8 Jul 2010
Unit:
Alterra
Collaborative press release of Wageningen University and NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences
Wageningen University, part of Wageningen UR, and NHTV Breda University of Applied Sciences are starting a collaborative academic degree programme in the area of tourism. The programme begins in September 2010. This broadly conceived bachelor’s course will devote much attention to socially responsible and sustainable tourism. The programme is designed for three study years, the first two of which can be done in Breda and the third year in Wageningen. Completion of the programme gives access to the subsequent master’s degree programme. This is the first programme in the Netherlands in which graduates can earn an academic degree in the area of tourism.
Both among employers in the tourism sector, as well as among potential students, there is a great demand for an academic-level degree programme in the area of tourism and for innovation based on scientific research, as the course developers discovered based on market research. Worldwide, the economic significance of the tourism sector is huge. Moreover, international tourism is rapidly growing, despite the recent temporary dip due to the global economic crisis.
With this new programme, NHTV Breda and Wageningen University hope to be able to fulfil a need within the sector and among students. The programme will be interdisciplinary, fed from the social, economic and geographic or environmental science perspectives. It’s no coincidence that these perspectives coincide with the three fundamental pillars of sustainability: ‘people’, ‘prosperity’ (or ‘profit’) and ‘planet’. Graduates of the programme will have knowledge and insight related to developments in the area of tourism and the social and economic context, as well as the consequences of tourism for the environment and landscape. They will also be equipped to do research in this field. The new programme will be led under collaborative management. Both Wageningen University and NHTV Breda will supply the professors.
Importance of the tourism sector
The economic significance of the tourism sector is huge and growing rapidly. In 2008, travellers embarked upon some 922 million touristic journeys worldwide. Viewed over the long term, the number of such journeys has grown by four per cent per year, despite the fact that in 2009 the number fell by four to six per cent owing to the economic crisis. In 2008, the turnover in the sector amounted to some 642 million euros. Globally, almost 220 million people work in tourism.
With that magnitude, the sector’s enormous influence cannot be understated: on local economies, on nature and landscapes, on the environment of the tourist destinations, but also on local social and cultural life.
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