Tourism Management

Bachelor
4 years
Full-time
Dutch
English

Will you make a difference in the future of tourism? This professional bachelor’s programme focuses on promoting innovative and sustainable tourism through experience design and technology. Are you ready to become a changemaker striving for positive change in worldwide tourism?   

Just think of creating cool travel concepts, in which you pay special attention to memorable experiences, sustainable practices, and unique places to stay. Make travel fun and responsible by making people aware of how they travel. Think about how you can create a positive impact to make both the destination and the tourist ready for the future. Discover and combine new ways of hospitality in tourism to exceed travellers' expectations, giving them lasting memories. During this course, you will not only learn about tourism, but also actively experience it. 

You can also attend the Tourism Management programme in Dutch. 

Come and meet us

Walking around on campus is the best way to truly experience BUas. Sign up for one of the upcoming events or activities.

 

What do you learn in this study programme?

Discover the Tourism Management programme

Discover the Tourism Management programme in an interactive story. Swipe through the shorts, see what you can become later and take the quiz to see if this study suits you!
 

 

Check out the interactive story

Study overview

Year 1

Year 1 is made up of two semesters, spread over four nine-week blocks. Each block, you will work on a new project that introduces you to the dynamic field of tourism.

Block 1: Travel Experience Design

In this block, you will learn how to turn travellers' expectations into unforgettable travel experiences. This begins online, where we trigger feelings of 'wanderlust' in holidaymakers looking for travel experiences. 'Wanderlust' stands for the desire to step out of one’s own world for a while and experience something different. It is the urge to travel. If you can turn that into a fantastic product that travellers will want to book, then you are exactly what the tourism industry is after.  

An assignment within this theme may be creating a new, meaningful travel concept for a small travel business or a big one like TUI.

Block 2: Destination Development

In this block, you take the step from visiting a destination to understanding a destination. In other words, during this project, you will do research at the destination itself, which we call fieldwork. You will discover the story behind the destination. And you will present your results in the form of a short film or documentary during the 'Untold Stories' film festival.

Block 3: Travel Mobility

In this block, you will tackle the challenge of how we can travel - discovering the world and ourselves - while protecting the environment. You will explore the current landscape of tourism and travel and brainstorm ways to shake things up. Who and what do you need to consider? What trends and opportunities have the potential to reshape the way we travel – not only at the destination itself, but also the journey to get there? How do we make travel greener without losing the fun factor for everyone?

Block 4:  Tourism Hospitality

You will look for new forms of hospitality in the context of tourism and leisure. We are all familiar with the idea of hospitality, but what exactly is it? What do tourists expect in this area today? Boundaries are blurring, with trends like ‘workation’, blending business and leisure. You will learn to experience the essence of hospitality in order to then use what you’ve learned to create ‘the holiday homes, safari tents or glamping lodges of tomorrow’.


To video presentation

Year 2, 3 and 4

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 projects.
    In semester 4: choice of tourism challenges or challenges in another BUas programme, exchange, minor, placement or specialisation. 

Year 3

  • In semester 5: choice of tourism challenges or challenges in another BUas programme, exchange, placement, placement or specialisation.
  • In semester 6: tourism challenges or challenges in another BUas programme, exchange, placement, placement or specialisation.  

Year 4

  • In semester 7: choice of tourism challenges or challenges in another BUas programme, exchange, traineeship, minor or graduation project.  
  • In semester 8: choice of tourism challenges or challenges in another BUas programme, exchange, traineeship, minor or graduation project.  

The basic 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

From the second year, you can choose to pursue the two-year Attractions & Theme Parks Management (ATPM) track. This is a specialisation offered to students from the Tourism Management, Facility Management, and Leisure & Events Management programmes.

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 great 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 products and services to create added value for both visitors 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 is to make the right combinations and come up with something that makes you stand out and builds goodwill. An example? Zoos are making a turn towards a more ethical and educational approach, whereas museums are adding a bit more experience and interaction. And theme parks try to immerse people in complete themed worlds. Digitalisation, AI and sustainability are playing an increasing role at all parks, and we also pay a lot of attention to these themes within BUas. 

What will you do?
You will dive into the world of marketing, finance, workforce planning and safety, because you need that 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 course 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. 

More information can be found on the website of Attractions & Theme Parks Management.

Social Innovation

Starting in your second year, you can dive into the three-year Social Innovation track. This is an ideal choice for anyone studying Tourism, Facility or Leisure & Events who is socially conscious and eager to make a meaningful contribution.  

Social Innovation is all about coming up with solutions with people, not just for them. You will team up with fellow students in the Performatory on campus to brainstorm creative solutions to societal issues in areas like health, equality, human rights, and the environment.

Examples of project challenges include:

  • Finding ways for tourism to benefit local communities
  • Organising a dance party for people experiencing homelessness 
  • Designing future-ready workspaces

You will tackle real-world problems for all kinds of organisations, just think of sports events organisers, theatres, museums, festivals, and also healthcare institutions and governments. You will often work across different sectors, collaborating with new people while expanding both your network and experience.

Social Innovation at BUas boasts a vibrant community with diverse backgrounds and areas of expertise. A unique aspect of this track is that you get to shape your own learning journey.

You will choose your own topics and projects within a clear framework. Each year, you will engage in about eight hands-on projects, utilising design-thinking skills. What’s more, you will work in self-chosen teams, mixing with students from other years and programmes.

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)!

Teaching method

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. 


 

Study load and coaching

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.
 
 

Specialisations

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.

Field trips and excursions

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.   


 

Three-year and tailor-made tracks

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 1 and skip two semesters from the second semester of year 2.
  • 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

If you have a vwo diploma and meet the programme requirements, you can do the Tourism Management programme in three years (accelerated track). This is also possible with an hbo or wo propaedeutic certificate in an economic discipline. Send an e-mail to [email protected] for more information. 

With the accelerated route, you start in year 1. After the first semester of year 2, you skip two semesters. Because you can choose the structure of your programme yourself, you then have the freedom to organise the remaining three semesters as you wish. The accelerated track also includes a work placement of at least 20 weeks (one semester). 

With this background, you will also qualify for our three-year academic programme Bachelor of Science Tourism.

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. 

 

 

 

 


 

Dutch- versus English-taught education

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. 

Entrepreneurship

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.

What makes this study programme unique

Admission & application

What are the admission requirements?

To be admitted to this degree programme, you need a havo or vwo diploma with an appropriate profile or an equivalent of these Dutch diplomas. You can also be admitted with an equivalent of level-4 mbo diploma. 

  • Check out the complete admission requirements and the possibilities if you do not meet the requirements
  • Additional requirements have been set for the 3-year track.

Information about admission requirements

 

What does this study programme cost?

In the academic year 2025-2026 the statutory tuition fee for bachelor's programmes is €2,601. In addition, you should take extra costs for software, excursions, etc. into account.

Information about study costs

 

How can I apply?

If you meet the admission requirements, you can apply for this study programme. If you do so before 1 May, you can certainly start your studies.

More information about applying

Find out if this study programme suits you

Do you want to know if Tourism Management is the right study choice for you?

Within five minutes you will find out if this hbo programme is the right fit for you!


Take the quiz

I studied in Mexico

What I like most is that you work in groups on projects and you have the freedom to decide on your own learning pathway. You also get the opportunity to gain experience abroad. So I definitely took advantage of that! I spent a few months studying in Mexico through an exchange programme. And I've also already found out what I want to do, I would like to work as a product manager at a tour operator.

Elise Schuurmans

Fourth-year student

I love the international vibe

I love the international vibe on our campus. In two hours, I can have a chat with an Italian student about her thesis, a coffee break with a Brazilian colleague and a project meeting with colleagues from Barcelona. But what I enjoy the most is discussing with students, hearing what they think about topics, such as sustainability, intercultural understanding, and the impact of tourism. It also allows me to keep up with the line of thinking of younger generations.

Simone Moretti

Researcher and lecturer Tourism Management

It’s a cool job, which I owe to my work placement

“I am operationally responsible for the Symbolica attraction and for the 50 colleagues working there. I organise Recruitment & Selection events, make sure the planning is right and that my team can work well and enjoyably. With the Strategy & Innovation department, I look at what we can do to make the guest experience even better and what investments are needed for this. It’s a cool job, which I actually owe to my work placement. After that I applied for this position of Operational Team Lead. I hadn’t finished my studies at the time, which was quite tough, but I managed!” 

Naomi Tang

Alumna, studied Attractions & Theme Parks Management

What can you do after your studies?

Tourism is a ‘people’s business’. It’s all about people, hospitality and experiences. But also about business skills, creativity and organisational talent. You can pursue a career as advisor, manager, marketer or purchaser in the tourism industry.

More information about options after your studies