The Master program is primarily aimed at students who hold a degree in Tourism, Geography or other similar disciplines. The Academic Committee could assess the incorporation of candidates from other related disciplines that did not require additional training.

The master is fully taught in English. For this reason, all candidates must be in command of the language skills equivalent to the B2 level in English.

• All applicants will be evaluated on the basis of the following criteria:
• Academic transcript (performance and average mark) in the undergraduate degree (60%)
• Medium-high level command of the English language (10%)
• Curriculum Vitae (20%)
• A mission statement with personal motivation and reasons for studying this master (10%)

For students with special needs or disabilities their admittance will be in accordance with the Organic Law 4/2007 of 12th April, on the inclusion of people with disabilities in universities. Positive action measures to ensure access of these students to the Master will be provided when they meet the conditions in the current regulations.
The Academic Committee of the master is the responsible for the student's admission.

The objective of the Master in Tourism Management and Planning is to provide advanced knowledge in tourism with special attention being given to training in tourist business management, tourist destinations planning and nautical and cruise ship tourism. The academic objectives pursued are that students acquire the following specific competences:

The Master in Tourism Management and Planning offers the opportunity to acquire an extensive knowledge of tourist business management, tourist destinations planning and nautical and cruise ship tourism. The master is mainly focus to train professional skills. The main objective is to train professionals to fill middle and senior positions in the areas of tourism planning and management in public agencies, public-private partnerships, international organizations and companies. The master also allows students to obtain the necessary ECTS to be accepted into doctoral programs.

The Master Programme includes 60 ECTS spread over courses with 3 ECTS:

Master Programme overview:

The teaching guide of each subject can be found in the section " Subjects " of this master’s degree

Modules overview

Compulsory Module:

The programme includes 6 compulsory courses. The student can choose to take these courses at the UIB or at the EUM-UPF.These modules must be taken in the first semester.
A brief description of each course is set out below.

Business and strategic models in Tourism

• Strategic Management and the tourism firm
• Corporate strategy: horizontal and vertical integration, diversification, organisation structure
• Dynamic competitive strategy and business models
• Business models and information and communication technologies (ICT)
• Internationalisation models for the tourism firm
• Knowledge management in the tourism firm

Environmental management for tourism firms

• Environmental quality standards
• Adoption of standards and their effect on firms´ profitability
• Environmental pro-activity and strategic business positioning
• Environmental management systems and certification decisions: Economic evaluation of certification
• Environmental management systems according to ISO 14000 and EMAS
• Other environmental initiatives: eco-labelling
• Cases of successful businesses using proactive environmental management in the tourism sector

Advanced management systems for excellence and integration

• Quality management systems (QMS) and models: concepts, elements and stages
• Advanced management (Advanced management and excellence principles; Advanced and strategic management; Models of advanced and excellent management)
• Assessment and management for the sustained success by ISO 9004:2009 (ISO 9004:2009 contents; UNE 66174:2010 contents and assessment; Assesssment and improvement systematization)
• Excellent management and assessment by EFQM model (EFQM model contents; Assessment by EFQM model; Excellence awards)
• QMS for excellence and sustained succes in the tourism sector
• Occupational health and safety systems by OSHAS 18001; Corporate Social Responsability (ISO 26000, SGE21, IQNet SR10)
• Integrated management systems (regulations, models, continuous improvement, processess management, fundamentals for integration)
• Management systems integration: common elements, specific elements, integration plan
• Case study: case of integration of quality, environment, occupational health and safety and social responsability in the tourism sector applying UNE 66177

Tourism economics

• Economic analysis of the main market failures in the tourism market
• Externalities correction and the public sector role in the tourism markets
• Effects of economic policy on tourism supply
• Price fixing strategies in the tourism market
• Economic issues with particular relevance to tourism

Quantitative methods for tourism research

• Tourism data analysis from individual and aggregate perspectives
• Overview of quantitative methods: descriptive, inferential, data reduction and causality analysis
• Methods of statistical inference: estimation and hypothesis testing
• Random sampling: characteristics and typology
• Comparison of samples and segmentation: analysis of variance (ANOVA)
• Design and analysis of surveys in tourism research

Territorial tourism planning

• Tourism spatial planning (national, regional and local) for sustainable tourism
• Tourism impact in less developed countries. Planning for natural resources protection
• The governance of the tourism areas
• Repositioning strategies for mature tourist destinations. Examples from Spanish coastal areas

Specialisation Modules:

The Master Programme offers 15 different specialisation courses grouped into 3 different areas of specialisation. The student must choose 5 different courses. A special mention of the specialisation is made if a minimum of 4 modules are taken in the same area of specialisation. If this requirement is not fulfilled, no specialisation will be mentioned and the title will be a general one. A brief description of the courses offered in each area of the specialisation is set out below, as well as the university offering them. All these courses must be taken in the first semester.

Tourism business management:

This module will be offered at both the UIB and the EUM-UPF. A brief description of each course is set out below.

Revenue Management

• Revenue management in services. Operational context and strategy
• Microeconomics foundations of price management and consumer behaviour
• Statistical distribution in the arrival of tourists
• Pricing strategies and product optimisation
• Tools for developing the revenue management system

Fundamentals of marketing research

• Dependence and interdependence analysis. Application to market analysis
• Regression analysis
• Data reduction techniques
• Classification techniques

Entrepreneurship and new markets

• Business venturing and entrepreneurship
• Differentiation, meaning and replicability
• Entrepreneurship in co-working contexts
• Business segments and competitive markets
• Emerging business opportunities in tourism (ecology and adventure, cultural, sports, indigenous, grassroots, etc)
• Business plan

Financial instruments for the tourism industry

• Models for calculating required returns of investments (Markowitz, CAPM, etc)
• Financial markets’ efficiency
• Foreign exchange markets
• Derivatives for risk management in the tourism industry (futures, options, swaps)

Environmental auditing in tourism firms

• General premises of environmental audit
• Types of environmental audits
• Impact assessment
• Preparation of questionnaires to plan an environmental audit in tourism firms
• Applied examples in tourism

Tourism destination planning:

This module will only be offered at the UIB. A brief description of each course is set out below.

Causal analysis in tourism

• Analysis of the determinants of tourism behaviour
• The linear regression model
• Introduction of qualitative determinants
• Tourism supply and demand models
• Consumer choice models

Economic management in tourism planning

• Tourism planning evolution and the public sector role in the economy
• The plannning process and its stages
• Competition versus collaboration in tourism planning
• Tools and implementation
• Preparation of the statistics and monitoring system
• Case studies

Tourism policy and economic impact

• Tourism policy instruments
• Environmental policy
• Economic impacts assessment
• General equilibrium models
• Tourism Satellite Accounts

Tourism planning applied to spatial management

• Tourism development plans: the Tourism Supply Plan of Mallorca (POOT) as a regional example
• Public-private partnership in the management of tourism planning: The role of tourism offices
• Monitoring the number of visitors to tourism areas. Physical and psychological carrying capacity
• The value of landscape as a tourism product. Protected areas
• The value of anthropic/cultural landscape. Measures for its conservation and protection

Geographical information systems for tourism management

• Design and implementation of digital databases
• Advanced spatial analysis techniques for diagnosing and assessing tourism problems
• Thematic cartography
• Application of Geographical Information Systems to tourism
• Advanced geographical visualisation techniques

Nautical tourism and cruises:

This Module will only be offered at the EUM-UPF. A brief description of each course is set out below.

Nautical tourism and the cruise industry

• Characteristics of nautical tourism
• Main strengths of nautical tourism and cruises
• Nautical and territorial tourism: port and destination
• Fundamentals of the cruise industry
• Economic and social impact of cruise tourism

Cruise tourism product management

• Accommodation
• Food and beverage
• Tourism entertainment
• Complementary activities
• Product marketing

Cruise tourism operations and processes

• Information and communication management
• Cruise product quality management
• Environmental and sustainability management
• Supplier management processes
• Virtual customer management

Port logistics and management

• Maritime/Port Safety and Protection
• Port Competitiveness and Competition
• Port/Coastal interaction
• Analysis of port traffic times or operation
• Globalisation and Maritime Transport

Intercultural management and marketing

• Cultural patterns and markets
• High and low context cultures and intercultural negotiation
• Communication in multicultural marketing
• Innovation diffusion among cultures
• Intercultural marketing strategies

Elective Module:

The Master Programme offers 21 different elective courses. The student must choose 5 courses from the 21 on offer. A brief description of the courses is set out below, as well as the university offering them. These courses must be taken in the second semester.

Qualitative analysis techniques (only at the UIB)

• Information production and analysis from qualitative social methodology
• Uses and selection of qualitative techniques
• Content analysis
• Interviews
• Focus Groups
• Qualitative methodology for creativity: Brainstorming, Delphi,…

Innovation in tourism (UIB and EUM-UPF)

• Knowledge economy and its measuring problems
• Innovation in services and their indicators
• Knowledge management in SMEs: the case of tourism
• Innovation policies within the framework of the OECD and the Science, Technology and Innovation Plan
• Research, development and innovation (R+D+i) policy applied to tourism
• Case studies of monitoring and assessing R+D+i in tourism

Human capital and tourism (only at the UIB)

• Human capital and the tourism system
• Human capital strategies to improve tourism competitiveness
• Knowledge management and human capital assessment
• Case studies of human capital and employment projects in the tourism sector

Analysis of competition in the tourism industry (only at the UIB)

• Tourism market structure: analysis of airlines, tourism intermediation and the accommodation sector
• Price discrimination and vertical control of the tourism firms
• Competition and tactic collusion of the tourism firms
• Product differentiation in the tourism industry
• Entry barriers and concentration strategies in the tourism industry
• R+D+I for competition in the tourism industry
• Monitoring competition in the tourism industry
• Evaluation of competition policies in the tourism industry

The experience economy in tourism (only at the UIB)

• Economy of the Experience
• From Product to tourism experience: coproduction
• Design, development and assessment of tourism experiences
• Integration of experiences into the whole tourism supply

CSR in tourism firms (only at the UIB)

• The firm and the market. The conflict between business and society. Regulations and its limits
• The concept of corporate social responsibility. Business ethics
• Public policies and CSR
• CSR and business profitability: sustainability of competitive advantage
• Corporate governance
• Strategic management of human resources
• Marketing and reputation
• Socially responsible investments
• CSR and the sustainability of a tourism destination

E-tourism and CRM (only at the UIB)

• Internet applications in marketing and communication for tourism industry businesses and institutions
• Handling information volumes: data mining
• Customer management and the CRM
• Social networks and the interaction between business and consumer
• Publicity and advertising networks

Management skills (only at the UIB)

• Organisational management and Leadership
• Interpersonal communication
• Conflict negotiation and resolution
• Time management and meetings management
• Work team management
• Public presentation techniques

Project management for tourism firms (at the UIB and the EUM-UPF)

• Using projects to organise tourism firms
• Defining the scope of the project
• Tasks by project in tourism firms
• Distributing activities over time
• Assigning teams to tasks
• Communication with stakeholders
• Tourism firm project risk
• Project execution and control

Corporate finance for tourism firms (only at the UIB)

• Investment policy
• Real options
• Financial structure
• Dividends policy
• Working capital management

Family businesses in the tourism sector (at the UIB and EUM-UPF)

• Accurate definition of family business
• The relevance of family business in the tourism activity
• The agency relationship and finance of family business
• The succession process
• Family business growth and corporate governance
• Innovation and entrepreneurship in the family business

Corporate Governance for tourism firms (only at the UIB)

• Organisations governance and firm governance
• Firm organisational structure and control
• Corporate governance mechanisms for tourism firms
• Codes of best practice
• From good corporate governance to CSR

Accounting analysis for tourism firms (only at the UIB)

• Elements for drawing up and analysing Financial Statements
• Financial statements: annual accounts with special reference to the statement of cash flows and to the statement of changes in equity
• Assets analysis and Balance Sheet
• Static analysis of the financial position of the tourism firm
• Dynamic analysis of the financial position of the tourism firm
• Economic analysis: results and profitability
• Uniform System of Accounts
• Budget controlling

Writing skills for tourism (only at the UIB)

• Project preparation and presentation
• Business and strategic plan preparation and presentation
• Academic article preparation and presentation
• Specific vocabulary for tourism businesses

Oral skills for tourism (only at the UIB)

• B2B negotiations in tourism: sub-contracting, leasing and renting transactions, insurance, guarantee contracts
• English for CRM: communication skills, non-verbal communication, complaints management
• Business English: reports, assessments, hiring personnel
• Specific vocabulary for tourism businesses

Cultural heritage as a boost to tourism (at the UIB and EUM-UPF)

• Cultural heritage: history, concept and characteristics
• Assets of Cultural Interest, heritage protection and World Heritage
• Synergies between cultural heritage and tourism: aunthenticity, interpretation and management
• Urban planning, landscape and musEUM-UPFs in the promotion of cultural tourism
• ICT and new technologies for cultural heritage tourism diffusion

Environmental impact of tourism (only at the UIB)

• Environmental problems caused by tourism.
• Pollution caused by tourism activity. Water – contamination of drinking water, used by the tourism sector and making the most of recycled water
• Air transport and its environmental impact – acoustic contamination
• Connectivity versus isolation. Motorways versus conservation of the countryside
• The problem of seasonal tourism on the land and society

Sustainable tourism and local development (only at the UIB)

• Sustainable development and its implications
• Local development as an aim for tourism
• Territorial problems with tourism in developing countries
• Community tourism as a form of local tourism management

Renovation plans for mature destinations (at the UIB and EUM-UPF)

• The problems with mature tourism destinations
• Urban development plans
• Integral rejuvenation as a means to recovering the tourism image
• Case studies

Application of geographical information technologies to natural heritage management (at the UIB and EUM-UPF)

• General concepts on geographical information systems
• Geo-positioning tools
• GIS applications and location planning for tourism facilities
• GIS applications and design, management and dissemination of tourism routes and destinations
• Examples applied to the conservation and use of natural heritage

Final Module:

Professional Training placement

A work placement period in businesses or institutions under the supervision of a Master programme coordinator. Successful completion of the work experience carries 6 ECTS.

Final Project

An academic work completed under the supervision of the professor assigned to the student. The Masters’ Thesis carries 6 ECTS.

A continuous evaluation process will take place, as detailed in the academic guide of each subject. (Website section " Subjects ")