Advanced Certificate in Tourism

Core studies cover the fundamentals of tourism alongside a Research Project you shape around your own interests. Electives let you specialise in ecotourism, adventure tourism, hotel and food and beverage management, or niche areas such as garden and farm tourism. Suitable for those planning a broad career across the tourism industry rather than one narrow specialism.

Learn to manage the provision and delivery of tours, ecotourism, event management Compulsory Modules These modules provide foundation knowledge for the Advanced Certificate in Tourism. Food and Beverage Management BTR102 Research Project I BGN102 Sales Management BBS102 Tourism 1 BTR103 Hotel Management BTR202 Tourism II Special Interest Tourism BTR204 Ecotourism Tour Guide Course BTR301 Elective Modules In addition to the core modules, students study any 2 of the following modules. Industry Project BIP000 Bookkeeping Foundations (Bookkeeping I) BBS103 Ecotour Management BTR101 Health & Fitness I BRE101 Supervision VBS104 Wedding Planning BTR104 Bar Service VTR204 Event Management BRE209 Food Preparation - Foundations of Cooking BRE212 Leisure Facility Management I BRE205 Food Processing and Technology BSS301 Course Duration: 900 hours of self-paced learning Learn to Organise People and Manage Resources Tourism businesses are mostly about introducing clients to nature in a safe and controlled context. To do this properly often requires engaging and organising the right staff in a way that delivers a preconceived and well managed service. To do this requires learning - firstly for yourself as the tour manager; then for your tour guides in the context of each tour. Staffing an Tourism Business Many tourism businesses are considered micro-business. That is they may be a one or two man business, or may employ casual staff seasonally while a few may employ a great many staff. Like any business, the ecotourism operation will only be as good as its staff, and considering the unique positions that the ecotourism staff will occupy, it is one business where it is imperative that the staff employed are of the highest quality and reliability. Job Descriptions Hiring the Right Person A well developed job description provides several functions: helps determine exactly what the role entails. This will be developed by logical grouping of like tasks together assists with recruitment and identifying training needs reduces the risks of potentially discriminating against employees by have a clearly demarcated job outline and skill expectations reduces the risk of employing an unsuitable staff member When preparing a job description there are four main factors (see sample below): the description of the actual job duties to be performed requirements to be met attributes that are desirable Example of a Job Description Lead extended trekking expeditions in the Himalayan Mountains (Bhutan, Nepal, Tibet and India) Duties include: provide input into expedition planning and organisation organisation of all equipment required; including safety checks organisation of porters, catering and other arrangements as required in destination country provide pre-departure safety, environmental and travel education guide as required on treks provide group leadership as required including monitoring group dynamics, safety, health and wellbeing on trek Requirements: in-depth knowledge of regions and trekking routes including cultural and geographical knowledge Wilderness First Aid Wilderness and Mountain Survival Skills Proven leadership skills Demonstrated customer service and interpretation skills Desirable: Responsible and reliable attitude Hardworking and well organised Languages other than English Develop local staff with training Vs Hiring Outside Employees It may be difficult to find the right staff especially when hiring, particularly in remote areas or in other countries. You will be faced with the choice of developing local staff which takes time or bringing in staff from other areas. In some situations a combination will work where experienced non-local staff can be brought in to not only function as guides but to also provide training to local staff. This in effect also satisfies the requirements of ecotourism to benefit the local communities. Accreditation/Certification Many areas of the industry are now providing certification and or accreditation for individuals such as Wilderness First Aid, Degrees in Tourism, Outdoor Education etc. These provide an indication of a potential employee’s technical knowledge. While this may be a critical point, there are many other ‘soft skills’ that are very important to the success of an ecotourism business. To judge experience, leadership ability, personal attributes and interpersonal skills it will be best to rely on interviews.