The University’s new Institute for Tourism, Travel and Culture (ITTC) was recently introduced during a seminar at the Aula Magna of the University’s Valletta campus.
Participants included people active in the fields of tourism, travel and culture. Speakers included Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism Mario de Marco, University rector Juanito Camilleri and the institute’s director, Nadia Theuma.
Dr de Marco presented the first award for best tourism studies student to Maria Gauci, who graduated BA (Hons) Tourism Studies last November.
An award was also presented by Skäl International Malta for the best dissertation in 2010 by a tourism studies student. This was given to Rodianne Zarb for her dissertation entitled, ‘The relationship between tourists’ value-types, environmental concern and response to eco-labels’.
The ITTC aims to provide high quality education to undergraduate and graduate students, enabling them to assume positions within the tourism, travel, cultural heritage and leisure industries.
It aims to support the Maltese tourism industry through the institute’s programmes and to carry out and disseminate research.
Course programmes offered by the ITTC include the BA (Hons) in Tourism Studies, which is a three-year course of full-time study.
Its objectives are to provide a background to the international and national dimensions of the tourism industry and equip students with skills to analyse the tourism industry and its impacts on society, the environment and the economy.
The MA in Tourism includes study units which promote a deeper understanding of the issues facing the tourism, travel, cultural heritage and leisure sectors.
The Diploma in Gastronomy, which is a part-time programme of studies, is aimed at practitioners in the food and hospitality industry. Studies focus on the history and anthropology of food and gastronomy and their cultural aspects, the communication and interdisciplinary aspects of sociological and psychological theories, product communication and marketing strategies, basic concepts of nutrition education, and food technology and current techniques in sensory analysis.
The ITTC also offers postgraduate students the opportunity to pursue doctoral research and studies in a range of subjects related to tourism, travel and culture.