1. Tourism Management – Cultural and Heritage Tourism
Today, travelers are moving beyond visiting destinations strictly for relaxation with many seeking
cultural experiences. As such, Centennial College’s Tourism Management – Cultural and Heritage
Tourism program trains students for positions as culture and heritage sector managers.
This is achieved through two years of training that includes a measured application of
fundamentals and training culminating in industry experience opportunities. The industry
experiences take up the entire last semester of the program but aren’t the only hands-on aspects.
Many of the courses feature practical components such as projects and case studies.
Among the specific Tourism Management Courses in Toronto offered within this program are:
Introduction to Cultural and Heritage Tourism: This aspect of international tourism is
expanding so rapidly that it is now recognized as a high profile mass market. Students are
introduced to what the ITB Berlin — the largest tourism trade show in the word — has, since
2002, featured in its an increasingly popular Hall of Cultural Tourism, a unique area of exhibitors
such as museums, theaters and “art cities” designed to showcase the colorful spectrum of heritage
and cultural tourism opportunities.
Cultural & Heritage Tourism Principles & Practices: Urban regeneration and development,
protection of heritage areas, site integrity and resource interpretation, identifying and planning for
indigenous/ aboriginal tourism and preserving and promoting multicultural diversity — all critical
to the development and implementation of cultural tourism policies and practices — are covered in
this course. Students look at case studies and have the opportunity to work closely with local
communities and conduct on-site research.
Cross-Cultural Behavior in Tourism: Culture is covered from the aspect of having a significant
impact on tourism policy, planning, development, management and marketing. Students learn to
identify the major differences between Eastern and Western national cultures and their influence
on tourist and host social behavior. An in-depth analysis of five Asian cultures in comparison with
European, American and Australian cultures allows students to see how cultural differences
influence tourist holiday perceptions and satisfaction.
Tour Planning and Management: Students learn that to increase sales volume, various
companies use sales incentives. Rather than an increase in salary or commission, they give sellers
travel packages. Creating unique, memorable and more than positive experiences requires
excellent costing, planning and management skills as well as imagination and years of experience.
Customer Relationship Management: For maximizing shareholder value through acquiring,
enhancing and retaining desired customers, customer Relationship Management (CRM) is used.
This course examines the concepts, processes and technologies an organization uses to achieve
superior performance through client intelligence. Students are familiarized with CRM software to
illustrate several client-facing business processes: lead management and the prospect qualification
process; sales process management, campaign management and the execution of post-conversion
service. The course emphasizes the methods of accessing intelligence, team collaboration,
performance measurement and continuous improvement though analytical feedback.
Graduates of Tourism Management Programs may launch careers with Festival and Events
Ontario, Heritage Toronto, Ministry of Tourism and Culture (Ontario), Parks Canada, municipal
governments, museums, major hotel chains and more.