Required Courses
SUTM 5001
Planning for Sustainable Tourism Development
The course introduces students to the different facets of tourism, the concept of sustainability and its application to the strategic planning for tourism. Tourism as a contemporary leisure experience is examined along with economic, social, environmental and political ramifications, and implications for the future. Selected tourism resources and impacts of the activity on host countries and environments will be discussed, followed by an examination of the principles of good practice in tourism. The strategic planning processes for sustainable tourism development will also be addressed and illustrated by a variety of local and international case studies.
SUTM 5003
Tourism Policy and Development
The course is intended to expose students to the understanding of basic concepts, trends, philosophy and challenges of tourism policy and development. It will investigate and seek to understand policy implications of tourism development. While tourism is now a major industry globally, local trends vary from place to place. The role of tourism in development is also still not well understood. Where tourism is being conceived and practiced, there is often a dearth of knowledge in its sustainability and policy aspects. The course will draw examples of various tourism policy initiatives specifically in sustainable tourism, ecotourism and other new tourism trends, with approaches concerning emerging trends like sustainable tourism, ecotourism, etc., as they relate to the environment, local community, tourists, businesses and those affected by this type of tourism.
Elective Courses
SUTM 5002
Cultural and Heritage Tourism
The mosaic of culture, buildings, art forms, social practices, traditions and experiences that reflect the uniqueness of a place are rich resources for the development of cultural and heritage tourism. As the demand for cultural and heritage tourism is increasing worldwide, it presents immense development opportunities for cities or countries. In order to harness cultural resources in a sustainable manner, proper planning and management is necessary. Successful cultural and heritage tourism projects depend on partnership, marketing, research and comprehensive planning. This course analyzes the nature and importance of cultural heritage as resource for tourism. The lecture series analyzes various types of heritage and provides an understanding of the concept, scope and evolution of cultural and heritage tourism. Case studies from Hong Kong, China and other parts of the world will be examined to identify specific socio-economic and cultural elements associated with this kind of tourism.
SUTM 5004
Nature-based Tourism
Nature-based tourism is definitely one of the most popular tourism forms in the world. It refers to a number of tourist activities associated with the natural environment. In this course, some of the concepts and related issues, such as the distinction between nature-based tourism and other forms of tourism, benefits and challenges of nature-based tourism, management of natural and ecological resources, park design and management, interpretation, sustainability, participation of local communities and nature-based tourism products, will be explored. In order to enhance the learning experience, an interactive teaching mode will be adopted in the lectures so that the instructors can guide students to analyze the cases and issues through queries and answers. Furthermore, field trips will be organized in which students can articulate what they learn from the class teaching.
SUTM 5005
Resource & Environmental Management for Tourism
The course will examine aspects of resource impacts of visitor activities on sites, seek to understand resource management practices at destinations and study and propose visitor management and education programs relevant to sustainable tourism. To fully understand global issues of protected areas, comparative issues on major planning and management aspects will be explored and impact assessment and monitoring will be undertaken.
SUTM 5006
Ecotourism Practicum and Management
This course is designed to provide students the opportunity to apply the basic knowledge learnt in the real world. It will help students develop environmentally friendly outdoor skills by developing concepts and techniques of communication and interpretation in aspects of sustainable tourism and in particular ecotourism. It will also identify themes at destinations that can be used to plan and manage tourism for sustainability. The course will seek to equip students with skills to plan, develop and manage ecotourism sites and enterprises with specific examples in Hong Kong. A series of field trips and fieldwork will complement the lectures. As components of ecotourism, major themes will involve education, recreation, conservation, heritages, marketing and community participation. The course will introduce participants to contemporary aspects of tourism resource management issues, applied management techniques and aspects of professional practice. A strong involvement of students is highly recommended.
SUTM 5007
Urban Tourism
Tourism in cities and their urban areas is an important and complicated phenomenon. Various forms of tourist activities contribute to the operations, structures and interactions within and between cities, as well as the stakeholders therein. This course is designed to allow students to investigate, study and understand the context of urban tourism. With increasing challenges caused by globalization, urbanization, tourist arrival, and the demand of additional infrastructure and resources, tourism will have to assume a new dimension in the urban context.
This course attempts to explain the inter-relationships between tourism and urban environments by identifying the nature of the tourism industry in the urban areas. The course examines topical issues related to the process of development of urban tourism, its varied forms of activities, and relevant contemporary issues relating to the management and marketing of urban destinations. By completing the course, students will be able to understand, apply and challenge concepts, theories and knowledge in urban tourism. Students will also be able to describe and assess the importance of geographical characteristics in tourism decision-making processes in the urban area.
SUTM 5008
Overseas Field Studies
The importance of field studies for tourism students is immeasurable. It forms a major complimentary aspect of the programme and is designed to give the students an opportunity to understand the real-world situation. The aim of the course is to enable students to take part in field studies away from Hong Kong where they will get involved in a “local” field project that gives a stimulating, realistic and practical experience that will add value to the educational experience.
The field studies programme will be undertaken in a local environment that will allow students to take active part, identify and put theories into practice by collecting data, analyzing and interpreting the information for strategic planning and location analysis of the tourism industry.
While this will provide the opportunity for individual development of students, it will also provide an opportunity for students to work as a team in project management and problem-solving. Students are required to participate in all activities throughout the field studies, do presentations and submit reports on completion.
Note: the travel expense for SUTM5008 course should be student’s own burden.
SUTM 5012
Dissertation
Students are required to carry out independent studies of selected topics in sustainable tourism under staff supervision. Evaluation will be based on project presentations and written reports.