Autonomous University of Barcelona Offers Masters Degree in Management of Tourism for All

The School of Tourism at the Autonomous University of Barcelona is offering a one-year Masters' Course in Accessible Tourism, starting October 2009. Applicants may register from 1st of June. 

Classes will be delivered in Spanish (95%) and English (5%) and the course literature will be in Spanish, Catalan and English. A practical placement and a dissertation will be included in the course.   

The Masters Course is said to be first of its kind anywhere in Spain.
[The ENAT editor asks: Do you know of others? Perhaps elsewhere in Europe or the rest of the world? If so please let us know!].

Presentation of the Masters Degree Course
We should all be aware of the importance of evolution towards a society which is accountable to each and every one of its members, with the same rights and obligations as well as equal opportunities. That is to say, we should transform public space into an accessible environment. In short, everything providing use and entertainment for people should be accessible to and useful for all members of our society. And this should be coherent with the continuous evolution of human diversity.

On the other hand, we should bear in mind that the tourism industry is a very important part of the Spanish economy, accounting for 11% of GNP. According to the World Tourism Organization (WTO, 2002), Spain is the third country for inbound tourism after France and the United States and in 2007 Catalonia was the most popular destination, which means: a) there are many companies offering tourism services, such as accommodation, transport, restaurant, leisure, and others; and b) we offer a wide range of tourism destinations. Despite this, only a few countries have adopted a philosophy of universal access in their organisation; therefore, they are not offering a product or service to all-comers.

In addition, we are unaware of the existence of any other post-graduate study program similar to this in the rest of Spain. Given the importance of this issue and the lack of related courses, we are offering this masters course with the aim of becoming society’s consciousness raisers.

Course Applications and Registration
Applications are welcomed from practitioners and graduates in the social sciences who are interested in the world of tourism and hospitality, economics and business, and who wish to learn to specialize as managers of products, services or tourism destinations for a public institution or for a private company related to the tourism industry.

Potential students may apply to the University for registration between 1 June and 30 September 2009.

Full details about the Masters course and application requirements are available in Spanish and English at the University Website MSc. Course pages.