TM9700 - Hospitality, Tourism and Globalisation

What will I learn on this module?

This module aims to increase your awareness and understanding of the issues and challenges of hospitality and tourism in a global context – that is in relation to flows of capital and people around the world. You will learn about globalisation as an economic, social and cultural process and how hospitality and tourism, in all their different elements and incarnations, are part of that process. Through this you will be able to explore these industries thoroughly with a view of beginning to think how you may want to develop a career within them, and where. At the end of this module, you will have a deeper understanding of real-life issues around globalisation – from economic, social and cultural, and to an extent environmental - and how the tourism and hospitality industries are both shaped and shape them. The development of this awareness can not only encourage you to think about future careers in these exciting industries but potential business opportunities too.

How will I learn on this module?

The module is delivered through lectures, workshops, directed and independent study in which you will learn ‘for’ and ‘about’ hospitality, tourism and globalisation. Assimilation and critical reflection of academic knowledge, personal experience and industry practice along with the development of personal awareness and capabilities are fundamental to the learning and teaching philosophy on this module.

The taught element of the module will be provided through lectures and workshops delivered by staff with research interests in hospitality, tourism and globalisation. This will be supplemented by guest speaker sessions delivered by practitioners who are either entrepreneurs, destination managers, or/and hospitality and tourism professionals. Lectures will be interactive in nature, drawing upon your own experiences and opinions as well as the directed learning you will undertake. Throughout, the emphasis will be on high levels of active engagement and participation. Workshop/seminar sessions will have an experiential and academic/reflective emphasis, you will engage in activities that will stimulate the application of theory to real-life circumstances in ways that will be fun and challenging to your assumptions in such a way as to stimulate your own investigations and research. You will also be encouraged to demonstrate reflective practice and justify your opinions and thought processes on the issues and opportunities this module explores. Learning will be dynamic, meaning that it will also come through dialogue, debate and discussion with fellow students as well as academic and practice professionals.

Directed learning will centre upon a range of activities including pre-reading, preparation for interactive activities and use of e-learning platforms. Independent learning will centre upon you identifying and pursuing areas of interest in relation to the specialist subject area or by providing deeper/broader knowledge and understanding of the subject through a range of learning activities that might include extended reading, reflection and research.

The module is supported by a Teaching and Learning plan which outlines the formal sessions, together with the tutor-directed study and independent reading.

How will I be supported academically on this module?

You will be supported on this module by the academic staff delivering the timetabled lecture and workshop/seminar sessions. Within the workshop/seminar sessions on-going tutor-student interactions and discussions around the activities undertaken will support you in your studies. Guidance will be given on the nature of work to be undertaken either through the Teaching and Learning Plan or through specific instruction related to a particular task.

The module electronic platform (eLP) site will contain materials and aids related to the formal scheduled teaching sessions which will facilitate your independent study; this will include the recordings of lectures and materials needed in preparation for workshop sessions. The eLP will also signpost you to relevant extracurricular entrepreneurship-related activities which could support the planning of your business idea.

A comprehensive electronic reading list will be provided to support you academically. This list will contain relevant academic books, reports, journal articles and conference papers which will provide helpful guidance in the planning of your business idea as well as theory which will support your reflections.

What will I be expected to read on this module?

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. Online reading lists (provided after enrolment) give you access to your reading material for your modules. The Library works in partnership with your module tutors to ensure you have access to the material that you need.

What will I be expected to achieve?

Knowledge & Understanding:

Identify, apply and critically evaluate contemporary issues and challenges of the internationally expanding hospitality and tourism industries. [MLO1] (Addresses PLO 4.1; PLO 3.1)

Demonstrate an awareness of the nature, importance and responses to globalisation in the hospitality and tourism sectors. [MLO2] (Addresses PLO 4.1; PLO 3.1)


Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

Communicate the identification and investigation of place based and/or organisation based examples that illustrate real world issues around the forces of globalisation in the hospitality and tourism sectors [MLO3] (Addresses PLO 4.1; PLO 3.1)


Personal Values Attributes (Global / Cultural awareness, Ethics, Curiosity) (PVA):

Successfully work both independently and in a group to assess a current issue in hospitality, tourism and globalisation and present that assessment in verbal and/or written form [MLO 4] (Addresses PLO 1.1; PLO 1.2)

How will I be assessed?

There are two components of assessment on this module. Both of these assessments are individually based.

Assessment 001 [20%]
Group presentation. You are required to deliver a fifteen minute verbal presentation that outlines how an organisation or place has been impacted by the international hospitality or/and tourism system This should be supported by a poster that visually depicts your talk. This assessment addresses MLO1 and MLO 4..

Written feedback on the clarity of the presentation and poster will be provided. As this component will take place early in the module, the feedback can help develop your learning for assignment 002.
Assessment 002 [80%]

Individual assignment. A 3,000 word reflective essay to be submitted at the end of the module which critically analyses the forces of globalisation – e.g. economic, social, cultural, political - in recent decades and how both hospitality and tourism are both cause and effect of that/these process(es). You will need to provide examples to support your analysis. These examples may be place based or organisation based and used to illustrate both the positive and negative impacts of globalisation from which you will draw lessons for future developments in globalising hospitality and tourism. This reflective essay requires you to make links between relevant academic literature and theory..
This assessment addresses MLO1,MLO2 and MLO3.

Electronic written feedback will be provided on individual work and released through the eLP. Feedback on cohort performance as a whole will also be released through the eLP.

Formative assessment will be carried out on a continuous basis within the seminars. This will take place through group work, assignment discussion and reflection together with theory/practice related discussions.

Pre-requisite(s)

None

Co-requisite(s)

None

Module abstract

This module introduces you to Hospitality and Tourism in their global contexts. It encourages you to learn about the growth and spread of these industries and how they are integral to the development of places – rural, urban, coastal and so on – and how they are both contributors to and are shaped by globalisation. Blending theories of globalisation with those of tourism and hospitality you will, over the course of the module, come to understand the power and trajectories of these industries and the opportunities and demands they offer and entail. You will be encouraged to start to think not only about hospitality and tourism in their international contexts but your potential future careers too as you learn to place yourself reflexively in the concepts, movements and issues we will explore in the module. Your experiences on this module will assist with the development of your ambitions and capabilities that are important for your employment potentials beyond graduation.

Course info

Credits 20

Level of Study Postgraduate

Mode of Study 1 year Full Time
2 other options available

Department Newcastle Business School

Location City Campus, Northumbria University

City Newcastle

Start September 2025

Fee Information

Module Information

All information is accurate at the time of sharing. 

Full time Courses are primarily delivered via on-campus face to face learning but could include elements of online learning. Most courses run as planned and as promoted on our website and via our marketing materials, but if there are any substantial changes (as determined by the Competition and Markets Authority) to a course or there is the potential that course may be withdrawn, we will notify all affected applicants as soon as possible with advice and guidance regarding their options. It is also important to be aware that optional modules listed on course pages may be subject to change depending on uptake numbers each year.  

Contact time is subject to increase or decrease in line with possible restrictions imposed by the government or the University in the interest of maintaining the health and safety and wellbeing of students, staff, and visitors if this is deemed necessary in future.

 

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