Tourism Management | SAXION UNIVERSITY

First year

The courses you attend are built around business cases. You explore the changing field of tourism, analyze the value creation of a certain company and specify the  characteristics of different tourists. You will study these issues from an economic, social and spatial-environmental point of view, in order to come up with creative solutions, sound advice, or a detailed plan of action. Technology, research, languages, communication and hospitality are standard aspects of each business case.

Second to fourth year

Having spent the first year learning the basics, you are now ready to tackle subjects in more depth by exploring issues, challenges and problems. In the remaining three years of the programme, you will focus on various cases – some of which are mandatory and others which you may choose.

In response to all the changes in the industry, the Tourism Management programme has a newly designed programme, build around issues and real-life cases from an extensive network of international businesses in the tourism industry. This flexible programme puts you in charge of your own study career, since you can choose which cases you want to work on. Every case comes with multiple subjects. Therefore, instead of working on a different case in every class, you work on the same case from several different angles. 

Subjects from these core cases include: Finance, Communication Skills, Business English and Research Skills. You can opt for subjects including: Marketing, Business  Planning, Communication Skills and Hospitality Performance. By choosing specific subjects in the context of  tourism and hospitality, you develop your own personal profile.

Besides the core and elective subjects, you might want to specialize in a particular area; we can help you to become an expert on:

Heritage tourism, Cruise  tourism, or E-business. 

In an international environment you should of course master foreign languages. Besides English we offer a choice of Spanish, German, French and Mandarin Chinese. Apart from German and French, all languages start at elementary level.

You are obliged to obtain at least 30 credits abroad. This means that you have to study or work in a traineeship outside of the Netherlands for at least one semester.

Fast track (2 years)

The International tourism management course is also offered as a short degree program, this is a transition program for students who already started bachelor education in another country at another university.

Entrance to the short degree programme requires:

A minimum of three years of higher education (leading to a bachelor's degree) in Tourism or Hotel Management, or a closely related field such as consumer affairs, catering management, or other related management fields.

A study path will be determined (how many and which semesters) based on previous education, knowledge and/or vocational experience.

All courses and examinations will be in English, so you need a good command of spoken and written English.

As an international applicant, you will also be required to demonstrate sufficient results of one of these tests:

IELTS test (minimum overall band score of 6.0, and minimum subscore of 6.0 for speaking)

 TOEFL test (minimum score of 80 internet-based, and minimum subscore of 20 for speaking)

CAE (Cambridge Advanced Certificate), or CPE (Certificate of Proficiency in English)

Greek high school diploma (Apolityrio Genikou Lykeio), with a general grade of at least 10.  It is recommended that you have studied subjects such as economics, languages and/or management at secondary-school level.

The student must demonstrate that they have the ability, motivation and determination to successfully complete the course. To be able to enroll into the first year of the programme, you will have to do a compulsory Saxion study choice check.

Applying for the September courses of the academic year 2018-2019 will be possible until the application deadline April 15, 2018.

In case you have not obtained your secondary school diploma yet, you can already apply by submitting your current grade list.

We encourage European students to find their own accommodation.

However, in case you would like to have everything arranged in time and want to immerse yourself in international student life, we offer the possibility to reserve a room in one of our international student houses. In all three cities we have contracts with the local student housing associations. They provide Saxion with accommodation with rooms, which may vary in size. The rooms are all single rooms and furnished with basic facilities like bed, desk, chair and cupboard. All accommodations have an internet connection. The bathroom, toilet and kitchen need to be shared with other international Saxion students, max. 6 students share common facilities.

You can apply for a room as soon as you have been admitted or conditionally admitted. The deadline for applying for Saxion accommodation is 1 May 2018. After this date, it is no longer possible to reserve a room and you will be put on a waiting list.

Bachelor programmes: 15 August 2018 – 1 August 2019, total rental fee: € 5,000 (11.5 months). You are allowed to pay your rental fee in installments.

The tourism  industry is rapidly changing. Traditional professions are evolving and  some are even disappearing. The focus is shifting from clear professions to key roles, such as that of Entrepreneur, Data Miner (developer of marketing programs that analyze and explain customer data), or Director. In such roles you can work all over the world within a wide variety of traditional and non-traditional companies where hospitality is essential. Examples include a travel agency, consultancy firm, tour operator, government, events organization, or theme parks and innovative  travel (tech)  startups.

Do you want to continue studying after Tourism Management? Then you can enrol in a connecting master programme, whether in business, management studies or a specialization within tourism. If you want to do this abroad, you can usually start straightaway. If you choose to further your studies at a research university in the Netherlands, a pre-master may be required.