MSc in Tourism Applied Research
Course Overview
The MSc in Tourism Applied Research is a 12 to 18-month LSTITM postgraduate programme in the Tourism Business, Marketing and Operations department. It prepares senior practitioners to design and lead applied tourism research for consultancies, boards and DMOs. The MSc is aligned with references from IDM, WTTC and the Tourism Society.
By graduation you will hold a research-informed Master's, an applied dissertation of at least 15,000 words on a live industry brief and a portfolio of board-ready insight programmes. The programme layers case studies, structured tutorials and applied assessments across consumer insight, product bundling, digital campaigns and category management, giving senior practitioners and consultancy leads a route into tourism marketing, product management and commercial operations that recruiters can quickly read on a CV. You will exit the course able to demonstrate strategic imagination in interview scenarios and to answer probing questions about how tour operators, OTAs, brand teams and category functions operate in the current UK market.
Key Features
- Full postgraduate MSc route with an applied dissertation
- Reference to IDM, WTTC and Tourism Society research standards
- Mixed-methods design and peer-review-quality write-up
- Board-briefing coaching for senior audiences
- Dedicated MSc careers service for research-track roles
- Online, on-campus in London and distance-learning delivery
- Case-based assessment covering product bundling, digital acquisition, retention KPIs, category planning, loyalty economics, agency briefing
- Applied a small-group tutorial format with rolling written feedback
What You Will Learn
- How to convert a client brief into a defensible research plan
- How to design mixed-methods studies against tight timelines
- How to run ethical, GDPR-safe research at consultancy scale
- How to protect research integrity under commercial pressure
- How to translate research into board-ready insight programmes
- How to defend a methodology at academic peer level
- How to write a 15,000-word applied dissertation
- How to build a small research team from freelance and internal talent
- How UK tour operators, OTAs, brand consultancies and travel-marketing agencies apply product framing, campaign measurement and customer-experience diagnostics to real UK trading decisions
- How to structure a written recommendation for a senior UK tourism manager
Who This Course Is For
- Senior tourism practitioners moving into head-of-research roles
- Consultancy analysts specialising in tourism research
- Public-sector policy leads running tourism-linked programmes
- International applicants targeting UK executive research posts
Career Pathways
- Tourism Research Director
- Tourism Consultancy Analyst
- Tourism Business Analyst
- Tourism Investment Analyst
- Strategy Analyst (Tourism)
- Tourism Programme Director
LSTITM's MSc careers service coaches learners on executive CV structure and consultancy-style interviews and connects graduates to London-based research houses, consultancies and DMOs.
Entry Requirements
- A UK 2:2 (Lower Second Class) honours degree or overseas equivalent in any discipline
- Applicants without a first degree may be considered with 5+ years senior tourism research experience
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band under 6.0) or equivalent English proficiency
- A 500-word research statement on your chosen tourism applied-research specialisation
- Two academic or professional references and a short interview
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 destination, business, systems and strategic disciplines. Programmes are aligned with recognised UK bodies including the Tourism Society, ITT, ABTA, CIM, IDM and UKHospitality.
Our curriculum is written by former research directors, consultancy partners and travel-industry academics and delivered on-campus, online and by distance learning to fit senior practitioners globally.
Beyond the taught curriculum, MSc in Tourism Applied Research learners join the wider LSTITM community across London and online, with rolling guest sessions from working professionals in tour operators, OTAs, brand teams and category functions. These sessions bring the research-informed decision-making, dissertation-quality analysis and board-level defence focus of the programme to life through concrete examples, and demystify how modern tourism marketing, product management and commercial operations teams recruit, promote and develop their people. Every learner also receives structured feedback on written assessments so that front-line judgement becomes visible in the finished portfolio, ready for interview or promotion review.
The LSTITM approach is deliberate: pair recognised UK professional-body reference points with hands-on tutor guidance, structured tutorials and real case material from London tour operators, OTAs, airlines and destination boards. That combination is what turns the MSc in Tourism Applied Research into more than a certificate on the wall, and into a piece of evidence that recruiters, promotion panels and consultancy partners can actually use.
Apply for MSc in Tourism Applied Research
The MSc in Tourism Applied Research opens with structured annual intakes at LSTITM's London campus and online. Advance into executive tourism leadership with LSTITM through an applied-research MSc. The MSc in Tourism Applied Research sits inside a wider LSTITM portfolio, so learners on this executive Master's route can move confidently into the next articulation step. Admissions typically responds within three working days, and applicants receive documented feedback on any application query before the next intake window closes. The programme's applied-research emphasis means every MSc candidate leaves with published-standard methodology notes and a dissertation abstract they can adapt for consultancy tenders and academic proceedings. Enrol Now
