Introduction to Tourism and Hospitality Management

Course Description

It is clear that tourism companies encompass a wide variety of fields of action. Tourism is a very important source of revenue for a country's economy, and it has effects on and can create job opportunities for the population, either directly or indirectly.

This course allows students to become familiar with the world of tourism, learning about the economic and social dimensions that these companies represent in the global economy, as well as analyzing the possibilities and dimensions of the sector.

We will provide an overview of the new and growing innovative trends in the sector in order to understand how it adapts to the constant changes in society, as well as its need to have professionals who can ensure that their company adapts to the market and environment in order to guarantee success. The student must acquire a comprehensive view of the sector and understand how it functions. Above all, the student must analyze the transformative capacity of the hospitality and tourism industry in the social, labor and economic fields in order to be able to adapt to it.

Increasingly, companies in the tourism sector, like others, grow and diversify their offer of products, as it becomes more difficult to compete in the current market. Therefore, the student must study and know the different types of companies, analyzing and observing that, depending on their type, companies have different needs. Knowing how to see these differences from a comprehensive perspective, as well as how to study and analyze different customers' needs, will help the student understand the tourism and hospitality fields.

GENERAL SKILLS
Have initiative and entrepreneurial spirit.
Have the disposition to be proactive, to anticipate external situations out of our control, to promote change and improvement in settings where others do not do so. Act with determination and take on risks and challenges, assume responsibility to make things happen, make decisions based on common sense that allow us to seize opportunities at the right moment, optimizing time and resources.
Team work.
Ability to promote an environment of collaboration, communication and trust among team members; as well as having the predisposition to collaborate with and form an active,
connected part of a work group, directing efforts to work with others, sometimes with those who have a different professional training and background, with the aim of achieving common, previously-agreed upon objectives.

SPECIFIC SKILLS
Understand the global tourism system and the evolutionary nature of its components' characteristics. Understand the operation of the global tourism system based on an analysis of the different elements that comprise it, from the perspectives of structure, supply and demand; as well as the factors that influence its development and evolution.
Identify and manage the internal aspects, functions and operational processes of tourism business units. Success in tourism business management is measured by the capacity to coordinate different operational processes. This requires an understanding of how the complex structures, systems and processes that comprise different tourism activities work: accommodation, restaurants, intermediation, transportation, etc.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
- Understand the different types of consumers and the evolution of their needs and expectations.
- Identify the facets of tourism and hospitality companies, as well as the different types and categories within the tourism sector.
- Analyze the aspects and economic and social impact of the hospitality industry on the local, state and international levels.
- Review the evolution of the sector, putting it into a historical context, and understand current and future trends
- Identify and analyze the demand, opportunities, and professional prospects in the tourism and accommodation sector today
- Understand the effects caused by tourist activity:
- Explain and know how to recognize the main organizational structures of tourism companies.
- Identify and understand the importance of inter-departmental relations in accommodation companies in order to achieve optimal operation
- Identify basic components of operations
- Solve problems in changing situations, studying them from different points of view and generating various viable alternatives.
- Identify the appropriate information sources for drawing conclusions and contributing ideas.
- Know how to interpret the information gathered to present and formulate opinions.
- Provide the students with the ability to create an environment of collaboration, communication, and trust among the members of a team, promoting respect, dialog and the participation of all members:
- Develop the student's empathy and ability to put him or herself in the place of others and value their points of view.
- Provide the student with techniques to be able to identify common objectives and to coordinate with others.
Provide information on the professional profiles for which the Specialization in Tourism and Hospitality Management prepares the student.
- Analyze professional profiles from their most theoretical point of view
- Contrast that theory with the reality for professionals in the sector.
- Draw conclusions based on the examples studied.

LEARNING METHODOLOGY
The learning strategies employed are mainly aimed at the student developing the abilities associated with the skills identified. Below we specify the teaching-learning methodologies which will be applied to achieve the skills to be gained, as well as specifying how they will be developed:
- Theory: master classes, lectures, group projects.
- Theoretical-practical: application activities, problem-based learning, problem solving, practical exercises, research.
- Presentations: presentations of results. This will allow the student to receive feedback on how to improve his or her oral communication techniques and become accustomed to using information technology.

EVALUATION SYSTEM
The tools used to evaluate the course are those which allow us to assess the course's contents in both a theoretical and practical way; such as objective tests, development tests, individual projects, group projects, in-class activities, oral presentations using IT, virtual forums, portfolios, practical cases, problem solving, etc.