About Us
"A tourism qualification combines the heritage and prestige of New Zealand's oldest University with the strong education and research initiatives that are available through the Department of Tourism - a winning edge in anybody's language."
Tourism Postgraduate Students and Staff - October 08
Introduction
The Department of Tourism was established in 1989 and is one of the most innovative providers of tourism education and research in New Zealand and the Asia-Pacific.
BCom
The Department offers a major in the Bachelor of Commerce degree which provides a special business emphasis on such areas as Tourism Development and Planning, Tourist Behaviour, Cultural and Heritage Tourism, Destination Analysis, Resort and Lodgings Management, Sport Tourism, Tourism Transport Management, Events and Conventions Management, Interpretation and Visitor Operations Management. The Department also offers a Minor in Tourism and introduced in 2007 a Minor in Hospitality.
PGDipTour
The PGDipTour is designed for students who have graduate with a tourism Bachelor's degree (BTour or BCom or similar eg. Leisure Studies, BCom with Minor in Tourism). The programme comprises lectures, seminars, e-learning, field and practical work. The PGDipTour enables students to further specialise in Tourism and/or is also a bridging year between undergraduate study and thesis only postgraduate eg. Masters or PhD study.
4th year Honours and Postgraduate Diploma Students 2008
MTour
The Master of Tourism is an interdisciplinary course which looks at the phenomenon of Tourism from social, commercial, environmental and scientific perspectives. There is a strong supervised research component in which candidates complete a full year thesis.
PhD
The degree of Doctor of Philosophy is awarded on the basis of the submission of a thesis. The thesis should give evidence of the candidate's ability to carry out research, that the candidate has shown originality, and that the candidate has made a significant contribution to knowledge in the particular field.
Distance Learning
The Department of Tourism is only offering Distance Papers at Summer School which runs for 6 weeks from early January to mid February. The papers on offer are TOUX101 - Principles and Business of Tourism Management and TOUX102 - Global Tourism.
Further Studies
Completion of the Diploma can also provide entrance into the Master of Tourism and further graduate studies.
Summer School
The University of Otago introduced Summer School in 2001. Tourism papers offered at Summer School include Principles and Business of Tourism Management (by distance), Global Tourism (by distance), Ecotourism (on campus) and the very popular Wine Business and Tourism. For more information about Summer School 2010, contact the Summer School Office by email (summer.school@otago.ac.nz) or by telephone, 03-479-9181. Further information on Summer School is available at http://www.otago.ac.nz/summerschool
Careers
Graduates have been extremely successful in finding employment in the tourism industry and Tourism graduates are to be found throughout the country and overseas in a range of tourism businesses and organisations. The University of Otago Careers Advisory Service website is available at http://www.otago.ac.nz/careers.
Industry Advisory Committee
The aim of the Industry Advisory Committee, established in 2001, is to advise the Department of Tourism on curriculum development and new course proposals, student practicum requirements and placement at the undergraduate level, suitable industry projects and studies which can be undertaken at the graduate level and strategic directions that the Department undertake with respect to research and scholarship.
Committee Members
Dave Bamford/Ross Corbett, Tourism Resource Consultants, Wellington
Fergus & Mary Sutherland, Catlins Wildlife Tours
Ingrid Van Aalst, Independent Consultant, Wellington
Jan Hindson, Tourism Dunedin
Brigitte Polson, Destination Queenstown
Fiona Luhrs, Tourism Industry Association NZ
Shimrath Paul, Otago Museum
Sophie Barker, Larnach Castle
Glenn Ormsby, Tourism Waitaki
Vincent George, Vincent George House of Travel, Dunedin
Alicia Conklin, National Maori Tourism Council
Bruce Bassett, Ministry of Tourism
Malcolm Budd, Dunedin Host
Graeme Ham, Accor New Zealand
Ewan Wilson, Independent Consultant, Hamilton