Certificate in Sustainable Tourism: an evaluation of student knowledge and skills development

A unique feature of the International Tourism: sustainability, development and impact module, at Nottingham Business School, is that it results in students gaining an additional ‘Certificate in Sustainable Tourism’ [CST], awarded by Nottingham Trent University. This mandatory, self-study certification seeks to deepen the students’ knowledge of the practical application of sustainability principles to the tourism industry. The Certificate in Sustainable Tourism is delivered via the University’s Virtual Learning Environment, learning material is structured into 4 sessions, comprising of rich multimedia content, text, and discussion based research activity. After completing the 4 sessions, students complete a multiple-choice quiz to demonstrate their knowledge gained and furthermore assess their own responsible tourism practice, and intended future practice, in light of what they have learned. The paper examines the impact of this additional sustainability certification on both their knowledge and skills. Specifically, does the CST complement and enhance International Business students’ study of Responsible Tourism and enhance their employability skills? The most employable graduates are those who not only possess such ‘soft’ skills, but are able to reflect and articulate how they have developed their skills and why they are important. (Nye 2005) refer to soft power – the ability to attract and co-opt , rather than coerce or give force is not often referred to in educational terms, but is explored in this paper. A mixed methods approach was utilised that includes module evaluation, a survey and focus group with module participants