Sustainable Tourism

Program Presentation

One of the peculiarities of the tourism sector is that the environmental degradation that it generates affects its own continuity and development. The Specialization of Sustainable Tourism delves into these and other issues, focusing on seven key issues that are closely related:

Cultural Tourism and heritage.
Environmental impacts on tourism activities.
Territory as a tourism resource.
Rural tourism and sustainable development.
Alternative tourism and ecotourism.
Environmental management of tourism companies.
Marketing companies and tourist destinations.

Who is the programme for?

The proposed methodology and clear and diverse curriculum makes the Specialization in Sustainable Tourism designed for people without previous academic degrees who wish to receive training in this field, as well as graduates and professionals who want to expand their career opportunities.

Diploma

Successful completion of the Program will enable you to be awarded the degree in Specialization in SUSTAINABLE TOURISM.

After successfully completing the Program, the student will receive the degree as awarded by the University where they have enrolled.

Program Structure

The estimated length for completing the Sustainable Tourism program is 400 hours (40 credits)¹.

Since it is a distance program and not subject to class attendance, a specific start date is not set so students may enroll at any time, provided there are spaces available.
For academic reasons, the program has a minimum duration of three months.
The maximum time to complete the program is nine months. During this time, the student must have completed all assignments and a Final Project, in the case of Specialization, Post graduate or Expert degrees. In the case of the Diploma, exempt from the Final Project, the maximum length will be six months.

The credit structure for the Sustainable Tourism program is shown in the following table:

	CREDITS^a	LENGTH^b	HOURS
1st Part: Subjects	30	6	300
Length in months	10	3	100
TOTAL	40	9	400

a. The equivalent value of credits can differ according to the issuing university.
b. Length in months.

Objectives

General Objectives:

To become familiar with the sustainable strategies that are able to reduce inequalities caused by external and internal dynamics In potential tourism destinations.

Specific Objectives:

To facilitate the analysis of systems of tourism, combined with two new related variables (culture and cultural variations) that contribute to a destination´s image.
To learn to corroborate the close relationship between World Heritage sites and tourism.
To transmit basic principles of sustainability in achieving tourism that is integrated into the economy and a new society.
To understand the opportunities and possibilities of the interaction between visitors’ wishes and expectations that are in potential conflict with the aspirations and wishes of the local community and host, and the creation of new tourism products.
To analyze the different types of territorial brands and tourism.
To introduce guidelines to develop a business plan as part of rural tourism based on market orientation and differentiation.
To provide tools that use ecological economics to develop sustainable tourism.
To make known the environmental impacts of tourism on the community where it is implanted.
To provide basic knowledge to be able to evaluate environmental impact, using different quantificational methods and techniques.
To identify characteristics of the new consumer of tourism.
To understand ecotourism as a coherent proposal to use natural resources for social, environmental and economic benefits.
To become familiar with the geographical environment in which tourism develops.
To introduce the origins of rural and alternative tourism as a new business opportunity development in natural and prisitine rural surroundings.
To lay the groundwork for the implementation of an EMS in lodging or travel service companies.
To understand the concept of marketing and political organization, management and sales of tourism businesses.

Career Opportunities

Some career opportunities of the Specialization for Sustainable Tourism are as follows:

Run a rural tourism establishment.
Responsibility for the implementation of an EMS in a travel service company.
Technical evaluation of environmental impact.
Rural tourism guide.

Study Plan

The Sustainable Tourism Program is made up of seven subjects and, in the case of Specialization, Post graduate or Expert degrees, a Final Project.

1^ST PART: SUBJECTS

The first part teaches tourism economics; from the theoretical, conceptual and historical foundations involved in tourism activity to the organization, social and technological implementation.

The goal is for students to gain an overview of the tourism sector, through the different related multidisciplinary topics.

Corresponding subjects and hours of the first part are shown in the following table:

1^ST PART: SUBJECTS
	SUBJECTS	HOURS
1	Tourism and Cultural Heritage	40
2	Environmental impact on tourism activities	40
3	Land as a tourist resource	40
4	Rural tourism and sustainable development	40
5	Alternative Tourism and ecotourism	40
6	Environmental management of tourism companies	40
7	Marketing tourism businesses and destinations	60
TOTAL		300

These subjects, despite being independent from each other, are structured according to a consistent pedagogical sequence that facilitates their understanding from simple to increasing complexity. Each subject is divided into basic units or chapters, the contents of which include printed material to be studied in order to satisfactorily answer the tests.

2ND PART: FINAL PROJECT

In the cases of Specialization, Post graduate or Expert degrees, the last phase of the program is devoted to the development of the Final Project, which can be done at the same time as the first part if the student prefers.

The Final Project should refer to some of the topics studied or their relationship, both theoretical as well as applied.

2ND PART: FINAL PROJECT
#	SUBJECTS	HOURS
1	Final Project	100
TOTAL		300

Management

Dr. María Jesús Sánchez Muñoz. Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of Jaen.
Dr. Antonio Maya Frades. Doctor in Geography, Professor at the University of Leon, Spain.
Dr. Cristina Hidalgo González. Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Leon.
Dr. Leonor Calvo Galván. Doctor in Biological Sciences. Professor at the University of Leon, Spain.
Dr. Marco Antonio Robledo Camacho. Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Business at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. Eugeni Aguiló Pérez. Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. Xavier Elías Castells. Doctor in Industrial Engineering. Waste Market Director of Catalonia, Spain.
Dr. Rosalba Guerrero Aslla. Doctor in Metallurgy Engineering. Professor at the University of Piura, Peru.
Dr. Roberto M. Álvarez. Doctor in Project Engineering, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Spain. Master in Project Management and Design, from the Milan Polytechnic, Italy. Professor at the University of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Director at the Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) Argentina.
Dr. Oscar Arizpe Covarrubias. Head of the Ecology of Coastal Systems Laboratory. Full time Professor and C Associate Researcher, Head of the Laboratory at the Autonomous University of Southern Baja California.
Omar Gallardo. Mining Engineer. Professor at the University of Santiago, Chile.
Icela Márques de Rojas. Civil Engineer. Professor at the Technological University of Panama, Panama.
Professor Emilia Gámez Frías. Professor at the University of Guadalajara, Mexico.

Teaching staff and Authors

Dr. Eugeni Aguiló Pérez. Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. Natividad Juaneda Sampol. Professor of Applied Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. María Pilar Rodríguez Fernández. Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Statistics at the University of Leon.
Dr. María Jesús Sánchez Muñoz. Associate Professor in the Department of Geography and Geology at the University of Leon, Spain.
Dr. Antonio Maya Frades (EPD). Doctor in Geography. Professor at the University of Leon.
Dr. Alina Celi Frugoni. Doctor of Laws from the University of Alicante. Master in Administrative and Economic Law from the University of Montevideo. Postgraduate in Environmental Law from the Austral University of Buenos Aires.
Dr. David Barrera Gómez. Doctor in Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia and an MBA from the School of Industrial Engineering in Barcelona. Consultant for business, technology and business solutions. Professor at the Iberoamerican International University.
Dr. Marco Antonio Robledo Camacho. Associate Professor in the Department of Economics and Business at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. Julio Batle Llorente. Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. Ernesto Negrín Sosa. Doctor of Technical Sciences. Master in Production and Services Management. Expert Diploma in Tourism Management
Dr. Onofre Martorell Cunill. Associate Professor in the Department of Business Economics at the University of the Balearic Islands.
Dr. José Ulises Rodríguez Barboza. Doctor in Civil, Channels and Ports Engineering from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Professor at the Peruvian University of Applied Sciences. Professor at the Iberoamerican International University.
Dr. Raúl Sardinha. Professor at the Piaget Institute, Portugal.
Dr. Cristina Hidalgo González. Doctor in Quality Control. Business Administration from the University of Leon. Associate Professor in the Department of Applied Economics at the University of Leon.
Dr. Eduardo García Villena. Doctor in Project Engineering: Environment, Safety, Quality and Communications, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Academic Director of the Environment Area at the Iberoamerican University Foundation.
Dr. (c). Lina Pulgarín Osorio. Doctor in Project, from the Iberoamerican International University (in process). Master in Comprehensive Management: Prevention, Environment and Quality, from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Program Coordinator and Professor at FUNIBER.
Dr. (c). Saúl Domingo Soriano. Doctoral candidate at the University of Leon. Master in Business Management from the Catalan Institute of Technology in Barcelona. Master in Consulting and e-Business Information Technology from the University of Las Palmas in Gran Canaria, Spain. Final Master Project and Specializations Director, FUNIBER.
Dr. (c). Giani Kurtz Alegría. Doctorate in Projects, from the Iberoamerican International University (in process). Master in Information Sciences from the Federal University of Santa Catarina, Brazil. Specialization in Tourism and Environmental Educational from the University of Leon, Spain. Coordinator of the Master in Tourism Management and Consulting Program and its Specializations.
Dr. (c). Carmen Lilí Rodríguez Velasco. Doctorate in Education, from the Iberoamerican International University (in process). Master in Occupational and Organizational Psychology from the University of Havana, Cuba. Academic Coordinator of the International Management Development, Business Organization and Human Resources and Professor at FUNIBER.
Dr. (c) Gabriela Larrea Madinyá. Doctorate in Projects, from the Iberoamerican International University (in process). Master in Strategic Management from the Polytechnic University of Catalonia. Expert in marketing communication strategies and applying new technologies.
Dr. (c). Diego J. Kurtz. Doctorate in Engineering and Knowledge Management by PPGEGC – UFSC (in process). Master in International Business - Wiesbaden Business School, Germany. Researcher in the Core Management for Sustainability (www.ngs.ufs.bre) and Junior Researcher of the Dynamic SME Project (www.dynamic-sme.org). Program Coordinator and Professor at FUNIBER.
María Eugenia Luna Borgaro. Master in Human Resources and Knowledge Management from the University of Leon, Spain. Expert in Human Resource Management and Management Skills. Professor at FUNIBER.
Pedro Chávez Chiclayo. Computer and Systems Engineer from the Trujillo Antenor Orrego University (Peru). Master in Computer Science from the State University of Campinas in Sao Paulo (Brazil).
Carolina Navarro López. Laboratory Coordinator for Tourism Research and Documentation from the University of the Balearic Islands.

FUNIBER Training Scholarships

The Iberoamerican University Foundation (FUNIBER) allocates periodically an extraordinary economic item for FUNIBER Training Scholarships.

To apply, please fill out the information request form that appears in the web of FUNIBER or contact directly the Foundation’s headquarters in your country that will inform you if you need to provide some additional information.

Once the documentation is received, the Evaluation Committee will determine your application's eligibility for the FUNIBER Training Scholarship.