About this course
Whether you want to kickstart or expand your career in travel and tourism, this course has something valuable for you.
Due to the substantive curriculum design, you will not only gain knowledge of the industry and current and future trends, but you will also develop the personal and professional skills needed to thrive in this diverse industry. This course will equip you with the technical, managerial, personal, and operational skills required for the running of a tourism enterprise or management of a tourism destination.
5 Units
- 6 months at 6 hours/week
- Certificate included
- Lecture-led
Introduction to Travel and Tourism
TYPE:
Short Course
MODE:
Fully Online
DURATION:
6 months
PACE:
6 h/week
Flexible payment options available
What you will learn about
This course contains 5 modules and can be completed in 6 months at the recommended pace of 6 hours per week:
- Module 1: The Tourism System
- Module 2: Impact of Tourism
- Module 3: Introduction to Travel Operations
- Module 4: Introduction to Travel Geographies
- Module 5: Communication Skills
With our structured approach to teaching, you will be able to acquire valuable knowledge and skills with ease. All courses include an orientation week, assessment and feedback opportunities as well as guided lesson plans from your course lecturer every week.
Upon completion of the Introduction to Travel and Tourism short course, you should be able to:
- Know the various definitions of tourism and definitions of Important tourism terms and concepts, including abbreviations
- Explain the interrelationships between the main types of tourism and the classification of tourism products according to the destination mix
- Summarise the impacts of tourism products on the economy using the supply and demand principles
- Integrate knowledge of principles, theories and trends to assess the significant contributions of tourism development and the impact on the economy
- Explain the socio-cultural, environmental and economic positive – and negative impacts on tourism
- Apply essential steps when preparing and planning for meetings, workplace reports and presentations
- Identify and analyse the main characteristics of sustainable and responsible tourism development in South Africa
- Apply knowledge to, explain possible itineraries for each sector of the tourism industry given a specific scenario.
- Understand the important aspects and the interrelationship between different types of communication, interpersonal relationships and the barriers of these to function more effectively in the workstation
- Develop specific destination knowledge for South Africa, Africa and the rest of the world
Is this course right for me?
This course is intended for current tourism practitioners who want to improve their knowledge and skills to meet the diverse demands of the tourism sector. Due to its holistic introductory nature, the programme also provides the basis for entry-level scholars who intend to study further in the tourism field.
As such, it offers theoretical insight and practical application for a wide variety of vocations, including practitioners, scholars, managers, and planners in the following domains:
- Government careers in the tourism sectors
- Careers in the parks and recreation sectors
- Travel Consultant in a Travel Agency
- Tour Operator or Tour Guide
- Tourism Administrator
- Guest Relations Officer
- Reservations Agent
- Tourism Information Officer
- Guest House Manager, and many more
This course has been designed in collaboration with a leading professor and subject matter expert to bring you an industry-leading curriculum. On completion of this course, you will be equipped with the technical, managerial, personal, and operational skills required to run a tourism enterprise or manage a tourism destination.
The knowledge and skills that this course provides will enable you to explore exciting career directions in a variety of travel and tourism industries.
Students who complete this short course may have the opportunity to work in a variety of travel and tourism industry areas. Potential roles include:
- Government careers in the tourism sectors
- Careers in the parks and recreation sectors
- Travel Consultant in a Travel Agency
- Tour Operator or Tour Guide
- Tourism Administrator
- Guest Relations Officer
- Reservations Agent,
- Tourism Information Officer
- Guest House Manager, and many more.
When can you start this course?
Our Short Courses are administered in various intakes throughout the year. Enrol for a date that suits you or enquire now if you’d like more information.
Short Course Admissions
- Minimum of Grade 10 (Standard 8)
- Grade 12 or NQF 4 equivalent preferred
- At least 18 years of age
- Alternate admission is possible on the basis of Mature Age exemption (23 years and older)
- Ability to read and write in English, which is the language of instruction
- Students should also possess a basic level of digital literacy skills
In order to secure a spot in any cohort, students are required to first successfully complete the application process and register by the cohort registration deadline. Registration includes documentation submission and payment of the course fee, there are no registration fees.
Fees payable upon registration will differ depending on the payment option you choose, your Enrolment Consultant will explain this in detail during the application process.
At iQ Academy, we have transitioned all of our programmes to be exclusively delivered through online learning. This means that our students must have regular access to a device and a stable internet connection, whether it’s through a mobile device or any other means.
Don’t worry about course materials, as they are all available online and can be downloaded. Although we do not provide printed textbooks, most of our courses have printable e-books that you can access at your convenience. If you prefer printed materials, you can easily download and print them yourself.
Our teaching and learning activities primarily occur online, which means that you will participate in online classes and learning activities. If you require more information please feel free to enquire now.
- A PC, Tablet or Smartphone
- Access to a reliable internet connection
- An active email account
Recommended data:
- At least 1GB of data per month for online-only courses
- +/- 500MB of data for internet-supported courses
Simple pricing, big value
*Terms and deposit are subject to affordability. View our payment options for more information.
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Expert support
Dedicated course lecturer and specialised academic support.
Structured learning
Weekly lesson plans, regular live classes and special webinars.
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Industry aligned
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Enquire now and an Enrolment Consultant will call you back to answer any questions you have and start your application.
35,000 +
Registered and accredited
Private Higher Education
Short Course FAQ’s
Our curricula are developed by industry experts and are internally quality-assured and approved by our Academic Board. Our short courses are institutional programmes and are non-credit bearing. For more information on our institutional registration and accreditation status view our accreditations.
Short courses are typically non-credit-bearing programmes, affording students the opportunity to build their professional credentials without the higher cost and time associated with studying for a university degree or qualification.
There are no written examinations for this course. As part of your learning, you are encouraged to complete short quizzes throughout each module, which help you build and test knowledge. You will be required to complete and submit one summative assessment at the end of each module. To meet the requirement for this course, you will have to pass the final summative assessment for each module, before you can get certified.
Once you have completed your course, you will get an iQ Academy Short Course Certificate. Your certificate demonstrates that you have acquired industry-relevant skills which can enhance your promotional and employment opportunities. In order to qualify for a certificate you will need to:
- Pass all your assignments
- Pay up your student account
- Email a certified copy of your ID document to: certificate@iqa.ac.za
- Your certificate will be couriered to you at no extra cost provided you confirm your delivery address and it is accurate and up-to-date.
All short courses are lecture-led. The mode of delivery is distance education and all instruction takes place on our student portal, iCan. Your course lecturer will prepare a teaching and learning plan for the duration of the course as well as lesson plans for each week. Students should work through the learning material independently, according to the course schedule in the iCan Calendar. Support is available for academic and technical-related queries on iCan.
Your lecturer will also host regular online classes. The content covered will be in line with the course schedule and weekly lesson plan. Sticking to the schedules provided will ensure you don’t miss out on any opportunities to learn and ask questions. In between classes you can engage with your lecturer directly on iCan or you can discuss the learning content with other students in the discussion forums, which are set up per module for your convenience.
Our short courses integrate interactive media with e-learning activities as well as traditional didactic components such as written notes. There are also opportunities for collaborative learning through discussion forums. The following learning activities form part of the overall learning path:
- Reading activities
- Multimedia activities such as video clips and podcasts
- Online announcements of activities and assignment submission
- Discussion forums
- Self-reflection
- Case studies
- Live online lectures
- Assessment activities & compulsory submission of formative and summative assessments per module