BA in Tourism Cultural Economy

Course Overview

The BA in Tourism Cultural Economy is a full honours-level degree delivered by LSTITM in London over 36 months full-time, with a shorter top-up route for holders of a Higher Diploma or Advanced Diploma. Aligned with Tourism Society, Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM) and Chartered Management Institute (CMI) practice, the programme combines cultural-tourism, heritage and arts partnership work with hands-on city casework so that graduates can talk credibly about the cultural economy inside UK boards, destination brands and heritage partnerships.

By graduation, you will be a placement-tested tourism cultural-economy graduate able to coordinate a small cultural-tourism programme, run a heritage partnership project and produce industry-referenced write-ups suitable for city marketing offices, heritage bodies and destination boards. The programme includes a supervised placement inside a UK cultural-tourism organisation so that final-year work is genuinely industry-tested and portfolio-ready. Final-year modules blend research methods, cultural-programme case work and a dissertation-style capstone that brings audience, partnership and destination thinking together for a defensible portfolio piece at graduate interview.

Key Features

• Full honours-level programme aligned with Tourism Society, CIM and CMI referenced practice
• Applied cultural-tourism casework using real UK city and regional programmes
• Structured supervised placement inside a UK city marketing office, heritage body or DMO
• Tutor briefings from former destination directors, heritage leaders and arts partnership managers
• Portfolio-quality outputs including programme briefs, partnership packs and audience frameworks
• Careers coaching for graduate cultural-tourism roles across London and UK regions
• Rolling intakes across on-campus, online and distance-learning routes for flexibility
• Structured articulation into LSTITM Master's routes for research-informed executive practice

What You Will Learn

• How to coordinate a small cultural-tourism programme with clear objectives and audiences
• Running a heritage partnership project through concept, delivery and post-project review
• Producing clean audience frameworks, partnership packs and communication artefacts
• Reading tourism-sector data and referencing it responsibly in cultural-economy work
• Understanding basic curatorial-voice guardrails and partnership discipline used in UK bodies
• Producing industry-referenced cultural-economy write-ups suitable for board briefings
• Coordinating a small applied cultural-tourism project during placement
• Presenting a full graduate cultural-economy portfolio to a tutor panel with rationale

Who This Course Is For

• A-Level and IB leavers targeting cultural-tourism careers in the UK sector
• Higher Diploma holders topping up into a full honours BA
• International applicants preparing for UK graduate cultural-tourism roles
• Career changers with arts, heritage or events backgrounds entering tourism
• Tourism-board and travel-brand staff progressing into research-informed honours study

Career Pathways

• Graduate Cultural Tourism Officer inside a UK city or regional board
• Graduate Heritage Tourism Executive inside a UK arts or heritage partnership
• Junior Cultural Programme Executive inside a London DMO
• Graduate Destination Marketing Executive with a cultural-programme brief
• Junior Tourism Development Officer with a cultural-economy remit
• Graduate Cultural Partnerships Coordinator inside a UK city marketing team

The LSTITM careers service supports Bachelor learners with cultural-tourism-focused CV drafting, structured interview coaching, placement mediation and warm introductions to London cultural-partnership, heritage and DMO teams. Learners also receive coaching on how to present programme briefs, partnership packs and audience frameworks during graduate interview rounds, plus advice on how to speak credibly about curatorial voice and partnership discipline with senior directors.

Entry Requirements

• A-Levels (BBC or above) or IB (26+ points) or overseas equivalents
• A completed Higher Diploma or Advanced Diploma for top-up routes
• IELTS 6.0 overall (no band under 5.5) or equivalent English proficiency
• Personal statement outlining career objectives in the tourism and travel sector
• Two academic or professional references

Why Study at LSTITM

LSTITM is the London School of Tourism and International Travel Management, a specialist division of Harold International College of London focused on the destination, business, systems and strategic disciplines that shape modern global tourism. Every LSTITM programme is aligned with UK bodies including the Tourism Society, Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT), ABTA, CIM, CMI and UKHospitality, giving graduates credible honours study behind them and a clean articulation route into Master's degrees.

Our curriculum is written by former destination directors, cultural-programme managers and travel-industry consultants, and delivered across on-campus, online and distance-learning routes so working professionals and international students can join. Dedicated careers services support every LSTITM learner with CV, LinkedIn, placement mediation and interview coaching plus introductions to London cultural partnerships, DMOs and destination boards for graduate roles.

Apply for BA in Tourism Cultural Economy

Applications open on a rolling basis, and the LSTITM admissions team will guide you through documents, English requirements, references and cohort dates for on-campus, online and distance-learning routes so you can pick the pace that suits your undergraduate schedule. Bachelor graduates typically progress into cultural-tourism roles inside UK city boards, heritage partnerships and DMOs, or continue directly into the LSTITM Master's route for research-informed executive practice. The admissions team confirms tuition, instalments, top-up eligibility and required documents at enquiry so you have full clarity on cost, placement window and cohort dates before you commit to the BA. Apply for your full LSTITM undergraduate tourism degree. Enrol Now