1. Cultural and Heritage Tourism Management Programs in Canada
Cultural and heritage tourism is an emerging industry in Canada as well as across the globe.
Modern travellers prefer to explore destinations that provide them a combination of learning and
leisure. They want to experience distinct and authentic sense of places they visit.
Canada has a vast collection of cultural and historic places. However, the tourism industry is facing
an acute shortage of professionals who have a thorough understanding of cultural and heritage
sites in the country and can serve the growing segment of travel consumers expecting a more
engaging genre of travel experiences featuring indigenous cultures and heritage.
Employers are keen on hiring professionals are able to contribute to this evolving transformation
and ensure a high degree of customer satisfaction. Not only this, they also expect them to have
hands-n experience in promoting and marketing tourism products, services and experiences,
managing daily operations of a tourism organization, distributing accurate and detailed product
knowledge and destination information to clients and applying accounting and financial knowledge
and skills to the operations of a tourism organization
Tourism Management Programs in Canada
In order to meet industry demand for travel and tourism professionals possessing in-depth
knowledge in cultural and heritage tourism management, many Canadian colleges have introduced
specialized programs in this field. Unfortunately, not all tourism management programs are
affiliated.
Centennial College’s cultural and heritage management courses are accredited by UNWTO TedQual.
The graduates of this program are prepared for rewarding careers in this growing segment of
tourism industry whether they envision a career in Ontario’s tourism sector or with world-view
potential.
The program provides students with an interdisciplinary learning approach and integrates the
challenges in cultural and heritage tourism sector with operative essentials of the industry. The
two-year course combines classroom learning and a cultural and heritage tourism field placement,
helping students build strong theoretical foundation and gain hands-on experience.
During classroom lectures, the students are not only introduced to cultural and heritage tourism
but they are also taught to apply cultural and heritage tourism principles and practices to
contribute to this emergent transformation. They acquire knowledge in cultural tour planning,
cultural and heritage facilities management, festival management and tourism marketing.
The placement component offers them an opportunity to work in a real-life setting, which helps
them gain special skills and knowledge associated with this trade. Besides, it also gives them
opportunity to establish professional networks that can help them seek employment upon course
completion.
Career Options

2. As mentioned earlier, the career prospects in this field are bright. And in the coming years, they
are expected to increase further. The graduates of this program van find employment with festival
and event management companies, Ministry of Tourism and Culture, municipal governments,
museums, major hotel chains and tourism organizations. They may also choose to study further
and apply their credits towards a more advanced course in tourism management at the university.
Admission Requirements
In order to apply for post-secondary tourism management courses, the students need:
Secondary school diploma or equivalent
English Grade 12 C or University or equivalent