MSc in Tourism Economics
Course Overview
The MSc in Tourism Economics is a 12 to 18-month LSTITM postgraduate programme in the Tourism and Destination Management department. It prepares senior practitioners to analyse tourism economics for boards, DMOs and consultancies, and is aligned with references from WTTC, the Tourism Society and CIM.
By graduation you will hold a research-informed executive Master's, a dissertation of at least 15,000 words on a live tourism-economics question and a portfolio of board-ready economic briefs. The programme layers case studies, structured tutorials and applied assessments across destination branding, visitor economies, community-focused tourism and inbound market development, giving senior practitioners and consultancy leads a route into destination management, tour operations and inbound tourism that recruiters can quickly read on a CV. You will exit the course able to demonstrate operational discipline in interview scenarios and to answer probing questions about how DMOs, tourism boards, inbound operators and heritage sites operate in the current UK market.
Key Features
- Full 12 to 18-month postgraduate route with a substantial dissertation
- Reference to WTTC, Tourism Society and CIM economic-analysis standards
- Applied practice with UK inbound, outbound and regional economic data
- Board-briefing coaching for senior audiences
- Dedicated MSc careers service for executive tourism roles
- Online, on-campus in London and distance-learning delivery
- Case-based assessment covering inbound arrivals, cultural heritage sites, seasonality, DMO governance, community engagement, sustainable visitor economies
- Applied a peer-reviewed workshop format with rolling written feedback
What You Will Learn
- How to read and challenge tourism economic-impact reports
- How to model visitor economy contribution for a UK region
- How to translate economic evidence into board-ready recommendations
- How to design ethical, GDPR-safe tourism data collection
- How to defend a tourism-economics case in a challenging meeting
- How to spot misuse of economic multipliers in industry briefs
- How to protect research integrity under political pressure
- How to write a 15,000-word Master's dissertation
- How London and regional DMOs, national tourism boards, heritage organisations and inbound tour operators apply destination briefing, visitor-economy mapping and cross-partner coordination 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 economic-analysis roles
- Consultancy analysts specialising in tourism economics
- Public-sector policy leads working with visitor-economy data
- International applicants targeting UK executive tourism-economics posts
Career Pathways
- Tourism Investment Analyst
- Head of Tourism Development
- Tourism Business Analyst
- Tourism Research Director
- Tourism Policy Advisor
- Regional Tourism Director
LSTITM's MSc careers service coaches learners on executive CV structure, board-style interviews and consultancy applications and connects graduates to London consultancy houses, DMOs and public-sector tourism bodies.
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 experience
- IELTS 6.5 overall (no band under 6.0) or equivalent English proficiency
- A 500-word research statement on your chosen tourism-economics 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 economics 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 Economics learners join the wider LSTITM community across London and online, with rolling guest sessions from working professionals in DMOs, tourism boards, inbound operators and heritage sites. 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 destination management, tour operations and inbound tourism teams recruit, promote and develop their people. Every learner also receives structured feedback on written assessments so that commercial fluency 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 Economics 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 Economics
The MSc in Tourism Economics opens with structured annual intakes at LSTITM's London campus and online. Advance into executive tourism leadership with LSTITM through a research-informed economics MSc. The MSc in Tourism Economics 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
