Tourism
 Tourism (Major).jpg)
UCAS Code: Combined Honours only – see combinations tab|Duration: 3 years|Full Time|Hope Park
UCAS Campus Code: L46
Work placement opportunities|International students can apply|Study Abroad opportunities
About the course
Tourism is one of the world’s largest industries and has become one of its biggest sources of employment. Our Tourism degree examines the industry from both management and academic perspectives. It looks at contemporary issues such as the structure of the tourism industry; the relationship between tourism and its host environments and cultures; the evolving trends in consumer behaviour; tourism destination management and global tourism development.
Liverpool is an ideal place to study tourism as the city is home to a number of key tourist attractions in the UK, such as the Royal Albert Dock and waterfront, Tate Liverpool, Premier League football, National Museums Liverpool and the Beatles legacy. The city’s year as European Capital of Culture in 2008, has also contributed to continued growth of the city’s tourism sector. Therefore, due to the dynamic nature of the city’s tourism industry, there are constant opportunities to explore and investigate contemporary aspects of an international destination on your doorstep.
We pay close attention to enhancing your student experience and facilitating effective student learning. You will be taught by a team of tutors with a wide range of industry and academic experience of Tourism. Tutors take pride in being available to students and offering a high level of support. Our degree curriculum embeds material which aims to not only provide an in-depth, up-to-date knowledge on tourism, but also to refine critical thinking and develop your key transferable skills. We work closely with a wide range of tourism stakeholders to ensure that students gain insight into the ongoing management and delivery of a successful tourism destination.
A Placement Year option is available for this course. Undertaking a placement year as part of your degree programme offers you the opportunity to gain valuable work experience alongside your studies.
Course structure
Teaching on this degree is structured into lectures, where all students are taught together, seminars of smaller groups of around 20-25 students, and tutorials which typically have no more than 10 students. There are also a number of fieldtrips each year, as well as the opportunity to have a one-to-one meeting with your tutor each week.
In your first year there are approximately 12 teaching hours each week, which reduces to approximately 10 teaching hours in your second and third years. On top of teaching hours, you are also expected to spend a number of hours studying independently each week, as well as group study to prepare for any group assessments you may have.
Accreditation
All Tourism degrees, which includes the Tourism major as a combined honours option, are accredited by the Tourism Management Institute (TMI), the professional association for the destination management sector.
Professional Membership
Liverpool Hope University is a member of the Association for Tourism in Higher Education (ATHE), the subject association for tourism in higher education in the UK. Its objectives include promoting the development and recognition of tourism as a subject of study in the UK at foundation degree, undergraduate, postgraduate and doctoral levels, and encouraging high standards in learning, teaching and research.
Assessment and feedback
Throughout your three years of study, you will have a number of assessments, including written exams at the end of each year, reports, essays and portfolios. In your final year, you will also complete an honours project which will either be a research project or integrated dissertation (with your other subject).
You will be given written feedback on your assessments, and you will have the opportunity to discuss this with your tutor in more detail.
Year One
World Regions: Understanding the World
You will investigate selected world regions and explore themes and topics at a range of scales (global to local) including, for example, the environment (physical and human); globalisation and development; geopolitics; human processes (social, cultural, economic); and tourism dimensions.
Hazards, Risk and Society
You will investigate various dimensions of vulnerability and resilience in relation to the risks associated with natural hazards. These will be explored particularly from a social and cultural perspective and will consider aspects such as impacts on, for example, society; communities; culture; heritage; urban environments; tourism destinations; and tourists.
Exploring Geography and Tourism
You will investigate a range of themes and topics, for example, interpreting and representing the world/place/space; understanding natural and human processes (including tourism) and their interactions; sustainable development and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (consideration of geographical and tourism contexts); and data analysis (including statistics and spatial data analysis).
Fieldwork (residential and/or non-residential)
Year Two
Niche and Alternative Forms of Tourism
An exploration of new and alternative forms of tourism, including heritage and cultural tourism; dark tourism; volunteer and backpacking tourism.
Contemporary Human Geographies and Tourism
An exploration of, for example, contemporary social, economic, cultural and environmental contexts (eg socio-cultural awareness; urban/economic geography; urban regeneration; and tourism dimensions).
Research Methods
An exploration of a range of qualitative and quantitative research methods, which considers data collection and data analysis.
Fieldwork (residential and/or non-residential)
Year Three
Destination Management
An exploration of global trends and advances in destination management, for example, strategic marketing, planning and management of destinations; organisational management principles and practices at international destinations and attractions; as well as, economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts on destinations.
International Fieldwork
You will undertake fieldwork internationally. Past countries have included Malta. Following a brief introduction to the international fieldwork destination, this will comprise the design and execution of individual project-based fieldwork involving data collection relating to a negotiated topic of relevance to the destination.
Honours Project (integrated dissertation/research project)
As a combined honours student you have the option to either complete a research project or integrated dissertation (in combination with your other subject).
Entry requirements
| A-Levels | BCC |
|---|---|
| UCAS Tariff Points | 104 UCAS Tariff points must come from a minimum of two A Levels (or equivalent). Additional points can be made up from a range of alternative qualifications |
| BTEC | DMM |
| Access to HE | 104 Tariff Points |
| IB | 24 |
| Irish Leaving Certificate | 104 Tariff Points from Higher Level qualifications only |
| Welsh Baccalaureate | This qualification can only be accepted in conjunction with other relevant qualifications |
| T-Levels | Merit |
| Subject Requirements | No specific subject requirements |
International entry requirements
| Specific Country Requirements | Select your country |
|---|---|
| IELTS | 6.0 overall (with reading and writing at 6.0) and no individual score lower than 5.5. We also accept a wide range of International Qualifications. For more information, please visit our English Language Requirements page. |
Careers
The global expansion of the tourism industry means there will continue to be a need for trained graduates in this field.
Graduates in Tourism are well suited to a wide variety of careers within the industry, including tourism marketing, arts/heritage/attractions management, tour operations, tourism product development, public sector tourism, urban regeneration, resort/destination management, transportation, or hotel and hospitality management. Many of our graduates have found employment in the tourism industry in Liverpool.
In addition, studying Tourism develops valuable transferable skills, which prepare students for many graduate jobs and for other careers in both the private and public sectors.
There are also increasing opportunities to study Tourism at postgraduate level and an increasing number of our students go on to train to be teachers of tourism.
Enhancement opportunities
Work Placement Opportunities
In your final year, your Honours Project can be completed through a work placement. This placement enables you to gain relevant work experience so that you can apply your tourism knowledge and experiences into a work setting. Please note that you must organise this work placement yourself.
SALA
The Service and Leadership Award is offered as an extra-curricular programme involving service-based experiences, development of leadership potential and equipping you for a career in a rapidly changing world. It enhances your degree, it is something which is complimentary but different and which has a distinct ‘value-added’ component. Find out more on our Service and Leadership Award page.
Study Abroad
As part of your degree, you can choose to spend either a semester or a full year of study at one of our partner universities as part of our Study Abroad programme. Find out more on our Study Abroad page.
Tuition fees
The tuition fees for the 2025/26 academic year are £9,535* for full-time undergraduate courses.
If you are a student from the Isle of Man or the Channel Islands, your tuition fees will also be £9,535*.
The University reserves the right to increase Home and EU Undergraduate and PGCE tuition fees in line with any inflationary or other increase authorised by the Secretary of State for future years of study.
*subject to Council approval.
Additional costs
As well as your tuition fees, you need to consider the costs associated with compulsory and optional residential and other fieldwork trips. Cost depends on the nature of the fieldwork or location, but we estimate you will need around £400. You also need to budget for key textbooks (approximately £200).
You will also need to consider the cost of your accommodation each year whilst you study at university. Visit our accommodation pages for further details about our Halls of Residence.
Scholarships
We have a range of scholarships to help with the cost of your studies. Visit our scholarships page to find out more.
International tuition fees
The International Tuition fees for 2025/26 are £14,500.
Visit our International fees page for more information.
Course combinations
This course is only available as a Combined Honours degree with the following subjects:
| Degree Title |
|---|
| Tourism and Business Management |
| Tourism and Creative Industries Business Management |
| Tourism and International Relations |
| Tourism and Media & Communication |