AS/A2 Travel and Tourism

AS/A2 Travel and Tourism
AS/A2
The travel and tourism industry continues to grow worldwide. Countries and industries have invested heavily in new means of transport and infrastructure: at the same time, concerns such as the environment and eco-travel draw more attention. At a local level. Cambridge attracts tourists from across the world. This course examines the travel and tourism sectors and the issues they currently face. It prepares you for work in the tourism industry or for further study. It is taught by qualified and experienced teachers and combines practical and academic work. You will have an opportunity to consult a range of specialist books, publications and websites and make contacts in the industry.

AS Course Content
The AS course comprises two modules. For Module 1, you will study either a or b:

1a. Customer Service in Travel and Tourism

How to achieve excellent customer service e.g. as an overseas representative, starting with Disability Awareness Training. The module continues with a variety of practical work.

Assessment: coursework plus detailed evaluation of a company's customer service, including a mystery shopper exercise.

1b. Travel DestinationsYou will learn about the appeal of UK, short-haul and long-haul destinations, for example, Leeds, Amsterdam, Barcelona and Dubai.Assessment: coursework
2. Introduction to Travel and Tourism

This introduces you to the public, private and voluntary sectors of the industry and the skills and qualities you need to work in it. You will also learn the key industry terms and ideas ad well as examine case studies of a range of destinations.

Assessment: examination.

A2 Course Content
The A2 course comprises a further two modules:
1. Trends and Issues in Travel and Tourism

You will carry out in-depth research on a current issue or trend in Travel and Tourism e.g. the impact of global warming on Tourism, the impact of fuel surcharges, the growth of the â€-youth' market etc. You will produce an extended project which uses both primary and secondary sources, and shows that you can work individually with teacher help.

Assessment: coursework
2. Tourism Impacts and Tourism Development

In this unit you will explore the growth of tourism in different countries e.g. Antigua, Vietnam, Spain and Turkey. Tourism creates impacts which bring both benefits and problems, and you will learn to evaluate these through case studies. You will also learn about responsible tourism and sustainable tourism.

Assessment: examination

Is Travel and Tourism for you?
You will enjoy and benefit from Travel and Tourism if you:

l are interested in working in this, or related, areas;

l take an interest in travel and the reason people travel;

l are interested in a variety of different destinations and different customers

l wish to develop the skills needed to provide excellent customer service and to prepare to work as an overseas representative or as a tour guide;

l are willing to carry out both practical and academic work and are confident about sitting examinations.

Travel and Tourism and your future
Roughly equal numbers of our Travel and Tourism students go to university and into local employment. University courses include International Tourism Management, Business Tourism, Tour Operations Management etc. The transferable business skills from this course are useful in many jobs e.g. high quality customer service, Disability Awareness Training, telephone technique, performing risk assessments and good IT skills.