London Architecture Week

Destination London is a two-week summer-school short course designed for undergraduate students who are interested in exploring how tourism and events have shaped one of the world's top city destinations. Set in the heart of London, at our Marylebone Campus, the course includes two weeks of study and includes visits to museums, venues, the Olympic Park and historic areas of the city. The course is delivered in full-day sessions that include teaching and learning sessions with experts, plus study visits, and provides the opportunity to undertake an in-depth case study of one aspect/area of the destination. This immersive study experience of London as a destination is a life-changing experience that offers you the chance to travel around and enjoy this most exciting of cities.

The course is suitable for undergraduate students from overseas universities. No prior study of tourism or events is needed. Proficiency in English is required.

Course content

Destination London provides an in-depth exploration of London as one of the world's leading tourism and event destinations. The course focuses on London's resources for tourism and events, the type of tourism and events that London attracts, their impacts and how they are managed. It combines interactive learning sessions, study visits to relevant sites, and talks from industry practitioners, giving students a detailed and holistic understanding of London as a tourism and event destination.

Each day we focus on a specific tourism or event-related theme. The sessions are interactive, student-centred, and encourage student participation. Class teaching sessions begin at 10am each morning, and are followed by study visits in the afternoon. These visits enable students to see ideas in practice in various sites and locations in London. Students will work in small teams on a case-study project to explore in depth a particular aspect of tourism or events in London. The sequence of topics is flexible and may be amended in accordance with staff and site visit availability.

• London as a Destination - Trends and Issues
• The Impacts of Tourism and Events and Techniques to Manage Them
• Transport in the City
• Museums and Heritage
• Events in the city
• Off-the Beaten-Track - Developing New Tourist Districts
• The Accommodation Sector
• The Olympic Legacy

Learning outcomes

By the end of the Destination London course, you will be able to:

• Describe the key resources for tourism and events in a destination and their prevalence in London
• Explain London's development as tourism and event destination
• Identify the main impacts of tourism and events in destinations and evaluate their impacts in London
• Explain how the impacts of tourism and events can be managed and the techniques that are used in London

Entry requirements

You will be over 18 years old and normally have completed a year or more of post high-school study

• You must be of good academic standing, having achieved grades of B or above, or the equivalent depending on your home university's grading system
• English language ability - you do not need a formal language qualification to undertake this course but teaching will be in English. Good comprehension and speaking ability is essential.

Accreditation

Certificate of Attendance

Tutor information

The course is delivered by experienced members of our tourism and events team including:

Simon Curtis

Simon is a part-time Senior Lecturer in Tourism at the University of Westminster, and also runs his own consultancy practice. He is an experienced destination manager and tourism professional with expertise in tourism marketing, heritage management and destination management. He was Director of Visit Kent for several years and also a key member of the management team of Medway, an historic destination in the south of England.

Dr Claudia Dolezal

Claudia is a Lecturer in Tourism with expertise in tourism for development, community-based tourism, empowerment & power relations and social interactions in tourism. Prior to joining us in 2015, she taught on the Masters programmes of Tourism & International Development and Tourism & Social Anthropology at the University of Brighton. She is a member of the Austrian Society for South-East Asian Studies (SEAS) and is editorial board member of the Austrian Journal of South-East Asian Studies (ASEAS), where she acts as managing editor for special issues within the areas of tourism, mobilities and international development.

Dr Anne Graham

Anne is an expert in air transport and tourism. She has taught at the university for over 25 years, and publishes widely in key aviation journals and is editor-in-chief of the Journal of Air Transport Management. She is the author of several essential texts including Halpern, N and Graham, A (2013) Airport Marketing, and Graham, A (2013) Managing Airports: An International Perspective.

Clare Inkson

Clare has over 20 years of teaching experience as well as several years of professional experience with tourism intermediaries in marketing and operations roles. Her research interests include the distribution of tourism from supplier to consumer, tourism services marketing, and destination marketing and management, and she is co-author of Inkson, C. & Minnaert, L (2012) Tourism Management An Introduction.

Chantal Laws

Chantal is a Senior Lecturer in Events and joined the university in 2014. She is an experienced teacher, and has several years of professional events experience in heritage, arts and festival contexts. Her research interests include festivals and entertainment events, heritage and religious tourism, consumer behaviour and participatory research methods, and she is author of several publications including Laws, C. (2013) Pagan Tourism and the management of ancient historic sites in Cornwall, UK. In: L. White and E. Frew, eds. Dark Tourism and Place Identity, and Laws, C. (2011) Responsible Entertainment: ‘greening’ festivals and entertainment events. In: B. Walmsley, ed. Key Issues in the Arts and Entertainment Industry, Oxford: Goodfellow.