History: With the Presidential Decree numbered 576 dated January 9, 2019, Eğirdir Tourism and Hotel Management School was closed and the Faculty of Tourism was established instead. As of the 2019-2020 academic year within the Faculty of Tourism, the Department of Tourism Management has started its education and training activities by accepting students through the central entrance exam.

Mission of the Department: Tourism management department; To produce knowledge based on science and in accordance with scientific principles, to adopt governance, to constantly renew with a participatory mechanism, to train the qualified human resources needed by the sector; It has adopted the mission of introducing innovations in tourism practices at national and international levels, developing social responsibility awareness, producing academic projects that contribute to the sector, and contributing to social welfare and development by educating individuals who can compete at the international level.

Vision of the Department: With the principle of constantly improving and developing the quality of education and training through academic and sectoral achievements; contributes by taking into account the needs of the region and the country; to train human resources that add value to society and the tourism sector.

Department Policy:

·       To train qualified manager candidates with advanced management knowledge needed by tourism businesses

·       To train tourism managers who have a very good command of at least two foreign languages (English-German-Russian, Chinese, etc.) that will provide an advantage in the international competitive environment.

·       To create a potential workforce that can use theoretical and practical knowledge by blending it

·       Producing projects by researching current information about the developments of the sector

·       To constantly examine innovations in Tourism Management, to conduct academic research and to train faculty members who will carry out these researches.

·       Creating individuals with improved social relations and high self-confidence

·       Establishing collaborations with the industry in order to increase the knowledge and experience of students

General Information About the Department: In the department, which consists of a 4-year undergraduate education, a total of 240 ECTS worth of education programs are implemented. Within the scope of the department curriculum, there are theoretical and practical courses (Tourism Management, Hotel Management, Tourism Marketing, Tourism Economics, Strategic Management, etc.) in which the basic subjects of different fields of the tourism sector are given in detail, business lessons at the management level, and elective language lessons in German and Russian in addition to English.

Our department can exchange students with many contracted universities at domestic and abroad within the scope of the ERASMUS+ Program, Mevlana Exchange Program and Farabi Exchange Protocol. With exchange programs, our department students are offered the opportunity to study abroad for a semester or a year and do an internship. In this way, it is possible for students to both learn a new language and develop themselves culturally and gain different perspectives in the country they visit. Within the scope of exchange programs, agreements have been reached with 40 universities from 25 countries.

The duration of the summer term is considered important as the theoretical education students receive must be supported by practice. In this context, the Academic Calendar has been specially designed for the Faculty of Tourism. The academic calendar implemented by the Faculty of Tourism is made taking into account the tourism season. Thus, students can find the opportunity to work in the sector more easily, and with the employment opportunities they obtain, they also encounter new and different job alternatives for the future.

In the department, technical trips are organized within the scope of education period to enable students to do more applications. At the same time, the Tourism and Travel Society, which is affiliated with our faculty and has 160 student members, enables more technical trips to be organized and students to come together with sector representatives.

After graduation, graduates of the department can improve themselves by taking postgraduate education in the Department of Tourism Management in order to increase their academic knowledge and competencies as well as their employment in the private sector and public. In the thesis master's and doctoral programs in the Department of Tourism Management within the department, students can develop scientific knowledge in a way that they can produce at all levels.

Department Learning Objectives: To train qualified tourism professionals through modern, scientific and quality education in the field of tourism management. To ensure that they become individuals who closely follow current and future technologies and can make predictions about industry trends. To raise individuals who have an entrepreneurial spirit, can observe opportunities, and have a lifelong learning approach to become self-confident managers with solid foundations.

Scientific and Professional Competencies

Knowledge (Program Qualifications):

·       To have advanced knowledge and understanding supported by books containing up-to-date information on the field of tourism management, application tools and equipment and other scientific resources, and to be able to use them

·       To follow and act in accordance with the legislation, basic values and principles related to the profession and to have sufficient knowledge and awareness at the executive level on occupational safety, worker health, social security rights, quality control and management and protection of the natural environment.

·       Having knowledge of computer software (front office and material management, ticket sales, etc.) and hardware at the level required by the tourism field and using information technologies (ECDL-A “European Computer Driving License”, Advanced Level)

·       To be able to plan and manage events for the professional development of employees under their responsibility in tourism-related sectors and to educate shareholders and stakeholders.

·       To have knowledge of a foreign language, including word meaning, composition rules and grammar, to follow and understand the information in the field at a sufficient level, and to have knowledge of at least one foreign language to be able to communicate with colleagues (“European Language Portfolio Global Scale”, Level B1)

Skill (Field Competencies):

·       To be able to evaluate concepts, ideas and data in the field of tourism with scientific methods, to identify and analyze complex problems and issues, to make discussions, to develop recommendations based on evidence and research.

·       To know the interests, wishes and needs of the people under his/her responsibility and especially the society, and to recognize the socio-cultural and economic characteristics of the country and the immediate environment; To plan, implement and manage teaching and learning processes appropriate to these characteristics

·       Being prone to teamwork, having leadership qualities and having the ability to communicate with experts in other fields.

·       To have numerical and statistical research skills and thinking skills related to the field of tourism, to be able to foresee the consequences of decisions to be taken and make accurate predictions, to consider cause-effect relationships, to have an analytical mindset and to be able to develop a strategic approach.

·       To be able to take responsibility and produce solutions in unpredictable and complex situations that may be encountered in applications in the field of tourism.

·       Able to think critically, reason to identify the weaknesses and strengths of alternative solutions, evaluations and ways of approaching problems, and have the ability to obtain and analyze information from different sources, to use initiative

·       To inform expert or non-expert audience groups on tourism-related issues and to convey their thoughts, problems and solution methods clearly both verbally and in writing.

·       To strive for continuous improvement by self-evaluation and to play an active role in improving oneself and the institution by being open to new information and ideas.

·       Having written and verbal communication proficiency in Turkish, being able to speak accurately and effectively, having high persuasive power, being able to convey information and ideas in a way that others can understand, and having the ability to interpret and criticize.

Graduation Requirements: In order to successfully complete the program, it is necessary to pass all the courses available in the program (240 ECTS), obtain a GPA of at least 2.0 out of 4.00 and successfully complete the tourism project.

Career/Employment Opportunities: It has the opportunity to find employment in accommodation establishments, travel agencies and tour operators, cruise establishments, food and beverage establishments, tourism education institutions and other tourism establishments. Graduates of the Department of Tourism Management can complete their personal development and become senior managers in tourism businesses, as well as majoring in Tourism Management, Business Administration, Economics, Sociology, etc. They also have the opportunity to complete a Master's/PhD in these fields and become an academician in tourism-related departments and programs of Higher Education Institutions. Graduates in Accommodation Businesses; In various positions provided by hotel businesses such as Hotel Manager, Front Office Manager, Food and Beverage Manager, Bar Manager, Restaurant Chief, Waiter, Reception Chief, Receptionist, Housekeeping Manager, Floor Chief; In Food and Beverage Establishments, Restaurant Manager, Restaurant Chef, Head Waiter, Bartender, Barmaid etc.; Business responsible manager, tour manager, information officer etc. in travel agencies; In Souvenir Stores, store manager, salesperson, etc.; Inspector in the Ministry of Tourism and various positions at various levels of the ministry, job opportunities in public tourist facilities; Academic career opportunities for successful and talented students; Since training is given for the service sector, it is possible to work as a manager, bank officer, etc. in the service sector. There are also job opportunities. Additionally, there is an opportunity for graduate students who receive pedagogical formation in the field of Educational Sciences to become vocational teachers in secondary education institutions.

Recognition of Prior Learning: The courses that the student has taken and succeeded in any undergraduate or associate degree program of a higher education institution before registering to the faculty can be transferred to the program to which he/she is registered by the decision of the Faculty Executive Board, in accordance with the relevant legislation, and the student can be exempt from this course or courses. In addition, an exemption exam is held at the beginning of each academic semester for the English course included in the education plans of the programs. Students who take the exam and are successful are exempt from the relevant course in the curriculum.