Do you want to apply for this minor?
Check out the step by step on our website. 
Here you can also find the correct manner to start your application on Studielink.

Finding an impactful solution for a tourism organization, that is your challenge in the minor Tourism Impact lab. Tourism is always on the move, you as a curious student will get understanding for this dynamic working field and being able to create valuable and meaningful ideas and solutions. You develop yourself into an impactful tourism professional.

What is it all about?
For 18 weeks long you will work in a small group of students on an business case provided by a tourism business or organisation, ranging from a large multinational, such as TUI, to a start-up. Using experience design and the Lean start-up method, you will research and experiment to finally present an impactful solution for your commissioner.

During the minor you will attend masterclasses that provide the foundation of this minor. In the first few weeks you’ll learn more about your commissioner’s business case and the opportunity in the market. In the following weeks you’ll find out which solution works best for the future customer. You will frequently meet with your commissioner to understand the business, target group(s) and to assess the current digital performance.

In the final weeks of the minor you will do real ‘growth-hacking’ experiments to test your proposed product/service. This will lead to recommendations for the commissioner on how to introduce your proposed product or service into the market.

Practical implementation
This minor focusses on a real life business case, from a tourism related company/organisation. You will learn to apply a new evidence based methodology, using the build, measure and learn loop to test a new product/service on real customers. Furthermore, your professional network has expanded significantly.

What’s in it for me?
The tourism industry is always on the move. If you have ambitions to work in the tourism industry, it is important to understand this dynamic working field with a lot of changes and opportunities that can lead to new solutions.
You will become the person between the problem and the solution. With this minor you will be able to anticipate trends and changes in the industry, balance equally people, planet and profit, and translate problems into solutions and recommendations. After completion of this minor, you will feel like a professional in the tourism industry.  Consider jobs such as product developer, product manager, marketing professional, sales professional or trends analyst. These are only a few examples because the possibilities are endless!

 

At the end of this minor, you will be able to:

• Apply a methodological approach of, for example, trend research, socio-cultural impact or a market or competition analysis.
• Present and defend your results in a logical, consistent and convincing manner.
• Reflect on your own actions.
• Work project-based and methodically.
• Demonstrate your critical mind and ability to look at a problem from different perspectives.
• Demonstrate a vision to achieve responsible and sustainable tourism from the People, Planet and Profit (PPP) dimensions.
• Read and analyse the financial management of a company.
• Use smart (online) communication about new products, services and destinations.

• Students from Tourism Management, Leisure and Hotel Studies
• Propaedeutic certificate obtained

The study material of this minor encompasses all subjects and topics treated so far in the last 2 or 3 years at BUas. During this minor all the previous study material will come together. That said, also new material will be implemented. We use professional and academic sources as literature. Some books that are used: 

• Maurya, A. (2012). Running Lean, Iterate from Plan A to a Plan That Works. 

Recommended literature includes: 

• Wilson, A., Zeithaml, V., Bitner, M. J., & Gremler, D. (2016). Services Marketing: Integrating Customer Focus Across the Firm. (3rd European ed.) Maidenhead, UK: McGraw-Hill Education. 
• Hanington, B., Martin, B. (2012). Universal Methods of Design 
• Tomitsch, M.(2017).  Think. Make. Break. Repeat., A handbook of methods. 

2x progress tests
Blocks 1 and 2 are followed by an assessment of the progress you have made. The progress is assessed with feedback. This feedback is provided in the form of a formative evaluation: your work is provided with requested and unsolicited feedback throughout the entire process.

1x final test (30 ects)
At the end of the minor, you will hand in:  

• A professional product for the commissioner with your team.
• Individual learning portfolio with various parts of the assignments and your individual process in the group project.

Both the process of the professional product and the individual learning portfolio are assessed. You receive an individual grade for the final product. Teachers reserve the right to vary in grades within a team.

Grading from 0-10. A 5.5 or more counts as a pass. A mark lower than 5.5 leads to a resit. The resit of the final test takes place in consultation with the commissioner and the team of lecturers.

When a student drops out prematurely, for whatever reason (illness, motivation, etc.), the team process is dissolved. A new, comparable process is set up in consultation with the student, team of lecturers and the commissioner. This may occur either individually and/or in a different team.

Competencies
This minor provides you with a range of competencies. You will:  

• Develop a vision on trends in environment, developments, relationships, networks and chains (in an international and national environment) in the tourism industry.
• Gain a social and communicative competence.
• Gain a self- managing competence.
• Learn to balance between People, Planet and Profit (PPP).
• Learn to organise, manage and improve business and organization processes.
• Learn about financial and legal aspects, internal processes and business organisation environments in order to strengthen coherence and interaction.
• Learn to initiate, create and market products and services (both international and national).

Topics
The overall goal of this minor is to learn how to develop a professional solution for a tourism professional. This encompasses the following topics: 

• Business impact development
• Business model innovation
• Connecting to the industry
• Data analytics & visualization
• Design thinking
• Digital strategy
• Entrepreneurship
• Industry assignment 
• Lean canvas
• Learning community
• Personal branding and leadership
• Positive impact
• Social economic impact
• Trends and developments 

Structure of the minor
The weight of this minor is 30 ECTS and it consists of 3 blocks encompassing several masterclass. Within the whole TIL learning community, you work together in groups of 3 or 4 students on an impactful, innovative business case together with representatives of the tourism industry and various lecturers. During the workshops you will work towards a proposition that will be presented to the commissioner of your business case.

The minor is structured in three blocks:

• In block 1 you will get to know the commissioner and the assignment. You will start with the first part of the research by interviewing the target group to get the problem clear and find the opportunity.
• In block 2 You take the next steps to define the problem and find the solution fit.
• In block 3 you will get to know if there is a market fit by doing growth marketing experiments.

Teaching method(s)
During this minor you will follow masterclasses and workshops. The fundamental theoretical concepts are explained in the book and you are expected to have read and studied these materials as part of your preparation for the workshops.

International context
You work in an international environment and in groups with students from various backgrounds. The topics and cases covered are largely presented from an international perspective.

Costs
Not applicable