Specializations "Cruise Business" and "Innovation" prepare students for a variety of career paths in the tourism sector

The tourism industry is an important economic factor worldwide. Therefore, the demand for well-trained professionals with an understanding of current trends and important topics in everyday tourism is increasing. Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences is responding to this demand with an expanded range of courses. The English-language Bachelor's degree programme "International Tourism Management" with a focus on "Cruise Business" and "Innovation" will start in the winter semester 2023/24. Students will be prepared in the best possible way for a business management career in the diverse tourism sector. The "Cruise Tourism Management" degree programme, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will merge into the "Cruise Business" specialisation in a modernised form. Further information at www.hs-bremerhaven.de/itm.

In the "International Tourism Management" degree programme, students can expect a four-semester basic study programme in which they acquire business and management knowledge as well as an understanding of the international tourism industry. Among other things, sustainability and digitalisation play an important role. After the practical and international phase in the fifth and sixth semesters, students specialise in one of the specialisations, "Cruise Business" or "Innovation". In addition to specialised knowledge, the degree programme imparts key competences that are necessary for later professional activity. "We focus on a high level of practical orientation and interactive, innovative teaching formats to promote an independent and solution-oriented approach. The students work in small groups on concrete problems posed by our external clients and can thus not only apply specialist knowledge, but also deepen methodological and social skills," says Rector Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Alexis Papathanassis, who is responsible for the "Cruise Business" specialisation.

The Bremerhaven University of Applied Sciences has been training specialists for the tourism industry since 2003. The content of the "Cruise Tourism Management" course has been revised several times and adapted to the needs of the companies, among other things by increasing the business management component. With the name change, the university now wants to emphasise the diversity of the content more strongly. "Surveys with current students and alumni have shown us that the name 'Cruise Tourism Management' is misleading. It makes prospective students think that it is exclusively about cruise tourism. But this is not the case. It is a business degree with a focus on tourism. The new name makes this clearer," says programme director Prof. Dr. Gina Wagener.

Further information at www.hs-bremerhaven.de.