This article discusses the Tourism Management – Cultural and Heritage Tourism program at Centennial College and emphasizes the importance of the field placement that students enjoy in their final semester. A field review class that allows students to discuss their experience complements the placement.

1. Cultural and Heritage Tourism Offers Field Experience Prior to
Graduation
Any student who has the opportunity to experience the field for which he or she is studying
prior to graduation from his or her program will tell you how beneficial such an aspect is.
Firstly, it allows students to network with professionals whom may not only be their peers
after graduation but may be able to either hire them or introduce them to a potential
employer. Secondly, students have an opportunity to apply what they have learned during the
course of their studies to real world settings that allow them to get an idea of what they can
expect in the field. Lastly, a field placement enhances a students’ resume by giving him or her
advantage over someone who may have not had a similar opportunity.
One Centennial College offering that includes a field placement is also one of the most
respected Tourism management programs in Ontario. The Tourism Management Cultural
and Heritage Tourism offering takes two years to complete and sees students head out into
the workforce to complete a field placement during the final semester. Students spend the
entire semester in the field and have the opportunity to process and analyze the practical
experiences gained on their field placement in a forum safe for the sharing of these
experiences with their classmates in the Field Placement Review course.
Discussions and interactions allow students insight into different sectors of the hospitality and
tourism industry, different companies within these sectors, and the makeup and operations of
these companies.
Meanwhile, the on-campus studies focus on teaching students everything they need to know
about the field as well as the challenges facing culture and heritage sector managers. This
convergent methodology mirrors the junction of culture, heritage and tourism. Specific topics
include: Ontario culture and heritage tourism production, dimensions of tourism, hospitality
accounting, cultural and heritage tourism principles and practices, hospitality and tourism
marketing, managing cultural and heritage facilities, festival management, customer
relationship management and more.
Once they complete all of their Tourism Management Courses, students have the
knowledge to:
• Guarantee customer satisfaction while promoting tourism products, services and
experiences;
• Use a marketing plan to sell tourism products, services and experiences;
• By employing knowledge of an array of tourism industries and their interactions, promote
sustainable tourism;
• Contribute to the effective daily operations of a tourism organization through individual and
team efforts;

2. • Seek through research, document and appropriately distribute accurately detailed product
knowledge and destination information;
• Create strategies to establish working relationships with clients and suppliers in order to
maintain and strengthen their loyalty to the organization;
• Apply accounting and financial knowledge and skills, including cost control techniques, to
the operation of a tourism organization;
• Address the cultural and heritage sector’s role in the Canadian tourism industry and the
impact of factors such as economic variables, government policies and social dynamics on
the cultural and heritage infrastructure