Graduates of the degree course in "Tourism science" possess competences in the fields of economics, business, statistics-mathematics, law. Geography, history, archaeology, art history and demo-ethno-anthropology. These competences will be more oriented to specific subject areas, in accordance to the selected curriculum. The course provides for some elective "alternatives" enabling them to orient their curriculum.
Graduates of this course are prepared for an integrated interpretation of the various disciplines of the course, since tourism is characterized by a remarkable and dynamic interdisciplinary. Therefore they are capable to prepare an integrated supply system from a set of goods and services, since they have interpersonal skills and problem solving abilities, aiming at increasing cohesion among stakeholders and at pursuing coherent development objectives. With respect to demand, the area of study therefore includes: the motivations to travel, the process driving to the choice of a service, the consumer behaviours, the de-standardisation of tourism, the demand for tourism workers(in and cultural professional terms), the users' cultural models, the social evolution of lifestyles. With respect to the supply: the exploitation of natural, environmental, historical and cultural resources, the organization and management of hotel areas and of the attractions of the resort, the local cultural production, market segmentation and the different types of tourism, the quality of service, the use of new technologies.
In addition to Italian, graduates of this course use effectively written and spoken English language; they are also capable of communicating in another European Union language , chosen among French, Spanish and German.
Finally, they know how to use effectively the computer tools which are useful for the use and management of content and statistical data related to the tourism sector.
These skills are acquired through an educational programme including lectures, exercises, language laboratories, as well as the participation in conferences and seminars, organized by the Degree Course. Students must also pass written and oral tests for most core and class-specific disciplines. The Board of the degree course also pays particular attention to the organization and management of the stage period, considered as an experience providing graduates not only with a knowledge of the labour market, but also with the possibility of practicing what they learned in university classrooms: learning by doing is considered fundamental.
Admission test for the verification of access requirements will be provided at University level.
Admission testing will be based on specific skills in mathematics, computer science and English, on the basis of ministerial high school syllabuses. The admission test might bring to the attribution, to individual students, of additional educational duties. The attendance to remedial courses, with possible further test, will attest the fulfilment of the additional educational duties.
A second level of verification of specific knowledge and skills, is provided by the Academic Regulations of the Programme, which will govern content and method of verification of these requirements.
The teaching method pursued in the course is:
- descriptive, with the analysis of the various phenomena as they appear in the world of tourism;
- inductive, with the research about the causes and development of the phenomena themselves;
- deductive, with the study of the consequences produced by the occurrence of phenomena;
- Comparative, with the comparison between the solutions and the operational decisions made.
The course material also uses the results of research conducted by teachers on specific topics, in order to transfer to learners not only the principles and the most advanced tools from the theoretical point of view, but also the most innovative experiences of successful companies.
