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In the Canary Islands, tourism is an activity of great economic, business, geographic and social importance. At present, this activity is in a phase of maturity both as a destination and as a product. That is why for more than a decade, the need to develop policies for the reconversion and modernisation of the mature tourism model of sun and beaches has been raised in the academic and business fields. This proposed degree must be understood in this context. This leads it to be structured around a series of differential elements with respect to other Spanish master's degrees. These would be the following.
Firstly, the orientation of the master's degree in tourism management and planning. This is because professionals and managers of tourism companies require knowledge of the destination in which these companies are located, but also because professionals oriented to destination planning must know the internal dynamics of tourism companies. This is a case in which knowledge of the business environment (the tourist destination) is essential for the appropriate strategic options of companies. Secondly, the importance of the island reality, which requires considering the spatial and destination dimension in a specific way, with problems that do not occur in continental spaces. And thirdly, the necessary emphasis on the strategic approach of companies and destinations in the reconversion and modernization of a space historically focused on the sun and beaches product.
Based on these premises, the degree is organized as follows. The course is composed of compulsory subjects, taught primarily in the first semester. These subjects address, on the one hand, the business dimension of tourism in an advanced manner, with subjects such as tourism business planning and tourism business management. However, on the other hand, it also focuses on the study of aspects of tourism linked to the destination as an object of academic attention, a space (physical, political-administrative, social) in which business activity is embedded. This course includes subjects such as tourism markets and island destination planning. In an area such as the Canary Islands, special attention has been paid to this island dimension and to the specifics of planning these spaces. Third, this compulsory subject also requires tourism products that address the diverse outcomes of developing tourism business activity in a given environment. And the impacts of tourism, as another outcome of the development of the activity, which in mature destinations is unavoidable. This subject is new compared to the previous curriculum and allows for the consolidation into a single subject of all the impacts of tourism that were previously integrated into other subjects. It also contributes the novelty of environmental impacts, so important today. Languages, essential in tourism studies, if not postgraduate, complete the list of compulsory subjects. The following three subjects group together the optional subjects, the master's thesis, and the internships. As for the optional subjects, there are two. They address the two core dimensions of this master's degree: business and destination. Indeed, the optional subjects are innovative strategies in tourism companies and innovative strategies in tourism destinations. The master's degree will be taught in Spanish; English will be the language for the language course. Although the admission criterion for English is a B1 level, it is expected that some classes may be taught in that language when there are external guests, whether professional or academic. Furthermore, in some cases, it is possible to complete the master's thesis in English, and internships abroad will also be encouraged. Therefore, the master's thesis and internships can be completed in both Spanish and English. Therefore, both courses are located in the second semester. The teaching method will be face-to-face, supported by virtual classrooms, both for each subject and for the coordination of the master's degree as a whole. In general, the content of the compulsory and optional subjects is considered to be appropriate for the profile of a professional who will be responsible for management and planning functions in the tourism sector. Functions that require knowledge of business, destination characteristics, tourism products, tourism markets, and languages.