Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations
Course Overview
The Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations is a UK Level 4-equivalent qualification running 9 to 12 months that develops practitioner-level customer relations and service-recovery skills for tourism operators, agencies and destinations. It is aligned with the Chartered Institute of Marketing (CIM), Institute of Travel and Tourism (ITT) and UKHospitality reference standards.
By graduation, students can supervise a customer relations desk, coordinate escalations, own loyalty conversations and lead entry-level teams delivering consistent guest and traveller service across contact channels.
Assessment on the Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations combines coursework, applied case-studies and a structured customer relations portfolio drawn from live LSTITM sector briefs. Two of the assessment tasks are set by working service desks so the outputs reflect current UK practice, and the final portfolio is reviewed by industry mentors before graduation.
Key Features
- Delivered on-campus in London, online and via distance learning
- Curriculum aligned with CIM, ITT and UKHospitality service standards
- UK Level 4-equivalent Diploma with articulation into Advanced Diploma routes
- Live workshops covering complaint handling, escalation and CRM practice
- Case studies from UK travel operators, OTAs and destination hotels
- Introduction to loyalty scheme design and CRM segmentation
- Career service for customer experience and CRM tourism roles
- Two live sector briefs drawn from LSTITM service and CRM partners
- Customer relations portfolio reviewed by industry mentors before graduation
What You Will Learn
- Customer journey mapping across booking, travel and post-trip stages
- Complaint categorisation, root cause analysis and service recovery scripts
- Practical CRM segmentation and campaign briefing at practitioner level
- Loyalty programme mechanics for OTAs, airlines and tour operators
- Multi-channel service coordination across email, phone, chat and social
- Voice of customer research methods and NPS tracking basics
- Refund, compensation and duty-of-care practice for tourism operators
- Team leadership routines for a small customer relations desk
- Practitioner project management for service-recovery programmes
- Meeting facilitation for cross-channel service teams and complaint reviews
- Introductory budget literacy for goodwill gestures and compensation policies
Who This Course Is For
- Certificate holders progressing into supervisory service roles
- Contact-centre agents moving into travel and tourism environments
- International learners targeting UK customer experience roles
- Career changers with retail service supervisor experience
- Aspiring loyalty, CRM and customer experience coordinators in tourism
Career Pathways
- Customer Experience Manager (Tourism)
- Loyalty and CRM Manager
- Tourism Communications Executive
- Tourism Sales Manager (Junior)
- Brand Manager (Travel) Assistant
- Travel Advertising Executive
- Tourism Consultant (Junior)
LSTITM's careers service supports Diploma candidates with CV audits, mock service interviews and warm introductions to London-based OTAs, travel operators and destination hotels.
Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations learners also benefit from a monthly live complaint clinic where working service leaders review anonymised customer complaint transcripts and coach learners through the response and recovery steps. Distance-learning cohorts join by video conference and receive the transcripts for their own written response practice. Past cohorts routinely name the complaint clinic as the single most useful feature of the Diploma when they move into their first customer relations supervisor role.
Entry Requirements
- Age 18+ with completed secondary education (A-Levels, IB, or overseas equivalent)
- An LSTITM Certificate or comparable tourism qualification (preferred, not required)
- IELTS 5.5 or equivalent English proficiency for international applicants
- Short statement of interest describing your customer relations direction
- Access to a computer and reliable internet for online delivery
Applicants who narrowly miss the IELTS 5.5 threshold can take LSTITM's pre-sessional English support before joining the Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations, and international applicants receive a personal admissions reply within three working days. Candidates without formal qualifications but with three years of contact-centre, retail or hospitality supervisor experience are welcome to apply through the recognised prior learning route.
Why Study at LSTITM
LSTITM is the London School of Tourism and International Travel Management, a specialist division of Harold International College of London. Programmes are aligned with the Tourism Society, ITT, ABTA, CIM and UKHospitality so graduates step into the sector with credible, industry-referenced study behind them.
Our curriculum is written by former customer experience leaders and destination service directors and delivered across on-campus, online and distance learning with a dedicated career service.
Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations students are matched with a working service leader as their personal mentor for the year. Mentors join termly check-ins, review portfolio outputs and often introduce learners into their own OTA and travel-operator service networks, giving Diploma graduates a warm route into their first customer experience supervisor role.
Apply for Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations
Applications are open now for the next intake of the Diploma in Tourism Customer Relations. Take the next step into professional tourism practice and secure a customer-focused UK Level 4-equivalent Diploma. Rolling intakes are open across on-campus, online and distance-learning modes so applicants can pick the delivery route that best fits their work and study commitments. Applications are reviewed on a first-come basis and the LSTITM admissions team responds within three working days. Enrol Now.
