BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management and Festival & Event

at Edinburgh Napier University

This course allows you to pursue a career in both the hospitality and festival and event industries. With international hospitality management at the core, it has been designed to meet the current needs of the industry.

Similar to our BA (Hons) International Hospitality Management, you’ll study the principles of hospitality management, specialising in festival and event. We teach our students in an applied way, which means that you will be able to put your learnings into practice. You’ll apply this knowledge to practical situations on an industry-based work placement or live project, preparing you for a career in the hospitality and festival and event industries.

Alternatively you can choose to study abroad through our international exchange links in Europe and the USA.

This course is studied full-time over four years. You’ll learn by a variety of teaching methods including lectures, tutorials and independent study. There is a work placement option in Year 3.

We offer tuition that is supported by highly experienced teaching staff and strong industry links.

Lead Academics

Dr Paul Barron is Professor in Hospitality and Tourism Management at Edinburgh Napier University. Upon completing his first degree in Hotel Management, Paul embarked on a successful, 8 year, management career in the Hospitality industry. Paul commenced his academic career as a lecturer in Hospitality Management at Glasgow Caledonian University and completed his MSc in Human Resource Management. Paul then spent 11 years as Senior Lecturer The University of Queensland, Australia and was awarded his PhD in 2003. This study formed the largest examination of international students' educational experiences in Australian universities and is held as a key element of research in the field of hospitality management education. Paul joined Edinburgh Napier University in 2007 as Reader in Hospitality Management and gained his Professorship in August 2015. Paul continues to study the education experience of students studying hospitality, tourism and events at university and, more recently has undertaken funded research that examined the emerging Generation Y consumer in the UK, Hong Kong, Macau and Singapore. Current projects are regarding employee engagement, knowledge transfer and an analysis of career destinations and aspirations of festival and event graduates.

Dr Ahmed Hassanien's professional experience includes both practical and academic roles in the tourism industry. He has more than 22 years of teaching experience at a number of international Universities. He has reviewed many academic articles for international academic periodicals. In 2004, he won the 'Teacher of the Year' award from the University of Wolverhampton. Also, he was awarded the 'Caparo Prize' for the most outstanding piece of pedagogic research in 2006. He is currently an associate editor of the International Journal of Customer Relationship Marketing and Management and is on the editorial board of The International Journal of Human Capital and Information Technology Professionals. Ahmed has published widely in international refereed conferences and periodicals. Most of his research work is done in collaboration with international colleagues and research students.

Dr Stephen Taylor is Programme Leader for the MSc Tourism and Hospitality Suite which covers four named MSc awards (International Tourism Destination Management; International Tourism Marketing; International Hospitality Management; International Heritage & Cultural Tourism Management). His main teaching is Natural Area Tourism which is available as a third year (Level 9) module and as a postgraduate module (Level 11). In addition, he teaches Global Service Management (Level 9) and contributes to three further modules: Leadership & Innovation (Level 10); Global Hospitality Management (Level 10); and Management of International Hospitality Organisations (Level 11). His main research interests centre around the natural environment. This includes the governance of natural areas (e.g. national parks) and the recreational use of natural areas. In respect of the latter, a specific focus is upon adventure tourism, and in particular, mountain tourism. Current research is focused upon the economic and environmental impacts of mountaineering tourism on Kyrgyzstan's 7,134 metre Peak Lenin. 

Popular modules

Year 1

• Introduction to International Hospitality, Tourism and Events
• Intercultural and Organisational Management
• Marketing
• The Business of Festivals & Events
• Hospitality Operations Management
• Accounting for Business

Year 2

• Festival & Event Design and Delivery
• Sports Event Tourism
• The Management of Hospitality Systems
• Event Management
• Facilities Planning for Hospitality, Tourism and Events

Year 3

• Hospitality Business Development
• The Management of MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) Events
• Hospitality Supervision and Training Skills
• Live Project and one option, or Work-Based Learning (24-week work placement)

Year 4

• Festival & Event Impacts and Sustainability or Sustainable Development in Hospitality Leadership, Innovation and Technology for Tourism, Hospitality and Events or Global Service Management
• Global Hospitality Management
• International Festival & Events Environments
• Dissertation

Undergraduate and postgraduate taught degrees 

IELTS (Academic)
6.0 overall, with no component below 5.5

TOEFL Internet Based Test
80 overall with a minimum of 17 in listening, 18 in reading, 20 in speaking and 17 in writing

Pearson’s Test of Academic English
56 overall with a minimum of 51 in each component

Cambridge C2 Proficiency (formerly Cambridge English Proficiency (CPE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge B2 First (formerly Cambridge English First (FCE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Cambridge C1 Advanced (formerly Cambridge English Advanced (CAE))
169 overall with a minimum of 162 in each component

Trinity Integrated Skills Test (ISE)
ISEII, ISEIII, ISEIV with a pass in each component

LanguageCert English language qualification
B2 Communicator Test with overall 39 or above, and 25 or above in all skills

Students from England, Wales, Northern Ireland, and Republic of Ireland will be invoiced the tuition fees for 3 years of their 4 years of study. Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by mainland EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here. For EU students who commenced their studies prior to 1 August 2022 or hold pre or settled status in the UK, fees will remain the same as Scottish Students.

If additional compulsory costs other than the tuition fees are applicable, these will be detailed in the course details.                    

Please note that the tuition fees liable to be paid by EU nationals commencing their studies from 1 August 2022 will be the Overseas fee rate. The University offers a range of attractive Tuition Fee bursaries to students resident in specific countries. More information on these can be found here.

Your qualification acts as a stepping stone to graduate management training schemes with major multinational hotel groups, or can be a route into junior management positions in a range of sectors.

This course offers excellent preparation for employment in:

• Food and beverage management
• Accommodation services
• Human resources management
• Financial management
• Sales and marketing
• Tourism management
• Retail management