Do you like discovering new destinations and cultures? Do the leisure branch, healthy lifestyle, travel and hospitality appeal to you? Do you like improving the liveability of the various destinations even more? Do you ensure a fantastic guest experience, for example, for museum visits with your experience concept? Or will you be marketing an event?

The travel world is always evolving. No wonder, then, that this industry is always looking for creative professionals. Enthusiasts who put together new travel products and unforgettable travel experiences for others. In your profession, you will be the connecting link between different organisations, the company and the guest and within your own organisation to ensure that people have the ultimate experience. With the English-language tourism management programme at HZ you will develop into a pioneer in the travel world. And all that from a fantastic travel destination: the Zeeland tourist region.

Is the Tourism Management programme something for you?

You have a talent for organising events, you are creative and you easily connect with other people, even when it is in another language, or when they have a different cultural background. You are customer-oriented and therefore know how to respond well to your guest’s wishes. This allows you to develop a strategic vision for the organisation you work for. Whether this is about making destinations or events more sustainable, personnel policy or marketing a product or service. During your studies, you will have the opportunity to specialise in various areas. For example, dive into tourism combined with health. What is the added value of wellness or yoga for an organisation? But you can also become a pioneer in the field of gastronomy and food trends. You will have plenty of space to choose a direction that suits you. Are you coming to study Tourism Management at HZ in Vlissingen? Welcome, bienvenue, willkommen.

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This is Tourism Management

You discover the foundations of tourism and the leisure industry. You participate in projects for both Dutch and international companies and organisations. You focus on topics such as:

  • Marketing
  • Hostmanship (customer focus)
  • Human resources
  • Operational management
  • Business modeling
  • Value creation

At the end of the 1st year you do your first internship. You work in an organisation within the professional field. Think of a holiday park, a hotel or event organisation at home or abroad.

Destination (un)known
You also have the opportunity to organise a study trip this year to obtain free credits. Can you organise a fantastic week together with your classmates, destination (still) unknown? You organise the programme, the tickets and everything that comes with planning a trip.

In year 2 you focus on topics such as:

  • Cultural communication
  • Organisation cultures
  • Digital intelligence
  • Company analysis
  • Technological trends, e-tourism
  • Destination development
  • Investment analysis and experience design.

At the end of the 2nd year you do another internship. You help an organisation progress by making tactical improvements to their services. This way you can respond even more to the wishes and needs of guests. You also learn to look critically at offers, operational processes and concepting.

Destination (un)known
Also this year you have the opportunity to organise a study trip to obtain free credits. Can you organise a fantastic week together with your classmates, destination (still) unknown? You organise the programme, the tickets and everything that comes with planning a trip.

The 3rd year you practice your research skills in preparation for your graduation assignment. Together with your project group, you carry out a project in the field of tourism and leisure for the duration of 10 weeks, going through the entire graduation process. This year you will focus on topics such as:

  • Strategic management
  • Commercial skills
  • Responsible tourism
  • Ethics

Minor
In the third year you choose a minor: a choice package of six months. Depending on the minor you choose, you deepen your specific knowledge. You choose a minor that relates to your specialisation or to tourism in general. You can do your minor at HZ or at another university or university in the Netherlands or abroad. Almost all Tourism Management students choose to go abroad, to countries such as Norway, Austria, Canada, United States, Latvia or Thailand.

The 4th year is all about graduating. You can personalise your graduation year with the Tourism Management programme. Do you want to continue studying and do a master? Then you can spend a larger part of the year on your thesis and a smaller part on your management internship. If you think it is important to gain as much practical experience as possible, you choose a larger practical part and a smaller thesis part.

In the Netherlands, the standard of higher education is maintained through an accreditation system that ensures legal regulation and quality assurance. All programmes at HZ University of Applied Sciences are examined and approved by the accreditor, the Accreditation Organisation of the Netherlands and Flanders (NVAO). This means that they meet the quality requirements for accredited higher education set by the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, ensuring that you are always choosing a programme of high standard.

Tourism Management students are enjoying a cup of coffee on the beach of Vlissingen

Your future in Tourism Management starts in the Netherlands

Curious about studying in the Netherlands? Discover our programmes and more in the HZ brochure.

Go to the HZ international brochure

What our students say

Do you want to know what our students think of the Tourism Management programme and why they chose this programme? Read the various experiences of our students.

Sara posing with a bar in the background
About the programme
Sara, Tourism Management student

When I started there we were about fifty nationalities in my class, so it really shows how many people come from all over the world

Full story from Sara
Theresa posing in a sunny room
About the programme
Theresa, Tourism Management student

Everyone helps each other out within the group. It feels like you become each others family.

Full story from Theresa

Tourism Management in 3 years

With your pre-university diploma, Dutch VWO or an international equivalent, you can qualify for the English-language three-year track of the Tourism Management study programme.

You start in the second year of the programme. You may have to catch up on subjects from the first year that you have missed. In the third year (your second year) you do an internship and follow a minor of your choice in the Netherlands or abroad. In your final study year, you further deepen your knowledge and skills in your chosen field through projects and lectures, and you carry out a graduation research in the professional field.

After applying to the Tourism Management study programme, you can indicate your interest for the 3-year track through the study choice check. After that, your diploma is checked by our student office to see if you’re eligible. Subsequently, a motivation interview is planned with a study coach from the programme. If you want to check if your diploma meets this entry requirement, you contact HZ student administration: csa@hz.nl.

After the tree year track you can choose a Master. Depending on the Master of your choice, you may have to follow a transition year prior to starting the Master's Programme. Depending on the Master, you obtain both your bachelor and Master diploma in five or six years. The professional field will welcome you when you have both diplomas.

Essential info

Applying

Have you made your choice? Read all about our application procedure.

Admission requirements

To be admitted to the Tourism Management programme you need:

  • A qualification equivalent to a Dutch secondary education diploma, which gives you access to higher education.
  • A good command of written and spoken English. Your level of English should be equivalent to an IELTS score of 6.0.

Read more about the admission and language requirements.

Alternative entrance exam

If you don’t have the appropriate secondary school diploma, and if you are at least 21 years old, you may be exempted from this requirement. The HZ provides the possibility of taking an alternative entrance exam.

Course description

Read more detailed course information in our Academic and Examination Regulation.

Fees and finances

Next to the tuition fees and costs of living there are extra costs for your study programme (study materials and books). These costs are approximately between €400,- and €700,- per year. You will have excursions on regular basis. These costs are about €500,- for the first two years.

Read more about the fees and finances here.

Pre-arrival information and studying in The Netherlands

Visa, health insurance, accommodation and a Dutch bank account. You need to arrange quite some things when you decide to study abroad. Read all about it here. And what it's like to study in the Netherlands? And what is Middelburg like? Read all about Zeeland, the Netherlands and HZ.

Contact

Do you have any questions or do you need more information about the study programme? Please contact us: study@hz.nl.

Student in his room

Apply for this study programme

Ready to start your future? Apply now for the Tourism Management study programme and take the next step.

Apply here

After graduation

Congratulations, you have graduated! From now on you may use the title ‘Bachelor of Arts’ after your name.

With your tourist study programme you can go in many directions. Whether you choose a job as a destination marketer or prefer to work as a sales consultant. Possible jobs are:

  • Hospitality professional
  • Sales consultant
  • Marketing employee/manager
  • HR employee/manager
  • Customer service manager
  • Operations managers
  • Entrepreneur

Do you want to continue studying after the Tourism Management programme? For example, choose the Master Strategic Business Management and Marketing, Imagineering or Destination Management. You may have to follow a pre-master before being allowed to enroll in the master.

Tourism Management in practice

You often work for real clients during projects and assignments. This way, your education links up well with your later work. Wondering what kind of projects you will be doing? Check it out below!

Student who travelled to a different country with a beautiful landscape on the background of tree, mountains and bright blue water

World of Tourism

In the project World of Tourism, you will learn all about the ins and outs of the tourism industry.

Studying in Zeeland: holiday destination and student city in one

Admittedly, Zeeland is not home to the biggest student cities in the Netherlands, with busy tram lines, skyscrapers and huge nightclubs. But did you know that Zeeland is a unique student area with a university of applied sciences (HZ) as well as a research university (University College Roosevelt)? Dutch and international students meet in Middelburg and Vlissingen, where the HZ locations are located. What attracts them most about studying in Zeeland is the personal touch. You are not a number and you know each other by name. This is true at HZ, but also on campus, in daily life and in the sociable extracurricular activities. A vibrant student life is guaranteed.

Middelburg and Vlissingen

Depending on your study programme, you will study in Middelburg or Vlissingen. But did you know that you are always welcome at both locations? To study, to work on a project with fellow students or to relax. Moreover, the distance between Middelburg and Vlissingen is easy to cover by bike or bus.

Discover Vlissingen, the city where you will study if you choose this study programme.

Tourism Management students hanging out together on the Boulevard of Vlissingen
Students eating and chatting at the Bellamy park in Vlissingen
Students balancing on wood beams at the beach