Postgraduate - Area of study Tourism

The tourism industry currently employs around 10 per cent of the Australian workforce and over the last decade has been both one of the world's, and Australia's, fastest growing industries. Currently more than eight million international visitors are forecast to arrive in Australia by the year 2012. Australia is widely regarded as being one of the global leaders in the management and marketing of tourism.

Some of the key issues that the graduate tourism program addresses include the following:

• associated impacts of tourism on the environment
• developmental and planning issues associated with managing tourism growth
• how destinations are marketed and the notion of whether countries can become 'brands'
• how new technologies such as the internet will impact on the industry
• the current state of the global tourism industry
• the patterns of global tourism development and why some regions are growing faster than others
• the role 'culture' plays in the industry
• the role of special events such as major sporting events in tourism development
• the role of the government in managing the industry
• the segments of the market which offer the greatest growth prospects
• type of tourism emerging in the 21st century
• where the proposed tourism growth will come from and where will it occur in the world.

The key strength of the graduate tourism program lies in its international focus, its multidisciplinary nature, its industry links and its ability to critically evaluate the industry from various perspectives. The program highlights the value of field-based learning, and a range of study tours are offered to encourage student interaction with the industry. Academically, the program encompasses the areas of:

• Australian culture and society
• communications and technology
• cross-cultural analysis
• cultural tourism
• development and planning issues
• environmental tourism
• independent tourism
• marketing and international marketing
• museum and heritage studies
• special events.

All courses within the graduate tourism program are designed for students who wish to work in the management sector of the industry.

The graduate tourism program actively pursues research and supervision in the following areas:

• Aboriginal tourism
• backpacker/independent tourism
• cultural tourism and museum studies
• educational tourism
• international tourism marketing
• tourism and development in less-developed countries
• tourism planning and development in regional areas
• urban tourism
• wine tourism
• tourism in transition in Eastern Europe.