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 organisation of the degree is as follows. A subject composed of the compulsory subjects that are developed mainly in the first four-month period. And that attend, on the one hand, to the business dimension of tourism in an advanced way, with subjects such as tourism business planning and tourism business management. Although, on the other hand, it also focuses on the study of the aspects of tourism linked to the destination as an object of academic attention, a space (physical, political-administrative, social) in which business activity is inserted. With subjects such as tourist markets and planning of island destinations. In an area such as the Canary Archipelago, special attention has been paid to this island dimension, and to the particularities of the planning of these spaces. Thirdly, within this subject of compulsory subjects, tourist products are also required that attend to the diverse results of the development of tourist business activity in a given environment. And the impacts of tourism, as another of the results of the development of the activity, and which in mature destinations is unavoidable to attend. This subject is new, in comparison with the previous study plan, and allows to group in a single subject all the impacts of tourism that were previously integrated in other subjects. It also brings the novelty of the environmental impacts, so important today. The list of compulsory subjects is completed by languages, essential in tourism studies, at least in postgraduate studies. The following three subjects group together, on the one hand, the optional subjects, on the other hand, the master's thesis, and thirdly, the external internships. As for the optional subjects, there are two. They attend to the two central dimensions of this master's degree: company and destination. Indeed, the optional subjects are innovative strategies in tourist companies and innovative strategies in tourist destinations. The language in which the master's degree will be taught is Spanish; English will be the language in the language subject. Although, given that the admission criterion is B1 in English, it is expected that some classes can be taught in that language when there are external guests, professionals or academics. On the other hand, in some cases it is possible to carry out the master's thesis in English and the completion of external internships abroad will also be encouraged. Therefore, it is expected that the master's thesis and the external internships can be carried out in both Spanish and English. For this reason, both subjects are located in the second semester. The teaching method will be face-to-face, supported by virtual teaching classrooms, both for each subject and for the coordination of the master's degree as a whole. In general, it is considered that the contents of the compulsory and optional subjects fit the profile of a professional who in the tourism sector will have to attend to management and planning functions. Functions for which knowledge of business, characteristics of the destination, of tourist products, of tourist markets, and of languages is required.