MSc in Tourism Destination Planning Systems
Course Overview
The MSc in Tourism Destination Planning Systems is a 12 to 18-month LSTITM postgraduate programme in the Tourism Professional and Strategic Studies department. It prepares senior practitioners to design and lead destination planning systems across DMOs, tourism boards and regional authorities. The MSc is aligned with references from the Tourism Society, WTTC and CMI.
By graduation you will hold a research-informed Master's, a dissertation of at least 15,000 words on a live destination-planning question and a portfolio of board-ready planning outputs. The programme layers case studies, structured tutorials and applied assessments across scenario planning, board-level decisions, policy alignment and cross-sector programmes, giving senior practitioners and consultancy leads a route into tourism strategy, consultancy and policy work that recruiters can quickly read on a CV. You will exit the course able to demonstrate analytical rigour in interview scenarios and to answer probing questions about how consultancies, tourism boards, regional authorities and public-sector programmes operate in the current UK market.
Key Features
- Full postgraduate MSc route with a substantial dissertation
- Reference to Tourism Society, WTTC and CMI planning standards
- Applied studies on UK regional visitor-economy planning
- Board-briefing coaching for senior audiences
- Dedicated MSc careers service for destination-track roles
- Online, on-campus in London and distance-learning delivery
- Case-based assessment covering strategic scenarios, policy briefing, board papers, consultancy engagements, cross-sector partnerships, ESG reporting
- Applied a paired review clinic format with rolling written feedback
What You Will Learn
- How to design a multi-year destination planning system
- How to run stakeholder engagement across public, private and community actors
- How to link visitor-economy growth to sustainability and carrying-capacity limits
- How to defend a destination-planning case at elected-official level
- How to translate a destination plan into a delivery programme
- How to keep WTTC-referenced good practice through political cycles
- How to run an ethical, GDPR-safe destination research programme
- How to write a 15,000-word Master's dissertation on a destination question
- How consultancy houses, tourism boards, regional authorities and public-sector programme teams apply strategic reasoning, evidence synthesis and stakeholder-facing communication to real UK trading decisions
- How to structure a written recommendation for a senior UK tourism manager
Who This Course Is For
- Senior DMO and tourism-board leaders moving into head-of-planning roles
- Consultancy analysts specialising in destination planning
- Public-sector leaders working with visitor-economy strategy
- International applicants targeting UK executive destination-planning posts
Career Pathways
- Regional Tourism Director
- Executive Director (Tourism Board)
- Head of Tourism Development
- Tourism Programme Director
- Tourism Consultancy Partner (associate)
- Tourism Policy Advisor
LSTITM's MSc careers service coaches learners on executive CV structure, board interviews and consultancy applications and connects graduates to London and UK regional DMOs, tourism boards and consultancies.
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-planning experience
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band under 6.0) or equivalent English proficiency
- A 500-word research statement on your chosen destination-planning 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, CMI and UKHospitality.
Our curriculum is written by former destination directors, DMO chief executives and travel-industry consultants and delivered on-campus, online and by distance learning to fit senior practitioners globally.
Beyond the taught curriculum, MSc in Tourism Destination Planning Systems learners join the wider LSTITM community across London and online, with rolling guest sessions from working professionals in consultancies, tourism boards, regional authorities and public-sector programmes. 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 strategy, consultancy and policy work teams recruit, promote and develop their people. Every learner also receives structured feedback on written assessments so that stakeholder confidence 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 Destination Planning Systems 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 Destination Planning Systems
The MSc in Tourism Destination Planning Systems opens with structured annual intakes at LSTITM's London campus and online. Advance into executive tourism leadership with LSTITM through a destination-planning-systems MSc. The MSc in Tourism Destination Planning Systems 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. Enrol Now
