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BA (Hons) Event Management and Tourism

Learn to create unforgettable visitor experiences, from initial idea to delivery. Our event and tourism course will ensure you understand the key elements that make experiences truly magical, whatever the size.

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2022 Graduates organised the successful HBS Grad Ball at Hatfield House

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Learn how to design and deliver outstanding visitor experiences

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A fun, immersive and engaging hands-on course

Course overview

Develop your understanding of events and tourism in diverse cultures and their impact on society and the environment. This BA (Hons) Event Management and Tourism degree equips you with the knowledge and skills to thrive in the two dynamic worlds, from large-scale conferences and festivals to  curating travel experiences that captivate audiences, this course offers the perfect blend of creativity, business acumen, and practical learning.

Our core modules cover marketing, management, and professionalism, while elective modules allow customisation based on your interests and career goals. Working on live event projects, you’ll apply theory to practice while honing your organisational and communication skills. The course also develops your business acumen, preparing you for a range of roles across the events and tourism sectors.

With strong industry connections and CV-enhancing opportunities like the Flare Ignite competition, you’ll be well-prepared to stand out in the competitive events industry. Whether you aspire to work in events agencies, marketing, or start your own venture, this degree provides a solid foundation for success.

Why choose this course?

Immerse yourself in the world of tourism and events, acquiring the skills to create and deliver exceptional visitor experiences. There are exciting and creative assignments to get stuck into.

Gain hands-on experience: Field trips enrich your learning experience, and work on live events, applying theory to real-world scenarios. This practical approach ensures you develop the skills and confidence needed to manage events of any size or complexity.

Work placement opportunities: Event management students have gone onto work for Disney, Bucharest, Four Seasons Hotel, Business Design Centre and Finlayson Media Communications. Our dedicated careers team will support you along the way.

Cover lots of ground: This event and tourism degree will enrich your knowledge across different business functions, including marketing, analysis, creative and administration.

Learn from industry-experts: Our teaching team includes experienced professionals who bring insights from the vibrant events industry, ensuring your education reflects the latest trends and practices. Benefit from our industry links as you learn from award-winning live event professionals including Global Agency of the Year 2023 and key industry partner, EMC3. EMC3 work closely with our programme teams to ensure your learning remains relevant, helping you appreciate the realities of working in tomorrow's event industry.

Become industry-qualified: Herts are a member of the Association for Events Management Education (AEME), and we are recognised by the Tourism Management Institute (TMI).

Join extracurricular activities: If you are entrepreneurially minded, take part in the National University Business Challenge. Want to make a difference? Join our Enactus society, organising worthwhile projects for society.

Strong employment prospects: 93% of Herts graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes, 2021/22).

Professional accreditations

Association for Events Management Education

We are a proud member of the Association for Events Management Education (AEME), which aims to promote events education in the UK and beyond. AEME serves as a voice for events education and provides valuable support by fostering the international exchange of ideas and sharing best practices.

Tourism Management Institute

Furthermore, our course is recognised by the Tourism Management Institute (TMI), and the University of Hertfordshire is a trusted partner of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA).

Your future career

The sector demands confident and experienced professionals, and this BA (Hons) Event Management and Tourism degree ensures you are well-prepared right from the beginning. You will dive straight into event and experience planning, acquiring practical knowledge alongside theoretical understanding. 93% of Herts graduates are in work or further study 15 months after graduation (Graduate Outcomes, 2021/22).

Possible roles for employment for events and tourism graduates include:

  • Event Planner
  • Facilities Co-ordinator
  • Travel Blogger
  • Marketing Executive
  • Tourism Consultant
  • Hotel Manager

Graduate companies are varied and include ABTA, Jet2, One Facility, ETM Group Ltd, Hilton Hotels Group, HF Holidays and Disney.

There has never been a more exciting time to pursue a career in event management and tourism, with global opportunities and a wide range of career options including many new ones, prompted by sector developments. This course will give you all the skills you need, along with practical experience.

What you'll study

This engaging and hands-on tourism and event management course encourages you to develop your skills from the very beginning. For instance, in their first year, one group created a thrilling horror weekend as part of an assignment, enjoying the process of producing their own promotional video.

You will receive 8 hours of in-person teaching per week, spread across 4 modules. Additionally, independent learning is expected, supported by online resources such as content, recommended books, videos, and podcasts.

In addition to core topics, you have the flexibility to choose optional modules that align with your interests and preferences, tailoring the course to suit you.

In your first year, you will establish a solid foundation in the event and tourism industry, focusing on key areas such as marketing and professional skills. You will also have immediate opportunities to get involved in live events.

In your second year, you will have the chance to delve deeper into important aspects such as sustainability, technology, and risk assessments, exploring areas of specific interest.

In your final year, your skills will be consolidated through immersive live projects, collaborating with local businesses. As part of your final year project, you will organise a student conference.

Enrichment opportunities for personal development are also available, including our placements, internships, study-abroad experiences, and networking events.

We actively support you in pursuing industry placements, studying abroad, or undertaking internships (including the latest online bite-sized digital experiences). This guidance will help you find your desired career path and enhance your CV, ultimately securing your first graduate role.

What if I need support?

You'll benefit from dedicated support teams within the Business School, including Academic Support, Wellbeing, and a personal tutor who will assist you in adjusting to the demands of university learning and living.

Additional support is available from our Student Success team, which focuses on inclusive learning, as well as our dedicated Future Success network, which helps with work experience, placements, and graduate jobs.

You can join and engage with the Business School Student Voice community, consisting of a team of student representatives who regularly meet with staff to provide feedback and ensure the effectiveness of teaching.

Our in-house Centre for Academic Skills Enhancement (CASE) is available to all Business School students, offering additional support in areas such as academic writing, numeracy, and referencing.

Optional sandwich year

At the end of your second year, you have the option to experience a year of working life with a placement, or a shorter internship, a huge CV booster!

Professional work experience is the biggest contributor to your future employability. It allows you to put your knowledge into action, while learning how a business operates and making some handy professional connections.

We'll help you make the most of the experience, holding your hand from start to finish. You also get assistance with your CV, plus help preparing for interviews and presentations, at our ground-breaking mock Assessment Centre Experience.

Our partnership with Walt Disney World Resorts and the University of California Riverside gives you the chance to study and work in the USA on this fantastic international programme. Students have also had the opportunity to work at The Grove, The Ivy, Luton Hoo and Bluehat Group.

You can choose to take a sandwich year abroad, making that decision in your second year. Studying at one of our international partners is a tremendous personal development opportunity and an amazing experience.

More and more companies are now operating on an international scale, and the experience of living in another country will make a significant impression on future employers. Put your knowledge into action, learn how businesses operate, and establish professional connections.

With over 100 partners in 40 countries, the world truly is your oyster! Our dedicated study abroad office will provide guidance on your options to help you make the most of this opportunity.

If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you will not be required to pay any tuition fees, whether it is to the partner university or to us.

At the end of your second year, you have the option to experience a year of working life with a placement, or a shorter internship, a huge CV booster!

Professional work experience is the biggest contributor to your future employability. It allows you to put your knowledge into action, while learning how a business operates and making some handy professional connections.

We'll help you make the most of the experience, holding your hand from start to finish. You also get assistance with your CV, plus help preparing for interviews and presentations, at our ground-breaking mock Assessment Centre Experience.

Our partnership with Walt Disney World Resorts and the University of California Riverside gives you the chance to study and work in the USA on this fantastic international programme. Students have also had the opportunity to work at The Grove, The Ivy, Luton Hoo and Bluehat Group.

Find out more about work placements

You can choose to take a sandwich year abroad, making that decision in your second year. Studying at one of our international partners is a tremendous personal development opportunity and an amazing experience.

More and more companies are now operating on an international scale, and the experience of living in another country will make a significant impression on future employers. Put your knowledge into action, learn how businesses operate, and establish professional connections.

With over 100 partners in 40 countries, the world truly is your oyster! Our dedicated study abroad office will provide guidance on your options to help you make the most of this opportunity.

If you study abroad between your second and third year of study, you will not be required to pay any tuition fees, whether it is to the partner university or to us.

Find out more about study abroad options

Where you'll study

You'll be taught on our modern de Havilland Campus, with our 24/7 Learning Resources Centre, offering open and private study spaces. You also get online self-study materials to further support you.

There are dining options, a bar, and a recreational space on campus where you can shoot some pool or play video games. It also houses Hertfordshire Sports Village, featuring a gym, swimming pool, coffee shop and climbing wall.

Discover the Enterprise Hub, a vibrant destination where local firms and students work and learn in comfort.

The Student Union bar and additional facilities are only a 20 minute walk (or short bus ride) away at our second campus, on College Lane. Student housing is available at both campuses.

A train to central London takes just over 20 minutes, and you are also conveniently located on the A1(M) with access to the road network, making travel quick and convenient.

Who you'll learn from

Your enthusiastic teaching team, the majority of whom have firsthand industry experience, will impart their knowledge, share their stories, and provide valuable insights.

Your program is led by specialists who possess extensive expertise and commercial background in both tourism and events, making them excellent sources of knowledge.

You will learn from inspirational lecturers who have been recognized through multiple nominations and awards for Teacher of the Year. These experienced individuals, including teachers, presenters, researchers, and industry professionals, will provide you with a comprehensive understanding of the realities of the tourism and events sector.

In addition to your teaching team, you will receive dedicated support from an academic support team, a well-being team, and a personal tutor. They will assist you in adjusting to the demands of university learning and living, ensuring you have a smooth and fulfilling experience.

Check out our student blogs

How we support our students

At the University of Hertfordshire, we want to make sure your time studying with us is as stress-free and rewarding as possible.

We offer a range of support services, from childcare to counselling, ensuring that you make the most of your time at Herts and can focus on studying, having fun, and have the support you need.

Accommodation

My week at a glance

On a Sunday night, I’ll always write out plans for that week in a calendar on my wall to remember by lecturers, seminars, meetings with lecturers and classmates for group work, including my shifts for work. After I’ve got down the compulsory activities, I’ll enter all the social events or fun things I want to do, meeting with friends, lunches, activities to attend on-campus like Active Student roller skating parties or course parties where us students and lecturers get together. Then I’ll enter allotted times to work and study, concentrating on specific modules or assignments but trying to encompass some fun things to do throughout the day, or least some wellbeing time, whether it is going to the gym, reading, or doing my hobbies. Throughout the week, I try to stick to the calendar as much as possible, ensuring I do enough uni work to balance with the social activities, attending lecturers and office hours with staff. Between working a part-time job and having an active social life, I aim to get six hours of uni work done per day, depending on how close deadlines are.

Especially in the final year, it’s so easy to get caught up in assignments and workload but staying physically and mentally active goes further than procrastinating at a screen for an hour on end. With the girls on my course, we always make time for Friday lunch where we sit in the de Hav café and catch up before our final lectures of the week. We often catch up with other mates in there, making it a social area and a nice end to the week and we try to book study rooms in between lecturer gaps to have some downtime or catch up with notes together. There plenty to do on the weekends too, including the forum on College Lane Campus, St. Albans has a great nightlife with all sorts of bars and pubs and Hatfield has the Galleria, a massive outlet shopping area which is great to walk around. I’ll normally work a few hours over the weekend at the gym and finish my shift off with a swim before going to Aldi or Asda to get my shopping for the week. My girls and I sometimes meet up in the evenings to enjoy a film and wine night too which is a fantastic way to replenish for the week ahead.

Students at the Enterprise Hub

What I love most about my course

As a final year tourism management student who take a placement year, I’ve had four years to experience the university and strength my course offers. One of the best things about my course must be the lecturers. It’s a very cliché thing to say but the team are so strong and friendly! Referred to as the THEM team (Tourism, Hospitality and Event Management), the lecturers are all good friends and it shows; and I would genuinely consider many of the lecturers my friends too. They are always down for a chat, helping with assignments and lecture notes wherever possible. Our module leader, in particular, is fantastic and we have little social events with the THEM team, such as Christmas parties fueled with prosecco and orange juice, career networking with hundreds of job opportunities and it is always someone’s birthday within the tourism management course so there is a constant supply of cake! The team are professional, knowledgeable but super approachable and kind-hearted too with our interest in the forefront of their mind.

My course has so many aspects to it as well, so I’ve covered modules such as tourism planning, HR (Human Resources), strategic business management, data analysis, international field trip and niche tourism. The best module was the international field trip whereby we went to Marbella in the second year and undertook a photograph observation assignment. Not only did we go but we were able to plan our own trips and ended up in this really secluded, beautiful village called Ojen, which lead to a shift in my career path and influenced my placement year which I’ll talk about a bit more in a second. The course also entails a whole load of trips, ranging from The British Museum, World Travel Market, Signature Airport (a private airport where we viewed the operations, apron and guest suites - we even sat in the same chair as Beyoncé), Shakespeare’s Birthplace and loads more. The opportunities within this course are endless. My placement year was one of the best opportunities I had too, where students take a year out to work in an industry-related role, having a hands-on experience learning from industry experts. This is not a mandatory part of the course either so students can simply do a three-year course or take the placement or study abroad choice. I worked within an organization called Wendy Wu Tours, designing tailormade holidays and ended up setting up my own team, managing and training days which gave me a heap of experience. In the meantime, my course mates went off to all corners of the world including Japan, Spain, Singapore, and Disneyworld so there are endless opportunities.

Busy cafe

Why I chose Herts

There are a plethora of reasons why I chose Herts but the main one, for me, was the opportunities available within my course, Tourism Management. With a sandwich year available, I was granted the opportunity within a dream job which has helped with my career direction post-graduation, which wasn’t necessarily available at other universities. In addition, 80% of the tourism management course also took a placement/study abroad year meaning we can all graduate together! Secondly, the teaching staff at Herts are highly knowledgeable, professional and had great connections from a quick LinkedIn search, which, upon reflection, was fully used throughout my degree with many networking events, guest speakers and course trips.

Moreover, geographically, Herts is in a great position. Central London is only a 20-minute train ride away and I was close enough to home for some of my mum’s classic roast dinners. Based just a few minutes walk from campus, the Galleria has some awesome shops and restaurants to check out if you fancy some time off, which is also great for job opportunities for students. Herts also has some cool socials and nightlife; from  The Star Bar and The Forum, there’s always something going on to get involved in. The Forum does theme nights too which are always a crack, such as Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, 90s classics and the Christmas party is always a highlight. Aside from partying, the Active Student events were super appealing, from sunrise yoga to roller-skating, these free events allow students to meet new people and get active together, alongside over 100 societies to get involved in.

Entry requirements

The University of Hertfordshire is committed to welcoming students with a wide range of qualifications and levels of experience. The entry requirements listed on the course pages provide a guide to the minimum level of qualifications needed to study each course. However, we have a flexible approach to admissions and each application will be considered on an individual basis.

Typical offer (UCAS points)104–112
Typical A Level offerBCC–BBC
Typical IB offer104–112 UCAS points
Typical BTEC offerDMM
Typical T Level offerDesign Survey and Planning for Construction; Design Production, Design and Development; Education and Childcare; Healthcare Science; Health; Science; Digital Support Services; Digital Business Services; Onsite Construction; Building Services Engineering for Construction; Accounting; Design and Development for Engineering and Manufacturing; Engineering, Manufacturing, Processing and Control; Finance; Maintenance, Installation and Repair for Engineering and Manufacturing; Management and Administration; Agriculture, Land Management and Production; Legal Services.
GCSEGrade 4/C in English Language and Mathematics.
Access courses104–112
Additional informationFind out more about our standard and contextual Undergraduate Entry Requirements.

English language

All students from non-majority English speaking countries require proof of English language proficiency, equivalent to an overall IELTS score of 6.0 with a minimum of 5.5 in each band.

If you do not have the required IELTS or equivalent for direct entry on to your degree programme, our Pre-sessional English and International Foundation courses can help you to achieve this level.

Additional information

Find out more about International Entry Requirements.

Ready to apply?

UK and EU applicants with pre-settled/settled status in the UK
Start date Study typeApply
September 2025Full timeApply via UCAS
Full time with placement yearApply via UCAS
Full time with study abroad yearApply via UCAS
Part timeApply with Herts

International and EU applicants without pre-settled status in the UK

Apply through our international/EU application portal

Fees and funding

At Herts, we’re dedicated to providing world-class teaching supported by industry-level facilities and incredible social spaces. We believe cost shouldn’t be a barrier to higher education, and we strive to keep both our standard and additional costs as low as possible.

Study typeFees
UK studentsFull time£9,535 for the 2025/2026 academic year
Part time£1,190 per 15 credits for the 2025/2026 academic year
EU studentsFull time£15,965 for the 2025/2026 academic year
Part time£1,995 per 15 credits for the 2025/2026 academic year
International studentsFull time£15,965 for the 2025/2026 academic year
Part time£1,995 per 15 credits for the 2025/2026 academic year

Tuition fees are charged annually. The fees quoted above are for the specified year(s) only. Fees may be higher in future years, for both new and continuing students. Please see the University’s Fees and Finance Policy (and in particular the section headed “When tuition fees change”), for further information about when and by how much the University may increase its fees for future years.

Scholarships, grants  and bursaries

Depending on your circumstances, you may be eligible for a non-repayable scholarship, grant or bursary to support your studies.

Disabled Students' Allowance

The Disabled Students’ Allowance can cover any study-related costs you have because of a mental health problem, long term illness or any other disability.

Student loans

Find out about securing a student loan, from how much you could be eligible for to when you need to start making repayments.

Accommodation costs

We offer a great choice of student accommodation, on campus or nearby in the local area, to suit every student budget.

Additional course fees

Read more about additional fees in the course fact sheet.

More about the course

Course fact sheets
BA (Hons) Event Management Download PDF
BA (Hons) Event Management and Tourism Download PDF
Programme specifications
BA (Hons) Event Management Download PDF
BA (Hons) Event Management Download PDF
Additional information

Applications open to international and EU students

Yes

Course length

Full Time, 3 YearsPart Time, 6 YearsSandwich, 4 Years

Not ready to apply?