BS Geography: emphasis in Travel and Tourism Studies
PLEASE NOTE THAT THE GEOGRAPHY MAJORS ARE CHANGING SLIGHTLY DUE TO COURSE CHANGES. UPDATED VERSIONS OF THE GEOGRAPHY MAJOR REQUIREMENTS WILL BE AVAILABLE STARTING FALL. IF YOU ARE ALREADY A GEOGRAPHY MAJOR THESE CHANGES WILL NOT AFFECT YOU - PLEASE REFER TO AIM ON ROUTE Y TO SEE WHAT COURSES YOU ARE REQUIRED TO TAKE AND STILL NEED. ANY QUESTIONS PLEASE CONTACT THE GEOGRAPHY DEPT.
Understanding, managing, and planning in the world's largest industry
The Travel and Tourism Studies emphasis within the Geography Department at BYU is a popular and challenging program of study that introduces students to the expanding world of tourism. A multi-disciplinary geographic perspective examines the history, structure, patterns, and research issues of the world's largest industry. By integrating concepts of location, place, environment, climate, landscape and economy, the geographic foundation of this emphasis helps students to understand where and why tourism sites are located, the movements of people created by tourism, and the changes tourism brings to the cultural and physical landscapes.
Although the majority of students in this emphasis are more interested in an informative and enjoyable major than a career, there is a focus on professional skills, including tourism planning, management strategies, and geographic information systems, that equip students for a variety of careers in the travel and tourism industry as well as many other areas of employment.
This emphasis is ideal for students who: love to travel, work well with people, and are looking for a fairly short but interesting major.
Career Opportunities
- Typical employers include: local and state governments, convention and visitors bureaus, tour operators, airlines, hotel chains, cruise ship lines
- Job titles include: tourism planner, tourism promoter
Program Requirements
Required Courses Major Options
Expected Learning Outcomes
Successful graduates of this program will be able to
- recognize the geographical underpinnings of global travel patterns and explain the relationships between generating and destination regions, and transit routes between them using geographic concepts, models, and principles (Courses: Geog 348, regional geography courses)
- explain the tourism industry, including its major sectors, determinants, motivations, structure, dimensions and impact (Courses: Geog 347, RMYL 304)
- identify tourism potential in a given region, evaluate promotion options, and create and implement strategic plans (Courses: Geog 347, 348, 352, RMYL 320, 371, BusM 340)
- explain the historical development of the tourism industry and its impact on present and future economic, social, and environmental well-being. (Courses: Geog 331, 347, RMYL 304)
- leverage tourism activities to promote greater understanding and respect for cultures and individual differences. (Courses: Geog 331, 348, 385)
- access, interpret, and evaluate tourism information and communicate this in written, verbal, and visual forms. (Courses: BusM 340, Geog 222, 223, 347, 348)
- use interpersonal and leadership skills in teams to solve practical tourism industry problems (Courses: Geog 348, 399R, 495R, RMYL 320, 371)
