Travel & Tourism

TRAVEL & TOURISM AT GREAT MARLOW SCHOOL

The Pearson BTEC National Extended Certificate in Travel and Tourism was updated in 2019 and is designed for post-16 learners with an interest in travel and tourism who want to continue their education through applied learning and who aim to progress to higher education. The qualification is equivalent in size to one A-level.

The course focuses on travel and tourism sector-specific content; the requirements of the qualification will mean that students develop transferable skills, which are highly regarded by higher education providers and employers.

The BTEC course equips students with a range of important transferable skills, including: leadership, team working, problem-solving, communicating (with a customer focus), the ability to research, presenting new ideas and the ability to work to deadlines. In a large travel company, employees can apply for promotion to senior roles, including a supervisory ones. Many chose careers in travel agency work or ticketing. With customer service experience, jobs in resorts working as a rep, or as cabin crew on ships, become careers’ options.

TRAVEL & TOURISM KS5

BTEC NATIONAL IN TRAVEL & TOURISM (NQF) (Year 12)

Course Aims

The Travel and Tourism BTEC enables students to study a wide variety of topics which relate to the travel and tourism industry. Students will learn about the value and importance of travel and tourism and how it significantly contributes to the UK economy. In addition, students will investigate many of Europe’s most popular destinations to see why they are popular and what impact tourism has on both the area and the people that live there.

How the course is examined

There are 4 units in total which need to be completed. 3 of the 4 units are mandatory (83% mandatory).

Two of the units will be internally assessed with the remaining externally assessed either through an examination or a set task activity.

The Units

• Unit 1 – The World of Travel and Tourism – Examination: externally assessed
• Unit 2 – Global Destinations – Examination: externally assessed
• Unit 3 – Principles of Marketing in Travel and Tourism:  Coursework: assessed coursework
• Unit 4 – Visitor Attractions – Coursework:  internally assessed

How they are assessed

Unit 1 – Written examination set and marked by Pearson. 1.5 hour exam worth 75 works.  Exams can be sat in Jan/May with the first assessment starting in May 2020.

Unit 2 – A task set and marked by Pearson, completed under supervision.  The task starts with two weeks  supervised preparation time.  Assessment includes a single 3 hour block. Unit worth 60 marks.

Unit 3 – Coursework unit.  Internally assessed and moderated via traditional routes.

Unit 4 – Coursework unit.  Internally assessed and moderated via traditional routes.

Description of the units

Unit 1 – The world of Travel and Tourism

This unit provides the foundation for learners to study other units in travel and tourism. They will explore the key components and scale of the industry, using data to analyse key trends and their impact

The travel and tourism industry in the UK is growing and is of major importance to the economy. In this unit, you will develop the skills needed to examine, interpret and analyse a variety of statistics that measure the importance of tourism to the UK. There are many influences on the industry and they are changing all the time. Some of them are within the control of travel organisations, while others are beyond their control. You will need to know how organisations react to changes and trends to determine their present and future operating policies. You will gain an understanding of the scope of the industry, its terminology and its key components. Travel and tourism is a business with the customer at the forefront. Different types of organisation have different roles and offer a range of products and services to many different types of customer. You will need to understand how the organisations work together to benefit both themselves and their customers and you should be able to name examples of the key organisations in all sectors. This unit will enable you to progress to higher-education courses or to a career in the travel and tourism industry by developing your knowledge of how to analyse travel and tourism data and make decisions based on information from a variety of sources.

Unit 2 – Global Destinations

Learners investigate and analyse information regarding the features and appeal of global destinations, travel planning, and the factors and trends affecting the changing popularity of global destinations.

Global destinations are a key aspect of travel and tourism and their appeal is strongly influenced by factors such as their location, access and changing trends. In this unit, you will use a range of resources to investigate the location and features of global destinations and explain the features that give appeal to global destinations and support different types of tourism. You will evaluate how travel plans/routes/itineraries meet customer needs. You will investigate consumer trends and the reasons the popularity of global destinations may change. This unit will enable you to progress to higher-education courses by developing your knowledge of how to carry out research and make decisions based on information from a variety of sources. It will also help prepare you for a career in the travel and tourism industry as you apply geographical knowledge and evaluate travel and tourism data in order to meet a given brief.

Unit 3 – The Principles of Marketing in Travel and Tourism

Learners focus on how to develop a successful marketing plan for use by travel and tourism organisations to attract and engage customers.

Marketing is an important focus for any successful organisation in travel and tourism where products, services and the expectations of customers are constantly changing. A successful business must have a strategy for understanding its customers and targeting them with a profitable offer. In this unit, you will develop a marketing plan through examining the specific aims and objectives of the marketing function and researching the needs and expectations of different customer types. You will develop your ability to communicate the findings of this research. You will use market intelligence to make recommendations about the type of marketing activities that a travel and tourism organisation or global destination should carry out. You will learn about the importance of meeting customer expectations and communicating with customers effectively. You will investigate the different stages that an organisation or global destination goes through when developing their products or services. The assessment for this unit should be carried out after your learning in all the other units has been completed. This is because in completing your marketing plan you will select from across your qualification, learning on, for example, the scope of the travel and tourism industry, the types of travel and tourism organisations and their roles and the products and services they offer to customers, and features of global destinations. This unit will help you progress to higher education to a variety of courses that require knowledge of marketing theory and research methods, and the development and review of marketing strategies, such as a degree in tourism, transport or leisure. The wide range of skills and knowledge you develop in this unit will also help to progress in your career.

Unit 4 – Visitor Attractions

Learners develop analytical skills as they investigate the nature and role of both built and natural visitor attractions, their commercial success, appeal, response to diverse visitor needs and the importance of delivering a memorable visitor experience.

Visitor attractions can draw both domestic and overseas visitors by providing opportunities for relaxation, amusement and education. They are a major source of revenue for the travel and tourism industry as well as for the UK and the global economy. In this unit, you will investigate visitor attractions and the different ways they are funded. You will explore what is meant by the visitor experience and how visitor attractions develop, diversify and use technology in order to meet the needs of their different types of visitors. By developing your knowledge and skills in researching and evaluating the effectiveness of visitor attractions, the unit will help you progress to higher-education courses such as degrees in tourism, leisure or business studies. The wide range of skills and knowledge developed in this unit will also help your career progression.

BTEC EXTENDED CERTIFICATE IN TRAVEL & TOURISM

Course Aims

The Travel and Tourism BTEC enables students to study a wide variety of topics which relate to the travel and tourism industry. Students will learn about the value and importance of travel and tourism and how it significantly contributes to the UK economy. In addition, students will investigate many of Europe’s most popular destinations to see why they are popular and what impact tourism has on both the area and the people that live there.

How the course is examined

The course is built up of a range of modules. There are four mandatory units, and two units are external.

Unit information

The 6 units, that make up the course, are as follows:

Unit 1 – The World of Travel and Tourism

The travel and tourism industry in the UK is growing and is of major importance to the economy. In this unit, students develop the skills needed to examine, interpret and analyse a variety of statistics that measure the importance of tourism to the UK. There are many influences on the industry and they are changing all the time. Some of them are within the control of travel organisations, while others are beyond their control.

Students need to know how organisations react to changes and trends, to determine their present and future operating policies. Students gain an understanding of the scope of the industry, its terminology and its key components. Travel and tourism is a business with the customer at the forefront. Different types of organisation have different roles and offer a range of products and services to many different types of customer. Candidates need to understand how the organisations work together to benefit both themselves and their customers and candidates should be able to name examples of the key organisations in all sectors.

This unit will enable students to progress to higher-education courses or to a career in the travel and tourism industry. Candidates develop knowledge of how to analyse travel and tourism data and how to make decisions based on information from a variety of sources.

This unit is assessed by a written examination which is set and marked by the Pearson Exam Board. The examination is 1.5 hours in length.

Unit 2 – Global Destinations 

This is a set task which is set by Pearson. The student is given a scenario in advance to research and investigate. Students complete a set investigation, which is undertaken in a set period of time over the course of 3 hours.

Global destinations are a key aspect of travel and tourism and their appeal is strongly influenced by factors such as their location, access and changing trends.  In this unit, a range of resources are used to investigate the location and features of global destinations and explain the features that give appeal to global destinations and support different types of tourism. There is an evaluation of how travel plans/routes/itineraries meet customer needs. Students investigate consumer trends and the reasons the popularity of global destinations may change.  This unit enables students to progress to higher-education courses by developing their knowledge of how to carry out research and make decisions based on information from a variety of sources.  It will also help prepare candidates for a career in the travel and tourism industry as geographical knowledge is applied and evaluated to travel and tourism data in order to meet a given brief.

The following units are coursework based.

Unit 3 – Principles of Marketing in Travel and Tourism. 

Marketing is an important focus for any successful organisation in travel and tourism where products, services and the expectations of customers are constantly changing. A successful business must have a strategy for understanding its customers and targeting them with a  profitable offer. In this unit, students will:

• develop a marketing plan through examining the specific aims and objectives of the marketing function and researching the needs and expectations of different customer types
• develop an ability to communicate the findings of this research
• develop a way to utilise market intelligence to make recommendations about the type of marketing activities that a travel and tourism organisation or global destination should carry out
• learn about the importance of meeting customer expectations and communicating with customers effectively.
• investigate the different stages that an organisation or global destination goes through when developing their products or services

Optional Units – Unit 9: Visitor Attractions

Visitor attractions can draw both domestic and overseas visitors by providing opportunities for relaxation, amusement and education. They are a major source of revenue for the travel and tourism industry as well as for the UK and the global economy.

In this unit, students:

• investigate visitor attractions and the different ways they are funded
• explore what is meant by the visitor experience and how visitor attractions develop, diversify and use technology in order to meet the needs of their different types of visitors
• develop knowledge and skills in researching and evaluating the effectiveness of visitor attractions

The unit will help progression into higher-education courses, such as degrees in tourism, leisure or business studies. The wide range of skills and knowledge developed in this unit will also help various career progressions.

• Optional Units – Unit 11: Events, Conferences and Exhibitions Retail Travel Operations

The management and coordination of events, conferences and exhibitions is a dynamic and exciting area that is relevant to a number of sectors. This unit will help develop creative, financial and organisational skills.

Students will:

• explore the diversity and scale of events, conferences and exhibitions that the travel and tourism industry is involved with.
• consider the complexity of developing large-scale and small-scale events, which may be local, national or international.
• gain an insight into the processes involved in running an event or conference and consider legal aspects, logistics and subcontracting.

By developing research, problem-solving, financial and communication skills, this unit will help students progress to higher education courses. The wide range of skills and knowledge developed in this unit will help various career progressions.

CAREERS in TRAVEL and TOURISM