ECONOMICS OF LEISURE AND TOURISM - 2023/4

Module Overview

This module attempts to critically apply the principles of economics in the business of leisure and tourism. The module provides students with opportunities to develop their understanding of key aspects of economics and quantitative economic analysis skills applicable to the leisure and tourism industry.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

CHEN Jason (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Demand: time preference, elasticity and modelling


• Supply and costs


• Market structure and pricing


• Market intervention


• Income, employment and prices


• Economic growth and revival


• International trade and exchange rates


• Environmental economics and sustainable development

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

If unable to participate in the group project, an individual report of 1,000 words will be assigned.

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their understanding of the principles of leisure and tourism economics and the extent to which they are able to conduct economic analysis to support the decision-making process.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• A group project report designed to encourage students to demonstrate their ability to analyse and interpret empirical data to support the decision-making process of stakeholders in the leisure and tourism industry;


• A one-hour closed-book examination during the examination period aimed at assessing students' understanding of the key concepts and principles of economics in the context of leisure and tourism industry.

Module aims

• This module aims to offer an understanding of practicalities of economics in the leisure and tourism industry. Students will examine the factors determining the demand and supply of tourism goods and services, and how tourism organisations are affected by the competitive and macroeconomic environments internationally. In doing so, students will be enabled to analyse and interpret economic data to facilitate the decision-making process of stakeholders in the leisure and tourism industry.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Provide students with key knowledge of leisure and tourism economics;


• Encourage students to critically apply the principles of economics in the context of the leisure and tourism industry;


• Develop students' quantitative skills to analyse and interpret empirical data related to leisure and tourism economics to support management, marketing and policy decisions.

• Interactive lectures to provide a framework of knowledge with class discussions and illustrations of real-world case examples;


• Interactive tutorials including both classroom-based case discussion sessions and lab-based sessions to offer quantitative skills training using applied case studies and empirical data;


• Independent study and guided learning provide opportunities for practising quantitative skills and reading.

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: MAN3235

Other information

This module adopts the university curriculum framework which aims to develop learners with strong capabilities in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module contributes to the development of the following capabilities:

Digital Capabilities: The Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) and computer lab tutorials are essential for this module. Students will use SurreyLearn, video conferencing platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams, and statistical software such as SPSS to facilitate learning and teaching. Students will be accessing teaching and learning materials via SurreyLearn, collecting empirical data from online sources, conducting economic analysis using statistical software and engaging with their instructors and peers through VLE.

Employability: A range of opportunities are provided to develop students¿ knowledge, skills and capabilities in employability. This module allows students to develop their understanding of key aspects of economics and quantitative economic analysis skills applicable to the leisure and tourism industry. Students will be enabled to model, analyse, interpret and present economic data to facilitate the decision-making process of stakeholders across the industry and government organisations. The analytical and professional skills in employability are also transferable to other sectors where economic data analysis is required.

Global and Cultural Capabilities: The module introduces economics from a global perspective. Examples and case studies from different countries will be used in lectures and tutorials to allow students to develop a global view. Key factors in the competitive and macroeconomic environments are examined internationally on topics such as the exchange rates, growth strategies, international specialisation, international trade and globalisation. Since students are from different countries with diverse cultural backgrounds, class discussions and tutorial exercises will also reinforce students¿ global and cultural capabilities.

Sustainability: This module motivates students to critically evaluate the impacts of various economic activities through case studies and class discussion. Particularly, topics such as market intervention and environmental economics allow students to develop a comprehensive understanding and economic tools to tackle the sustainability issue.

Resourcefulness and Resilience: The assessment strategy comprises two stages: formative assessments and summative assessments. Through this strategy, this module empowers students to build self-evaluation into assessment process and create space for students to reflect on own performance whilst reviewing feedback. The training on analytical and quantitative skills encourages students to be resourceful to develop the knowledge and skills required. The critical nature of the in-class discussion will help foster openness by encouraging students to understand and discuss contrasting perspectives.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2023/4 academic year.