a challenge, there is less structure and you decide together with your group what the end goal will be. You often get to design the approach yourself. 

An example of a project might be: how to create a meaningful experience for different target groups for an online travel company, focusing on travel behaviour, wants and needs, and then turning it into a product. You will work with your group to help the client and explore the possibilities together. Of course, this includes some theory and you will actually carry out your project. 

In charge of your own education   
Of course, things do not always go smoothly. Sometimes you get stuck and other times you come up with a brilliant idea. You can always turn to a team of lecturers on our programme who will guide you through your project or challenge, or to your fellow students with whom you work. All feedback, feed-up and feed-forward helps you grow. In other words, you are allowed to make mistakes. You will only learn from them! You will also learn a lot from working together in your group, just like in a real company. Another thing you will learn is taking control and ownership of your own education. With us, you determine the focus of your studies, and how and where you want to learn. This cultivates an independent and proactive work attitude, which is crucial for your future.   

No classes 
You read that right! We have no traditional ‘classroom classes’ and no hourly timetable. Monday (full day), Wednesday (full day) and Friday (morning) are fixed school days where you work with your group on a project or challenge on campus. Apart from that, you will also talk to your lecturers and listen to presentations by fellow students on these three fixed days. On the other days, you will meet with your group or work individually on a study component. If you have any questions, you can contact specialist lecturers. Topics such as tourism knowledge, research skills, business economics and marketing are reflected in the projects or challenges. 
 

The study load amounts to an average of 40 hours per week per year. How many hours students actually spend on their studies differs from person to person and from week to week. You will have 2.5 class days on campus. These are fixed days that remain the same throughout the year. On the other days, you will work on projects on campus or at home.   

Personal development

The Lumina Spark method will help you discover who you are and what you have to offer. You will gain insight into your personal preferences, your behaviour and how you react in different situations. You will learn to look at yourself and others from different perspectives.  

Self-awareness is the basis for many personal and professional skills that you can use in your future personal and working life, such as reflection, effective collaboration, giving feedback, and dealing with stressful situations. By understanding yourself and others better, you take a big step towards success. 

A typical week

A typical week in year 1 of the Tourism Management programme in academic year 2024-2025 will look like this for you: Monday (full day), Wednesday (full day) and Friday (morning) you will work on a project at school in your learning community. During these days, you will follow a fixed and structured schedule of supervised work on your project. During these days, your attendance at school is compulsory. On the other days of the week you will work independently or with your group on individual and group assignments. You will decide for yourself, or in consultation with your group, whether you do this at school or from home. In short, on these days too, you will be actively involved in your education.

Daily structure on Monday (full day) – Wednesday (full day) – Friday (morning):  

• 10.00 to 12.30 hrs: supervised work on your project
• 13.00 to 16.00 hrs: supervised work on your project  

During the projects, you will work together intensively with various lecturers and students. You will receive instructions from your lecturers and be inspired by mini-lectures that will give you the right guidance to do your project well.  

Please note: This description gives a general idea of a typical week of first-year students in the 2024-2025 academic year. No rights can be derived from it. The final study timetable may vary depending on specific circumstances and organisational changes.  

Student well-being
BUas encourages and helps you to make the most of yourself, whatever your circumstances. Maybe you have a chronic illness, are a family carer, a competitive athlete, or juggle your studies with running your own business? Our study coaches, student counsellors and student psychologists are here to help. Do you need extra support or advice? Or extra facilities? Then take a look at the options here.
 
 

From semester 4 in year 2, you can specialise further in the themes you were introduced to in year 1. You choose the theme you want to specialise in by working out challenges. This may be a challenge that lasts one block, but you can also choose to specialise in one theme for the rest of your studies. There are four main specialisation themes:  

• Travel Mobility. Exploring and developing responsible ways of travelling. An example of a challenge is the question: How can you motivate the adventurous traveller to travel by train instead of by plane? What solutions can you come up with - for example, for Eurail - to make rail travel within Europe easier?
• Tourism Hospitality. Exploring and combining new forms of hospitality in tourism. How can you lift hospitality to a higher level and blend it seamlessly into products like cruises, holiday resorts and day trip destinations?  
  Within this theme, you can also opt for Attractions & Theme Parks Management, an English-taught track together with International Facility Management and Leisure & Events Management. You have the option to participate in this track for either one semester or commit to a two-year programme and graduate in it.  
• Destination Development. Designing attractive tourism destinations for both visitors and residents. 
  In this theme, you will ‘Rethink Tourism’ during fieldwork. Your task will be to create sustainable solutions for local tourism businesses that have a positive impact on the destination.
• Travel Experience Design. Transforming travellers’ expectations into unforgettable experiences. 
  Using ‘Design Thinking’, you will solve complex problems for various travel companies, learn to create experience prototypes and do experiments and tests with these. Our Newways training company also falls under this theme. You can opt for a 20-week placement here from year 3. You can also opt for a 40-week placement in your graduation year. At our training company, you will organise a wide variety of trips and events, both business and leisure events.

At BUas, study trips are called fieldwork. This means working in practice; not only seeing destinations and organisations from your classroom chair, but actually experiencing them on location, while demonstrating the competencies you have learned at the same time. On-site learning and internationalisation are important, if not indispensable as part of your Tourism Management studies and super valuable for your own personal development and creativity.  

In year 1, you travel to Belgium, for example to Bruges or Antwerp. In year 2, you travel within or outside Europe. Last year, year 2 fieldwork took place in Ghent, Lisbon and Bali, but the destination may vary every year.  

In addition, during your studies, you can visit the Holiday Fair (Vakantiebeurs) in Utrecht and the international tourism fairs in London (WTM) or Berlin (ITB).  

Why fieldwork, company visits and tourism fairs?  

• Learning in practice makes learning more personal and meaningful by helping you connect learning to your own life.   
• It stimulates your creativity by making you think about unique solutions to problems, ensuring a richer learning experience.   
• You also get the chance to reflect on your actions and their consequences, which helps you better understand and apply the concepts you have learned in different situations such as your placement or future job.  
• In addition, you will learn that making mistakes is an important part of the learning process and nothing to be afraid of.   
• Practical experience speeds up the learning process, because it strengthens the connections in your brain, which makes for faster and more effective learning.   

You will benefit from the intensive three-year programme in two respects: you gain one year in time, and save one year of tuition fees.

• after vwo (pre-university education) or after another propaedeutic year in another degree programme (economic focus): you will start in year 2 and also receive basic knowledge and skills from the propaedeutic phase.
• for Dutch students only: tailor-made track for havo graduates: you will start your course of study at De Rooi Pannen (mbo level) and you will proceed at Breda University of Applied Sciences in year 2 of the regular four-year programme.

Three-year programme after pre-university education or after propaedeutic year

The differences between the three- and four-year programme can mainly be found in your first year of study. The three-year programme starts with modules from the second year of the regular programme. To ensure that basic knowledge of the propaedeutic phase is covered, some additional classes are scheduled and relevant study material is made available to you. Furthermore you will receive a short introduction to the hospitality industry with practical components in our in-house training company.

Mhbo track for havo pupils

Are you almost finished with ‘havo’ but in doubt about a direct transfer to ‘hbo’? Then we have a solution for you: an mhbo track. Together with De Rooi Pannen, BUas offers a programme that allows you to obtain an ‘mbo’ diploma (level 4) and an ‘hbo’ diploma in your field of interest in five years!

If you are thinking of further education in tourism, media or the events industry, you may want to consider this option: mhbo Tourism | Leisure | Creative Business

You take this fast-track level 4 programme at De Rooi Pannen in Tilburg or Breda. After two years, you will obtain your ‘mbo’ diploma and have a choice of three ‘hbo’ programmes at BUas. Here you will enter in the second year: 

• hbo (professional) bachelor Creative Business
• hbo (professional) bachelor Leisure & Events Management  
• hbo (professional) bachelor Tourism Management

In other words, you have a little more time to discover your talent: you don’t have to choose your ‘hbo’ programme until after two years. 

 

 

This programme is available in Dutch and English. If you choose English, you will join an international class. The mix of students and lecturers from the Netherlands and abroad naturally brings more attention to intercultural differences; not only in education but also in international projects and excursions. This enhances international cooperation and atmosphere, preparing you even better for an international career. 

In the Dutch-language programme, it may happen that you take projects or guest lectures in English. In addition, some of the literature used may be in English. The working language on our campus is English. 

At BUas you are trained to become an entrepreneurial professional. In all the professional bachelor’s programmes, you are given the opportunity to develop your entrepreneurial skills. Alongside your studies, you can join BUas Startup Support, BUSS. BUSS organises (networking) events and connects student startup entrepreneurs, there is even the possibility to apply for guidance from your own startup coach.

You can also graduate within BUas with your own company! Every academy offers this opportunity, though a selection process may apply. Maybe, by that time, you already have a small profitable business or have plans to start one? BUas Startup Support can help you.

More information on how to start your own business.