SMART TOURISM AND EVENTS DESIGN - 2025/6

Module Overview

As information and communication technology continue to become an integrated part of society it is important for tourism & event managers and policy makers to understand the implications with regards to the design of tourism & event experiences and places. This module highlights the importance of “design thinking” in tourism & events and explores the core considerations that managers of the future must contend with such as the increasingly important role of big data analytics, the role of ICT, emotion, authenticity and staging of tourism & event experiences, and the complexity of regional tourism systems.

Module provider

Surrey Hospitality & Tourism Management

Module Leader

SCARLES Caroline (Hosp & Tour)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

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

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

Indicative content includes:

• Models, theories of tourism & event design science


• Models and theories of tourism & event experience design


• Models and theories of gamification


• Principles and practice of Big Data analytics


• Information Communication Technology and the Internet of Things


• Experience Economy and Co-creation


• Smart Tourism system principles


• Case study examples.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

Group Report (3000 words) - Report on individual basis (2000 words)

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding as well as their ability to critique and analyse the issues covered during the module. For this the strategy allows them to choose to focus on one particular issue or aspect of the material covered and also requires them to take an overview of development issues in a more general way. The strategy also requires them to explore theoretical issues and well as practical issues by asking them to relate the theory to particular examples of tourism design.

 

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• One individual essay 


• One group assignment presented as group written report 

 

Formative assessment and feedback

For the group essay the students will initially prepare and submit an outline on which they will receive written feedback before submitting the summative version. They will also receive
written individual feedback on the individual summative assignment as well as general class feedback. For the group assignment the students will receive written feedback for each group on their class presentation and on the written report.

Module aims

• To provide an in depth understanding of tourism & event design science and the various theories that help to understand the design process in tourism.
• To assess critically the concept of “smart tourism& event ” and its implications for tourism design and event management
• To provide a critical appreciation of Information Communication Technology in relation to the design, co-creation, monitoring, and evaluation of tourism & event experience.
• To evaluate the role and relevance of gamification in the design tourism & event experiences.
• To understand the principles, concepts, and tools for tourism & event experience design
• To understand the principles, concepts, and tools for tourism place design

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

The overall strategy for this module is for the lecturers to provide the basic framework for understanding the issues and, with the support of visiting speakers, to provide some detailed and practical examples. This then is supplemented by the students through their reading in connection with the topics covered in class; through reading more generally around the topics, to include both the academic literature and more practical reports; and through their preparation of an individual and group assignment, both of which will also require literature research. The module is structured so that the theoretical and key issues related to tourism design are covered in the earlier part of the semester. More detailed and practical issues are dealt with in the second part and in the assessment tasks

 

The learning and teaching methods include:

 

• Lectures
  
  
  
  • Class discussions (included in above)
  
  
  • Case Studies (included in above)
  
  
  
  


• Supporting material on Surreylearn


• Guided 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: MANM432

Other information

None

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 2025/6 academic year.