Visitor Attraction and Resort Management

A specialist management degree for people who want to shape the experiences that bring people together.

From major attractions and cultural venues to events, hospitality, heritage and destinations, London is one of the world's most dynamic visitor economies. Studying Visitor Attraction and Resort Management in the heart of East London gives you the opportunity to explore this industry within a city where millions of people visit, work and spend their leisure time every year.

Based at Here East, within Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, you'll study in a location surrounded by businesses, technology, culture and visitor attractions. This gives you a distinctive setting in which to explore what happens behind the scenes to create successful visitor experiences - and how the businesses and organisations behind them respond to changing visitor expectations.

From theme parks and resorts to events, heritage and destinations, the visitor economy is built around creating experiences people remember. On our Visitor Attraction and Resort Management degree, you’ll discover what happens behind the scenes to make these experiences successful - and develop the business, creative and management skills to help shape them.

You’ll explore how visitor attractions and resorts operate, how memorable customer experiences are created and how businesses respond to changing visitor expectations. Alongside this, you’ll develop your understanding of areas including experience design, events, operations, finance, sustainability, people and leadership.

With strong industry connections, including our long-standing relationship with Alton Towers Resort, you’ll have opportunities to connect your learning with the realities of the visitor economy. Through applied projects, industry-informed activities and opportunities to engage with professionals, you’ll build your confidence in applying what you learn to real-world challenges.

You can also choose to add a placement year between Levels 5 and 6, giving you the opportunity to take what you’ve learned into a professional environment before returning to complete your final year. A placement can help you build valuable industry experience, develop your professional network, apply your skills in the workplace and gain a clearer sense of where your career could take you. Through our long-standing relationship with Alton Towers Resort, you can also apply for placement opportunities there, with the potential to gain paid professional experience while developing your skills in the visitor attraction industry. Placements can also be within other visitor attractions and the wider visitor economy, giving you the flexibility to pursue experience that fits your interests and career ambitions.

And your career possibilities extend far beyond theme parks. You could work across attractions, resorts, tourism, events, leisure, hospitality, heritage or destination organisations, with opportunities to develop careers in areas such as visitor experience, operations, marketing, people management, business development and leadership.

Whether you’re fascinated by what makes an attraction unforgettable, interested in the business behind the experience, or want to build a career creating places and experiences people love, this degree gives you the opportunity to turn that interest into specialist knowledge and practical management skills.

And there are some experiences you won’t find on every degree - you might even graduate on a rollercoaster.

Duration

University of Staffordshire undergraduate courses are usually 3 years for full-time study.

Courses which offer other study options have longer durations:

• Full-time with a placement year, 4 years
• Full-time with a foundation year, 4 years
• Part-time, 4-9 years

Work placements

Turn your degree into a year of real industry experience.

A placement year between Levels 5 and 6 gives you the opportunity to step into the visitor economy, put your learning into practice and gain substantial professional experience before returning to complete your final year.

You'll have opportunities to gain experience across the visitor economy, with potential placement opportunities in London and beyond. Through our long-standing relationship with Alton Towers Resort, part of the Merlin Entertainments group, you can apply for placement opportunities at one of the UK’s best-known visitor attractions. Depending on the opportunity, you could gain experience across different departments and roles, developing your understanding of the people, operations, customer experience and business decisions that sit behind a successful attraction. Alton Towers placement opportunities are paid, allowing you to gain valuable professional experience while earning during your placement year.

Your placement doesn't have to be at Alton Towers. You can explore opportunities with visitor attractions and organisations across the wider visitor economy, including opportunities in London, other Merlin attractions and organisations elsewhere in the UK, or consider an overseas placement. This gives you the flexibility to choose an experience that reflects your interests and the career you want to build.

Whether you’re interested in attractions, resorts, events, heritage, hospitality, tourism or destination management, a placement year can help you build your CV, develop professional confidence, make industry connections and discover where your career could take you.

It’s more than a year away from university. It’s an opportunity to experience the industry from the inside, test your skills in a professional environment and return to your final year with a clearer sense of what you want to achieve.