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Travel and Tourism Foundations

Certificate of Specialization in Travel and Tourism Foundations is a 16-credit-hour program designed for students seeking entry-level positions in the travel and tourism industry.

Travel and Tourism is considered by many experts to be the world’s largest generator of wealth and jobs in the global economy, while consistently bringing people together in peace and understanding from all corners of the earth.

The Travel and Tourism program at St. Louis Community College at Forest Park prepares students with the knowledge, technical skills and work habits required for a variety of entry-level positions in the travel and tourism industry with career ladder advancement opportunities.

Graduates are qualified for positions with retail travel agencies, wholesale tour operators, Internet travel entities, group incentive businesses, corporate travel firms, meeting and event planning organizations, airlines, cruise lines, car rental services, hotels, destination management companies, and convention and visitor’s bureaus.

The Travel and Tourism Foundations program was created to offer students rigorous entry-level training similar to that offered by proprietary travel schools and academies, only at a more affordable cost. It is designed to provide students with enough knowledge to start out in the field; however, it is not a substitute for the extended course work outlined in the Travel and Tourism AAS degree.

The Travel and Tourism Foundations - Certificate of Specialization is a one-semester training program that is part of the AAS degree in Travel and Tourism. Students are awarded the certificate after completing the 16 credit hours comprising Travel and Tourism Foundations I (TUR:104) and Travel and Tourism Foundations II (TUR:105). The Travel and Tourism Foundations training program gives students who are new to the travel and tourism field some core competencies and knowledge blocks so they can start an entry-level position in the industry while exercising the option of taking additional courses to complete the AAS degree.

Travel and Tourism Foundations I covers the terms, definitions, codes, industry sectors and geography mapping that provides the foundational knowledge for continued study. Travel and Tourism Foundations II covers the computer automation that is vital to performing the everyday tasks in many travel and tourism positions. Students will work on Sabre, a live Global Distribution System (GDS) and the Internet to research travel information and secure reservations from various travel suppliers.

Persons interested in travel and tourism should possess the following qualities:

• Effective communication and interpersonal skills
• Proficient computer navigation abilities and keyboarding competence
• The ability to work with computer automation and other reference materials, while providing accurate information and assistance to the traveling public
• Positive, friendly, customer-oriented attitude when functioning in an active work environment