A Travel Education Can Take You Across the World - Literally
"The Tourism and Travel program has been a great learning environment for me," says Amanda Kwong, a 2009 graduate of Centennial College's one-year offering, which offers students a tourism education. "The small class sizes and hands-on opportunities have helped to further my passion for travel. The in-class learning has been an eye-opening experience thanks to the enthusiastic teachers and their intimate knowledge of the industry. The amount of extracurricular and opportunities within the industry offered to students are endless."
These positive words demonstrate how well rounded the travel education students receive in this program really is. Lisa Mohammed, coordinator of the Tourism and Travel program at Centennial College, expands on Kwong's testimonial. "Our curriculum is endorsed by the Canadian Institute of Travel Counselors and their exam is included in our program. We also do an international trip every year. So I think we've succeeded in giving students not just the theoretical knowledge but sort of the vocational knowledge as well."
Aside from the international trip Mohammed mentioned, the other vital practical experience students of the Travel and Tourism Program are exposed to during their tourism education is a three-days-a-week internship. This opportunity is offered to students in the third and final semester of the program. It is a time for students to apply skills learned in-class, interact with professionals and network.
However, before they are sent into the field, students are given a travel education through Tourism and Travel Courses that are designed to prepare them to graduate with the proficiency that both Canadian and global employers are seeking. Specific courses within this program include: Wholesale Tour Operators (students study and compare the various package tour suppliers, and the elements that go into brochure production. Additionally, students learn the negotiation process used by both the retail travel agency and wholesalers in securing preferred supplier status); Travel Agency Operations (Using Build Your Own Business software, learners open their own travel agency by entering into a world with artificially intelligent population with demographics, towns and roadways — and real time competitive environment actually created by others); Business Management for Tourism (places emphasis on The Ontario Travel Industry Act, The Travel Industry Council of Ontario Minimum Standards requirement, human resource management, travel agency productivity, financial targets and controls, and business ethics); and more. Other tourism and travel courses cover: airline tariffs and ticketing, accommodation and ground transportation and the cruise industry.
Please note that in order to graduate from with a tourism education from Centennial College, a minimum C grade is required. Those applying to obtain a travel education at Centennial College must present at minimum an Ontario Secondary School Diploma (OSSD) or equivalent or be 19 years of age or older. In addition, students should have completed the compulsory English 12C or U or skills assessment or equivalent. Please note that possession of minimum admission requirements does not guarantee admission into the program.
