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2020/2021

Tourism Innovation

Code: 104960 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500894 Tourism OT 4 0
The proposed teaching and assessment methodology that appear in the guide may be subject to changes as a result of the restrictions to face-to-face class attendance imposed by the health authorities.

Contact

Name:
Carme Ruiz Aguado
Email:
Carmen.RuizA@uab.cat

Use of Languages

Principal working language:
english (eng)
Some groups entirely in English:
Yes
Some groups entirely in Catalan:
No
Some groups entirely in Spanish:
No

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites. 

Objectives and Contextualisation

The course aims to equip the fourth-year students of the Degree in Tourism with analytical and critical thinking about the current trends in tourism and the most suitable business practices to be implemented in the different types of tourism companies and independent professionals in order to differentiate themselves from competitors and increase their market quota. 

At the end of the course the student should be able to:

  • Analyze the new technologies applied to tourism and know what would be the most appropriate to implement in each case.
  • Teamwork.
  • Develop an ability to learn independently.
  • Ability to self-assess the knowledge acquired.
  • Working with communication techniques and new technologies at all levels.
  • Develop critical thinking.
  • Keep updated about current trends in the tourism sector

 

 

 

Competences

  • Behave ethically and adapt to different intercultural contexts.
  • Behave responsibly towards the environment.
  • Critically interpret the context in which the tourism sector operates, from different perspectives deriving from theory, ideology and good practice.
  • Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the basic principles of tourism in all its dimensions and areas.
  • Demonstrate knowledge of the functioning and evolution of different tourism models in order to choose the most suitable one and apply it in the current environment.
  • Develop a capacity for independent learning.
  • Display a customer service orientation.
  • Have a business vision, pinpoint the customer's needs and pre-empt possible changes in the environment.
  • Innovate in tourism: both in planning and commercialisation and in the management of organisations.
  • Manage human resources in tourism organisations.
  • Plan and manage activities on the basis of quality and sustainability.
  • Plan, organise and coordinate a work team, creating synergies and showing empathy.
  • Propose creative alternative solutions to problems arising in the field of tourism management, planning, businesses and products.
  • Show initiative and an entrepreneurial approach to business creation and management in the tourism sector.
  • Take decisions in situations of uncertainty, taking into account potential consequences of these decisions in the short, medium and long term.
  • Use communication techniques at all levels.
  • Work in a team.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Apply the different management and planning tools that help to drive the development of the tourism sector.
  2. Argue in favour of good practice and the newest trends and approaches in the face of the challenges posed by tourism development.
  3. Behave ethically and adapt to different intercultural contexts.
  4. Behave responsibly towards the environment.
  5. Develop a capacity for independent learning.
  6. Display a customer service orientation.
  7. Extrapolate from studies and presentations of real cases in the tourism sector.
  8. Have a business vision, pinpoint the customer's needs and pre-empt possible changes in the environment.
  9. Identify the latest trends and best practice, in order to innovate in planning, management and commercialisation in tourism entities, products and organisations.
  10. Identify the sources of new trends in the tourism sector.
  11. Keep pace with the latest outstanding initiatives, projects and businesses in tourism as inspiration for maintaining an entrepreneurial spirit.
  12. Manage human resources in tourism organisations.
  13. Plan and manage activities on the basis of quality and sustainability.
  14. Plan, organise and coordinate a work team, creating synergies and showing empathy.
  15. Take decisions in situations of uncertainty, taking into account potential consequences of these decisions in the short, medium and long term.
  16. Use communication techniques at all levels.
  17. Work in a team.

Content

Unit 1: New trends, technologies and innovations in the tourism sector

Unit 2: Travel blogs and travel bloggers

Unit 3: Revenue Management

Unit 4: Tourist packages design and creation

Methodology

The course operates on three methodologies of teaching and learning:

a) Theoretical Methodology: face-master class explanations for to the different syllabus items that help the student to develop a practical methodology.

b) Practice methodology: Research case studies to be shared and debated by students, test and learning operation of different technological tools explained in class. This practice methodology can include also the participation in a live project (develop consultant activities for external companies to solve one specific question). 

c) Seminars, conferences and / or company visits held by professionals of tourism.

Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures 20 0.8 1, 2, 11, 7, 12, 10, 9, 13, 14, 15
Practice classes 7 0.28 2, 4, 3, 11, 7, 12, 10, 9, 16, 13, 14, 15, 6, 8, 17
Type: Supervised      
Tutoring 14 0.56 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 12, 10, 9, 16, 13, 14, 15, 6, 8
Type: Autonomous      
Asignment preparation 30 1.2 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 7, 10, 9, 16, 13, 14, 15, 6, 8, 17
Practice cases and exercises resolution 32 1.28 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 11, 7, 12, 10, 9, 16, 13, 14, 15, 6, 8, 17
Study 32 1.28 1, 4, 3, 5, 11, 7, 10, 9, 16, 13, 6

Assessment

The evaluation of the course will be: 

Continuous Assessment. The continuous assessment consists of the following system:    

a)    The performance of a written test to validate the knowledge work during all the practical activities, which will be worth 40% of final grade and that also will include the theoretical material exposed in class.

b)   The performance of different practical activities in and outside the classroom that will be worth a 60% of the final grade (10% the activities of unit 1 and 2, and a 20 % the activities of unit 3 & 4). A correct formal presentation and an accurate elaboration will be valued. In case of participating in a live project, this will count the total activities value (60% of the final grade). 

Final exam.There will be a final exam with the entire contents of the course for students who have not passed the evaluation system referred in the previous point and for students with specific features (repeaters, mobile students, etc.) and that will worth the 100% of the final grade. 

Resit exam. Those students with a final grade between 3,5 and 5 will have the chance to do another exam. The maximum final grade to be obtained is of a 5 over 10.

Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Continuous assessment exam 40% of final mark 3 0.12 1, 2, 4, 3, 11, 7, 12, 10, 9, 16, 13, 15, 6, 8
Unit 1 activities 10 % of final mark 3 0.12 2, 4, 3, 5, 11, 7, 12, 10, 9, 16, 14, 8, 17
Unit 2 activities 10% of final mark 3 0.12 1, 2, 4, 3, 5, 7, 10, 16, 13, 14, 6, 8, 17
Unit 3 Activities 20% of final mark 3 0.12 1, 2, 7, 9, 13, 14, 15, 8, 17
Unit 4 activities 20% of final mark 3 0.12 1, 5, 11, 7, 10, 9, 16, 13, 15, 6, 8, 17

Bibliography

De Pablo Redondo, R. (2004). Las nuevas tecnologías aplicadas al turismo. Editorial Centro de Estudios Ramón Areces, Madrid.

Gretzel, U. & Xiang, Z. (2010). Role of social media in online travel information search. Tourism management, Vol. 31, p. 179-188. 

Larsen, J., Urry, J. & Axhausen, K.W. (2006). Networks and tourism: Mobile Social Life. Annals of Tourism Research, Vol. 34, nº 1, pp. 244-262.

Mangold, W.  G. & Faulds, D. J. (2009). Social Media: The new hybrid element of the promotion mix. Business Horizons, Vol. 52 (4), pp. 357-365.

Mauri, A.G. (2012). Hotel revenue management: principles and practices. Milano: Pearson. 

Travaglini, A. et al. (2016).Marketing digital turístico y estrategias de revenue management para el sector de la hostelería. Barcelona: Marcombo. 

 

Other online material offered at Campus Virtual. 

Webgraphy:

http://www.tnooz.com/article/fifteen-of-the-best-social-media-campaigns-in-travel-so-far/

http://www.travelandleisure.com/smittys-2013

http://springnest.com/blog/social-media-travel-marketing/

http://www.tourism.australia.com/industry-advice/using-social-media.aspx

http://www.blogtrw.com/en/

www.sitefinity.com

http://www.discoverhongkong.com/eng/plan-your-trip/travel-kit/mobile-apps.jsp