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MBA - Tourism Management

Aimed at existing industry professionals seeking to optimise their career potential, our MBA in Tourism Management is designed in consultation with regional and national businesses operating in a range of sectors across the tourism industry.

Develop an operational and strategic understanding of tourism management, in line with modern challenges and issues confronting businesses operating in this dynamic and fast moving industry.

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Accredited by:

Tourism Management Institute

Course Overview

The course provides you with the opportunity to enhance and extend your existing knowledge and expertise by focusing on the critical areas of success in the tourism industry. Each module provides you with a ‘toolkit’ for modelling what successful tourism sector provision looks like in this highly diverse industry with multiple stakeholders and widely differing agendas.

On this course you will...

Develop and deepen your knowledge and understanding of the tourism industry.
Examine cutting edge thinking and practice across the tourism sector.
Extend your critical thinking, conceptual thinking and reasoning skills relating to effective leadership and management within the tourism industry.
Enhance your employability, career potential and personal effectiveness.
Further develop and refine your ability to carry out independent research in the field of tourism management.

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Key Details

Recruiting toUK / RoI / Settled in UK
EU / EEA / International
Course LocationAmbleside
Institute Institute of Business, Industry and Leadership
Mode of DeliveryBlended Learning
Course DurationFull-time: 1 Year
Part-time: 2 Years
Course Start PointSeptember
AwardMBA
More informationProgramme Specification
Prospectus
Open DaysAmbleside
All

Minimum entry requirements

2:2 or equivalent

Honours degree

Tuition fees

£13,250

UK |

2025 - 2026

£16,900

International |

Tuition Fees Policy

Course Structure

What you will learn

On this programme, you will learn the relevant knowledge and understanding of organisations and the external context in which they operate. Develop the management and operational skills necessary to shape the dynamic and organic changes within your sector of the tourism industry. You will have the opportunity to explore a specialist area through a range of optional modules that explore the development, planning and management of specific businesses.

Throughout, you will learn to integrate new knowledge within both an organisational and departmental context. You will explore concepts of sustainability within the context of space and place, particularly the English Lake District. This programme will equip you with the tools you need to become an effective and successful manager and researcher.

Modules

In addition to the core modules that make up the programme, you may opt to study two modules that focus on a key sector of industry, allowing you to build your expertise as a manager and develop your creativity, problem solving, interpersonal and strategic thinking capabilities, ensuring that you can have a positive impact on any company you work for.

Explore our range of specialised pathways:

If you would like to develop your in-depth knowledge of a sector or a particular area of expertise, you can choose to study one of four specialist areas of study:

Heritage and Culture
Sustainable Tourism
Cultural Events
Hotel Management

Each specialism has 2 unique modules which can be found listed below. If you choose one of the above specialised areas of study this will be reflected in your final award.

Compulsory modules

Tourism Innovation and Entrepreneurship
Investigate the theory and practice of entrepreneurship within the tourism industry.
Destination Marketing
Explore a range of concepts associated with destination marketing and the strategies that can be applied by destinations and businesses seeking to enhance their distinctiveness in a highly competitive marketplace.
Managing the Visitor Experience
Consider the complexities associated with engaging the tourist/visitor across a range of settings and ‘servicescapes’ and identify the management interventions required to generate positive experiences and minimise impacts.
Contemporary Issues in Tourism Management
Explore the often contradictory issues affecting the contemporary tourism industry with those of the consumers of the product.
Applied Research Methods
Get prepared for industry-based research that can generate and justify innovative and practical solutions that have a positive impact on business performance.
Applied Industry Project
Demonstrate you skills, knowledge and professionalism by working with an industry partner in a real world environment.

Pathway modules

Heritage and Culture

Managing Heritage Attractions
Explore the increasing utilisation of heritage and cultural resources as visitor attractions in both urban and rural locations in the UK and abroad.
Regional Literary Tourism, Culture and Heritage
Gain an understanding of the influence of key writers and literary texts on the development of a regional ‘place myth’ (Urry) and on subsequent literary tourism and cultural heritage.

Pathway modules

Sustainable Tourism

Sustainable and Strategic Collaboration in Tourism
Investigate and apply the theory and practice of sustainability and collaboration in tourism related business settings.
Transformational Tourism
Consider the most up to date thinking in relation to sustainable travel and tourism by focusing on the potential for tourism to transform organisations and destinations through increasingly greater levels of change.

Pathway modules

Cultural Events

Festival Management
Explore all aspects of the event lifecycle from concept to delivery and identify the factors that contribute to a successful event.
Events and Rural Regeneration
Work with a live client at a local level to evaluate the impacts of events; the challenges involved in managing stakeholder expectations and the implications for long term sustainability.

Pathway modules

Hotel Management

Strategic Hotel Management
Develop the decision making skills attached to generating a strategic vision and managing business performance in an increasingly fragmented and dynamic operating environment.
Sustainable Supply Chain Management
Consider the supply chain of all goods and services that culminate in the hotel guest experience and operate through business to business relationships that potentially combine to deliver sustainable improvements alongside financial performance.

Teaching & Assessment

How you will learn

The MBA in Tourism Management provides you with flexible learning options that include online study materials and face-to-face-teaching offered in a 3 day block at our stunning Ambleside campus. All modules are delivered by our team of subject experts, all of whom have industry and academic expertise.

This programme integrates theory and practice by providing inputs to the student learning from guest speakers, lectures, practising managers and through supporting assessment.

Students will have opportunities to give and receive peer review on formative assessment and will be guided throughout in developing their skills in this vocational aspect of their personal development.

Primarily, delivery is face to face. However, good use is made of the University’s VLE and other learning resources such as e-portfolio to support teaching and learning. Our academic team uses a wide range of teaching methods including lectures, seminars, workshops, field work, work-based learning including placements, employer based case studies, live projects, guided learning, simulations, discussion groups including virtual forums and other digital formats.

How you will be assessed

You will be assessed on your achievement of the programme learning outcomes, which, in turn, are achieved by meeting the learning outcomes of the modules.

The assessment of the programme learning outcomes will therefore be achieved by assessment at the module level. Selection of the methods for assessment will be determined by the requirements of each individual module and the rationale for selection of those methods will be left to the module specifications.

A key aspect of the programme is that you are able to convert your learning by critically reflecting on practice and experience, in line with the QAA benchmark statements.

This is achieved through both formative and summative reflection throughout the programme. You are expected to be able to demonstrate a range of cognitive and intellectual skills together with techniques specific to business management. You should also be able to demonstrate relevant personal and interpersonal skills. A variety of assessment methods are used to ensure you have achieved the outcomes related to knowledge and understanding, including:

Essays
Exams
Portfolios
Case Studies
Reports
Presentations (Oral and Posters)
Assignments
Dissertation

Fees & Funding

Tuition Fees

2025 - 2026

£13,250 - UK
£16,900 - International

The figures above don't include accommodation and living costs.

Tuition fees are set annually and are subject to review each year. The University may therefore raise tuition fees in the second or subsequent years of a course, in line with inflation and/or the maximum permitted by law or Government policy. Students will be notified of any changes as soon as possible.

International Finance

At the University of Cumbria, we offer affordable tuition fees for international and EU students looking to study at one of our main four campuses. No matter your choice of course or career path, our International Team is here to support you.

Funding

Overseas and EU fees are £15,000; for more details please contact international.admissions@cumbria.ac.uk

Note: fees exclude travel, meals and accommodation.

Scholarships & Bursaries

The University of Cumbria are offering £11,000 towards tuition fees as part of the GREAT Scholarships, funded in partnership with the UK government’s GREAT Britain Campaign and the British Council.

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More Information

We have a wide range of scholarships, bursaries, grants and funds available to support you throughout your studies with us. This includes the Cumbria Bursary - a non-repayable bursary designed to support first year students with a household income of less than £25,000..

Student Finance

Additional Costs

There will be some additional costs. For example all students will need to purchase stationery and may wish to purchase some text books. Extra costs may also be applicable to cover field trips, membership fees etc. although such features are usually options within the course.

Books are reviewed annually and are therefore subject to change, course welcome information will provide you with an indicative list for the year.

Books and Journals

Most core text books are available via the University's library, however students may wish to buy copies of any texts used to support your learning on your course. This could cost between £50 - £100 per year.

Stationery

Students should budget for stationery and consumables for your own personal use. This should include notebooks, pens and pencils for taking notes in class and/or in the field. Students should also budget for the purchase of USB pen drives, as well as occasional printing and photocopying costs incurred in the preparation or submission of coursework. Whilst you will choose how much you need, expect to pay around £30 - £40 per year for these items.

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Location
Ambleside Campus
Nestled in the Lake District National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, the Ambleside campus is the perfect place for world-savers, animal lovers, and adventurers. There is never a dull moment when surrounded by such natural beauty and opportunity.
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MBA - Tourism Management