Tourism Courses

There are a variety of career options when you have a Tourism qualification. A career in tourism is one of the most rewarding careers if you are outgoing.

Our Tourism Courses

Tourism Management Courses

Tourism Management Comprehensive Course

Tourism Management equips students with skills and knowledge to run and manage tourism establishments. With this course you will become an expert in the field.
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Tourism Management Courses

Tourism Management Short Course

Tourism Management equips students with skills and knowledge to run and manage tourism establishments. With this course, you will become an expert in the field.
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Tourism Management Courses

Tourism Management: Certificate Course

Tourism Management equips students with skills and knowledge to run and manage tourism establishments. With this course you will become an expert in the field.
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What Are Tourism Courses?

Tourism Short courses are programmes of study that equips students with the skills and knowledge of managing and marketing tourism products.

Tourism Short Courses

Tourism Management: Short Course

Programme Type: Provider Programme 
Award Issued By: Skills Academy
Accredited By: Not Applicable
Qualification Title: Tourism Management: Short Course
Qualification Type: Certificate
Course Duration: 4 to 6 months

Entry Requirements

  • Be at least 16 years or older
  • Be able to read, write and understand English
  • Be able to study through distance learning

Course Subjects

  • Introduction to Business English
  • Tourism Management

Introduction to Business English

Here is what you will learn:

  • Verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Business language
  • Speaking skill
  • Writing skills
  • Reading skills

Tourism Management

Here is what you will learn:

  • Managing visitor attractions
  • Managing visitor transport
  • Managing visitor accommodation
  • Introduction to tourism
  • History of tourism

Tourism Management: Certificate Course

Programme Type: Provider Programme 
Award Issued By: Skills Academy
Accredited By: Not Applicable
Qualification Title: Tourism Management: Certificate Course
Qualification Type: Certificate
Course Duration: 8 to 12 months

Entry Requirements

  • Be at least 16 years or older
  • Be able to read, write and understand English
  • Be able to study through distance learning

Course Subjects

  • Introduction to Business English
  • Tourism Management
  • First Aid
  • Customer Satisfaction

Introduction to Business English

Here is what you will learn:

  • Verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Business language
  • Speaking skill
  • Writing skills
  • Reading skills

Tourism Management

Here is what you will learn:

  • Managing visitor attractions
  • Managing visitor transport
  • Managing visitor accommodation
  • Introduction to tourism
  • History of tourism

First Aid

Here is what you will learn:

  • Medical emergencies
  • Injury emergencies
  • Environmental emergencies
  • Basic of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

Customer Satisfaction

Here is what you will learn:

  • Customer relations
  • Customer problem-solving
  • Customer feedback

Tourism Management: Comprehensive Course

Programme Type: Provider Programme 
Award Issued By: Skills Academy 
Accredited By: Not Applicable
Qualification Title: Tourism Management: Comprehensive Course
Qualification Type: Certificate
Course Duration: 12 to 16 months

Entry Requirements

  • Be at least 16 years or older
  • Be able to read, write and understand English
  • Be able to study through distance learning

Course Subjects

  • Introduction to Business English
  • Tourism Management
  • First Aid
  • Customer Satisfaction
  • Tourism Management 2
  • Office Management

Introduction to Business English

Here is what you will learn:

  • Verbal and non-verbal communication
  • Business language
  • Speaking skill
  • Writing skills
  • Reading skills

Tourism Management

Here is what you will learn:

  • Managing visitor attractions
  • Managing visitor transport
  • Managing visitor accommodation
  • Introduction to tourism
  • History of tourism

First Aid

Here is what you will learn:

  • Medical emergencies
  • Injury emergencies
  • Environmental emergencies
  • Basic of CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation)

Customer Satisfaction

Here is what you will learn:

  • Customer relations
  • Customer problem-solving
  • Customer feedback

Tourism Management 2

Here is what you will learn:

  • Tourism as a business
  • Finances in tourism
  • Responsibility in tourism as a business
  • Tourism marketing

Office Management

Here is what you will learn:

  • Managing a tourism office
  • Improving tourism office productivity
  • Office dress code
  • Office rules and regulations
  • Staffing
  • Labour relations
Tourism Management Certificate Course

Matric College offers Short Courses which are best for Tourism. Here is a list of Short Courses that you can study at Matric College: 

  • Tourism Management: Short Course
  • Tourism Management: Certificate Course
  • Tourism Management: Comprehensive Course

Matric College offers 6 Tourism Short Courses. Here is the duration of the Short Courses:

Here are the minimum requirements of The Tourism Short Courses that are offered at Matric College: 

  • Be at least 16 years or older 
  • Be able to read, write and understand English 
  • Be able to study through distance learning 

Does Tourism Have Maths?

No, Tourism does not have Maths nor is Maths a requirement in the Tourism Short Course offered at Matric College. However, in the course of your duties, there can be a need to add, multiply, and subtract. 

How Many APS Points Do I Need To Study Tourism?

To study the Tourism Short Courses, you do not need to have any APS points. Anyone can study the Tourism Short Courses with or without Matric. You can study the Tourism Short Courses even if you have a Degree. You are good to go if you meet the following requirements: 

  • Be at least 16 years or older 
  • Be able to read, write and understand English 
  • Be able to study through distance learning

Any subject is as easy or as hard as you make it. To make the Tourism Course as easy as it can be, here are a few tips that you can follow:

  • Have a study timetable
  • Stick to your timetable as much as you can
  • Make sure that there are no distractions at the place where you study
  • Do your assignments and hand them in time
  • Consult the student Support Service when you face challenges

In South Africa, the following are the minimum requirements to become a Flight Attendant:

  • You must have a  Matric
  • Be 18 years or older 
  • Be able to speak, read and write English
  • Be able to swim 
  • Be in possession of a valid Class 4 Medical Certificate

Here are the career options in Tourism:

  • Front Desk Clerk
  • Front Desk Receptionist
  • Events Manager
  • Hotel Or Resort Manager
  • Spa Manager
  • Housekeeper
  • Tour Operator
  • Event And Conferencing Organiser
  • Tourism Marketing Manager
  • Tour Guide
  • Leisure Activity Coordinator
  • Travel Agency Manager
  • Tourist Information Centre Manager
  • Guest Relations Manager
  • Executive Chef
  • Sommelier
  • Join a growing industry
  • Meet people from different cultures
  • Global industry
  • Broad career choices
  • Teaches conservation of natural resources
  • Goes beyond ‘normal’ working hours

Join A Growing Industry

By studying tourism, you will join a growing industry. Growth in the tourism industry slowed because of COVID-19, otherwise the growth is expected to pick up as soon as the number of COVID-19 infections subsides. According to the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), global tourism grew by 4 percent in 2021

Meet People From Different Cultures

In tourism, you meet people from different cultures. It will be especially important for you if you like to learn about how other people live, their cultures, religions and societal norms. In tourism, you can meet people from different countries on a daily basis.

Global Industry

The beauty of the tourism industry is that it is a global industry. It is not restricted to South Africa only. This means that you can get a chance to work in other parts of the world. So you can get to choose where you want to work and in which career within the tourism industry. 

Broad Career Choices

Career opportunities in the tourism industry are vast. There are a variety of sectors within the tourism industry. Here are some of the sectors found in tourism:

  • Tour operators
  • Travel agencies
  • Activities
  • Safaris
  • Hotel and Accommodation
  • Airlines
  • Cruises 
  • Arts and Crafts

Teaches Conservation Of Natural Resources

The tourism industry will teach you about the conservation of natural resources. Tourism depends on the natural resources that a country has. Without natural resources, there will be no tourism to talk about. It is in this light that you will learn how to conserve natural resources. Natural resources should also be preserved for generations that will come after the present one.  

Goes Beyond ‘normal’ Working Hours

Tourism is not an 8 to 5 job. If you enjoy flexibility in the hours that you work, studying tourism can be good for you. In tourism, every day is not the same. This is because, due to their diversity, tourists have different expectations, opinions and motivations.

You can kick-start your career in tourism by studying the following tourism Short Courses:

  • Tourism Management: Short Course
  • Tourism Management: Certificate Course
  • Tourism Management: Comprehensive Course

According to mastersportal.com, here are the highest paying jobs in tourism:

  • Hotel Manager 
  • Flight Attendant 
  • Restaurant Manager 
  • Entertainment Manager 
  • Event Planner 
  • Travel Consultant

According to nationmaster.com, here are the top 10 countries for hotel jobs:

  1. United States
  2. Russia
  3. Spain
  4. United Kingdom
  5. Turkey
  6. France
  7. Mexico
  8. Poland
  9. Egypt
  10. Ireland

A Flight Attendant is also known as a Steward or Stewardess. They are sometimes called Air Host or Air Hostess. Flight Attendants are members of the aircrew aboard commercial aircraft. Collectively, staff aboard a commercial airline are called cabin crew. Flight Attendants are responsible for passenger safety and comfort.

Here are the five main tourism sectors:

  • Transportation
  • Accommodation
  • Food and beverage
  • Recreation and entertainment
  • Travel services

Here are the types of tourism that are practised the world over:

  • Recreational tourism – This is the most popular type of tourism. People travel just to see places and enjoy themselves. 
  • Environmental tourism – this one is for the environmentally-conscious travellers
  • Historical tourism – These types of tourists visit historical places like forts, temples, churches museums
  • Ethnic tourism – Visiting your birthplace gives rise to ethnic tourism
  • Cultural tourism – This type of tourism put emphasis on visiting to learn about a people’s culture
  • Adventure tourism – This type of tourism trend mostly among the youth where the following activities are undertaken:
    • Rock climbing
    • Rafting 
    • Bungee jumping
    • Canoeing
    • Trekking
  • Health tourism – People visit nature cure centre and hospitals for treatment   
  • Religious tourism – This is where people travel for religious purposes
  • Music tourism – This can be part of pleasure tourism. People travel for music or an art festival
  • Village tourism – Travelling in order to popularise village destinations
  • Wildlife tourism – This means travelling to watch animals in their natural habitat

A tourism student is one who is studying a programme of acquiring the skills and knowledge of working in the tourism industry. Matric College in conjunction with Skills Academy offers short courses in tourism.

When tourists visit a certain destination, they will have been motivated by one or a number of things. For example, in South Africa, they might be motivated to visit because of the Kruger National Park, or to see Cape Town. They may be motivated to visit Zimbabwe because of the mighty Victoria Falls.  

When tourists visit a country, they can extend their visit to other places of interest within that country. Here are some of the reasons why tourists choose to visit their destinations:

  • The culture of the people
  • The landscape of the country
  • An event taking place in that country
  • Shopping
  • Viewing games
  • Fauna and fora

Here are the countries in Africa that tourists visit the most:

  • South Africa
  • Egypt
  • Morocco
  • Mauritius
  • Tunisia
  • Kenya
  • Algeria
  • Tanzania
  • Ethiopia
  • Botswana

To be successful in Tourism, you will need to have the following skills:

  • Leadership
  • Problem-solving
  • Organisation
  • Communication
  • Computer

Leadership

To be effective in the Tourism industry, you need to have leadership skills. These skills are important as in the industry you may not always be with your Manager all the time. Take for instance a situation where you have taken a group of tourists on a game drive. 

That group will look up to you to give them directions and lead them. 

Problem-solving

Problems might occur when you are out with tourists, perhaps in the bush. It might be that there may not be a radio or telephone network in the area that you are in. Tourists will look up to you to solve that problem. 

Problem-solving skills are therefore necessary for you to be successful in the tourism industry.   

Organisation

Tourists are time-sensitive. For you to be successful in the tourism industry, you must be organised. For example, you might be handling functions in a hotel; and conference centre. 

Be clear on which date a function is, the requested requirement for the function, the number of people coming for the function, the menu they chose, the sitting arrangement and the time of the function. There is no room for errors because of being disorganised.

Communication

Tourism is a people-centred industry. It is therefore important to have good communication skills both inside and outside of the organisation. Princesses can go wrong if your communication skills are poor. Communication skills not only refer to the way you talk or write and also your ability to listen carefully to requests and instructions.

Computer

Tourism operations rely greatly on the computer. Bookings and check-in are all dependent on the use of the computer.  Computer skills are important as you will use them for the following functions:

  • Communication
  • Report writing
  • Bookings
  • Check-ins
  • Customer database
  • Storage
  • Research

The current Minister of Tourism in South Africa is Ms Lindiwe Sisulu. She is deputised by Fish Mahlalela. The Director-General of the Department of tourism is Victor Tarage. The mandate of  the Department of Tourism is to promote the growth and development of the tourism industry.

Tourism can be as hard or as easy as you make it. Here are a few tips to make your tourism course as n easy as it can be:

  • Set yourself a study timetable
  • Stick to your study timetable
  • Make sure that at the place that you study, there are no distractions
  • Hand in your assignments in time
  • Make sure that you get help from your tutor in those areas that are proving to be difficult
  • Ask questions
  • Get help from about your course from our Student support services

Here are a few tips on how you can start a tour business:

  • Explore your location – Have sufficient knowledge about the area that you want to operate in. know every landmark and study the local, culture food, music and language.
  • Research the market – Suit your destination to your target market
  • Name your business – find a suitable name for your business
  • Register your tour guide business
  • Licensing – find about the necessary licenses that are needed to operate the business  
  • Create a business plan – If you fail to plan then it means that you are planning to fail
  • Open a business account 
  • Promote your business – promote your business through several channels that are available

Here are the duties of a tour operator: 

  • Visit resorts to ascertain the quality of the establishments
  • Liaise with other operators such as airlines and hoteliers
  • Agree on service level standards
  • Confirms customer names with airlines and hotels
  • Receives customer feedback and acts on it
  • Produces marketing materials
  • Marketing holidays

The following are the 5 types of Tour Operators found in the tourism industry: 

Inbound tour operator – Bring tourists into a country as a group or via individual packages

Outbound tour – work within their countries to take travellers to other countries

Domestic tour operator – Put together inclusive tour packages and sell them to domestic travellers

Receptive tour operator – Provide tourism products to tour operators in other markets 

Ground tour operator – Organise tours for incoming tourists on behalf of an inbound tour operator

The difference between a tour operator and a travel agent is that a tour operator creates packages and sells them either to the consumer or the travel agent. Whereas, the travel agent only sells the packages on behalf of the tour operator and does not create packages.

Tourism products include all services or experiences that are offered to tourists in the destination they are visiting, some of these services and experiences are:

  • Accommodation
  • Restaurants
  • Fishing trips 
  • Hunting excursions 
  • Sightseeing trips
  • Museums
  • Cultural centres
  • Arts and crafts stalls
  • Indigenous cultural experiences

Voluntourism is a form of tourism in which travellers participate in voluntary work, in most cases the voluntary work is performed on behalf of charity organisations.

Green tourism is small-scale tourism which involves visiting natural areas while minimising environmental degradation. This type of tourism tries to both minimise the negative effects of travel. Green tourism seeks to avoid the following:

  • Overcrowding
  • Destruction of heritage
  • Destruction of the environment
  • Globalisation

Dark tourism is when tourists visit some of the unhappiest places on earth. These are usually sites of atrocities, accidents, natural disasters or infamous deaths. From Auschwitz to Chernobyl, the site of the Kennedy assassination and the 9/11 Memorial in New York. Visitors are making the worst parts of history a piece of their vacation.

Why Choose To Study Tourism Courses via Distance Learning

  • Study from home – Studying from home keeps you safe from contracting viruses such as COVID-19. You keep yourself and your loved ones safe. 
  • Study at your own pace –  You set your study schedule. If you prefer studying during late hours, you can adjust your schedule for that time. The same applies if you prefer studying during the early hours. This helps you study at a pace that you can understand better. 
  • Cut transport costs –  Since there are no contact classes to travel to, you will be able to save a lot of money that could have been spent on transport. 
  • Study while you work – It is possible to work and study at the same time. Study sessions can be scheduled for late hours if you work during the day, and early hours if you work late.
  • Gain a skills-based qualification – You gain a skills-based qualification. This helps you gain skills that make you stand out when you look for employment. 
  • Gain new qualities – You will learn qualities such as time management and discipline as you study from home. These are good qualities that will make employers look for.

Career Opportunities In Tourism

Here are some of the career opportunities  in the Tourism industry:

  • Events Manager – R 35 000.00
  • Hotel Or Resort Manager – R 29 750.00
  • Housekeeper – R17 250.00
  • Tour Operator -R 22 500.00

Here are the duties of an Events Manager

  • Plan event from start to finish according to requirements
  • Enhance the event’s success
  • Prepare budgets and ensure adherence
  • Source and negotiate with vendors and suppliers
  • Be in charge of hiring personnel (DJs, waiters etc.)
  • Coordinate all operations

Here are the duties of a Hotel Manager

  • Supervise work at all levels 
  • Plan activities and allocate responsibilities
  • Manage budgets
  • Develop and implement an efficient marketing strategy
  • Communicate with customers when appropriate 
  • Deal with maintenance issues, shortages in staff or equipment, renovations etc.
  • Collaborate with external parties such as suppliers
  • Inspect facilities regularly

Here are the duties of a Housekeeper:

  • Perform a variety of cleaning activities 
  • Ensure all rooms are cared for 
  • Protect equipment and make sure there are no inadequacies
  • Notify superiors on any damages
  • Deal with reasonable complaints/requests with professionalism and patience
  • Check stocking levels of all consumables and replace when appropriate
  • Adhere strictly to rules regarding health and safety

Here are the duties of a Travel Agent:

  • Planning and selling transportation, accommodation, insurance and other travel services
  • Cooperating with clients to determine their needs and advising them on appropriate destinations, modes of transportation, travel dates, costs and accommodations
  • Providing relevant information, brochures and publications (guides, local customs, maps, regulations, events etc) to travellers

Last Updated: Sanel Van Staden , 25 June 2021

Benefits Of Studying At Matric College

Here are some of the benefits of studying at Matric College:

  • Study from anywhere you are 
  • Work and study at the same time 
  • Set your study sessions
  • Study at your own pace
  • Get course assistance from tutors 
  • Contact a course expert when you need information about your course 
  • Gain a Certificate of completion

Frequently Asked Questions

A tourism package, also known as a tour package or simply the word ‘tour’ refers either to a package tour escorted or not escorted by the tourist guide. A Tour package, means a pre-arrangement, prepaid trip that combines two or more travel components like airfare, airport transfer, accommodation, and other services.

Tourists travel for different reasons. It is for these reasons that we get to, have the different types of tourists. Note that each type of tourist is self-explanatory. Here are the different types of tourists.

  • Business tourists
  • Food tourists
  • Adventure tourists
  • Ecotourist
  • Event tourist
  • Religious tourist
  • Leisure tourist
  • Medical tourist
  • Cultural tourist

Nature-based tourism is tourism activities done in the natural environment. By natural environment, we mean a place that has not been contaminated by man-made structures. Here are examples of nature-based activities:  

  • Skydiving
  • Mountain climbing
  • Bushwalking
  • Wildlife and scenic tours
  • Birdwatching
  • Camping
  • Hiking
  • Hunting

A Tourism student is a student who is acquiring the skills and knowledge of a Tourism course. When you enrol for this Short Course, you also become a Tourism student.

Our Tourism short courses do not have a Board Exam. There are no formal exams. You will be assessed based on your assignments. You must pass at least 50 % in each of your subjects in order for you to be awarded your Certificate.

Here is what you can do if you miss your flight:

  • Talk to an airline agent as soon as you can.
  • Book a same-day change of flight date
  • You can usually be rebooked for free if it’s a missed connection
  • Pay for a new seat.

Author: Collin Wilbesi
Date Published: April 25, 2022
Editor: Amy Venter