YEAR

Myanmar language

Introduction to tourism
This module provides an introduction to the tourism industry, giving insights about the history and
development of such sector on both national and international level. A holistic perspective of the
tourism industry will be given, tourism is addressed as a system, rather than an industry, so as to
emphasize the interdependency that is typical to the tourism industry (tourism industries and
Organizations, tourist attractions, tourists, career opportunities).

English I
This module aims to improve students overall English skills to such an extent that they can speak, write,
listen and read at a pre-intermediate level. At this level students will be able to communicate simply and
understand English in familiar situations but only with some difficulty. English skills will be
contextualised as in the tourism and hospitality sector.

Information and Communication Technologies

This module provides an introduction to information technology. Students will have a better
understanding of what a hardware and software is. They will be able to identify what are the factors
that affect computer performance, have a better understanding of peripheral devices, know common
application software as well as operating system software. A focus on the usage of MS Office package
will be also given.

Business & Management

This module provides students an introductory study of the functional areas of business to help students
realize the integral role business plays in the economy and our lifestyles. Topics include the major
elements in the business environment, forms of business ownership, competition in the domestic and
international market, management of human and financial resources, marketing, business technology
and information management, accounting, and business and personal finance.

Business Mathematics
This module focuses on business math related knowledge and skills from the perspective of problem
solving in financial situations. Situations related to loans, microcredit will be used to assess, evaluate
and analyse transactions in terms of cost and returns. Also, basic finance in terms of banking and credit
will be covered while including compound interest and related concepts.

English for tourism

This module introduces the key vocabulary and skills needed to speak English with tourists. It details
the English necessary for working in tourist information offices including how to provide
directions, communicate with tourists, deal with problems, as well as interpret and
understand guidebooks. The English needed for conducting guided tours is also defined. These sections
detail how to explain a tour itinerary, how to politely book a tour for a customer and how to conduct a
tour commentary in English.

Introduction to Marketing
This module provides students with the basic marketing concepts needed in order to understand the
role of marketing in the tourism and hospitality industries. It helps students to develop an
understanding of marketing management, the process through which organizations evaluate and
analyse the environment, identify marketing opportunities and threats, define and select target
markets, plan and marketing programmes, and implement control plans.

Tourism Economics
The purpose of this module is to provide students with knowledge of the tourism economy through the
presentation and discussion of theories and concepts in the context of micro and macro economics and
to discuss supply and demand and the tourism value chain. At the same time, the module aims to
promote capacities for analysis of the tourism market and policy planning and management. It also aims
to promote the proper use of the terminology and language of the tourism economy in the analysis and
discussion of the tourism sector.

Introduction to Hospitality
This module provides an introduction to the hospitality sector. It will give an exploration of the major
components and organization structure of the hospitality industry. It also presents historical
development, opportunities and current trends in both the national and international context. It also
examines the key departments of this industry sectors including food service, lodging, travel and tours
and property management.

Statistics
This module provides students with statistical knowledge in a business setting. Topics covered will
include the role of statistics in business decisions, organization of data, frequency distributions,
probability, normal and sampling distributions, hypothesis tests, linear regression and an introduction to
time series, quality control and operations research.

Business Accounting
This module introduces students to accounting from a hospitality industry perspective. The
focus is to delve into accounting concepts so as to provide an understanding of the accounting
conceptual framework, process, and cycle. The use of accounting information in managerial
decision making will also be covered.

YEAR 2

English (preparation for the work environment)

This module aims to prepare students for their internship. It includes the preparation of CVs and cover
letters, job interview and all the procedure necessary to be ready for the work environment. Excursions
to the private sector (hotels, travel agencies, tourist sites) will be taken.

Principles of management
This module provides an introduction to management while providing an overview of the functions and
principles of management. A historic perspective is also provided to introduce evolution of management
concepts, theories and principles.

Front Office Operations

This module is designed to provide students a better understanding of the front office department
within the management of a hospitality operation. It examines the operational elements that comprise
the front office and how these are deployed by management to maximise both occupancy and rooms
revenue. The module provides students with an appreciation of the role of the front office as the core
centre of the customer activity with network communication links with other departments.

Housekeeping operations
This module presents a holistic perspective to manage Housekeeping Operations in Hospitality. It
examines all the Hotel Housekeeping Operations, describes the various processes and procedures that
the department performs to provide efficient service hotel guests, and recognizes the interrelationships
among the Housekeeping department and other departments within a hotel. It deals with techniques
for skills training and scheduling, inventory management, laundry, linen selection, cleaning procedures,
cost control and environmental issues. Employee motivation and the need for procedures to ensure
employees safety and security will also be addressed.

Culture and tradition in Myanmar I and II

This module aims to give a better understanding of the Myanmar culture. It will provide an insight on
Myanmar arts and culture in the different regions in terms of visual arts, sculptures, architecture,
handicrafts, classic music, festivals and traditional events and cuisine and desserts. A section will be
dedicated to provide an understanding of the concepts of heritage in tourism. Theory, practice, history,
terminology and current issues of cultural heritage tourism planning and management will be examined.
This theoretical knowledge will be combined with examples and insights of the Myanmar heritage.

Foreign Language I
The subject is designed to introduce students to the fundamentals of a foreign language of choice.
Different foreign languages will be available based on the market needs (Chinese & Japanese).

English for tourism

This module introduces the key vocabulary and skills needed to speak English within the hospitality
sector. Students will be able to understand and talk confidently with guests in a variety of everyday
situations. It will cover daily situations at departments such as front office, restaurant and bar, room
service and housekeeping.

Food & Beverage Service

This module includes theory and practice components related to food and beverage service. The
objective is to introduce concepts followed by practice so that students will be able to hone their skills in
food and beverage service in a laboratory setting. Concepts related to type of food and beverage
establishment, service concepts, coordinating, communication and control will be reviewed followed by
their application. Students will assume various roles related to personnel in a F&B setting in order to
learn the importance and relevance of concepts and build and hone their skills.

Financial Accounting
This module starts by providing an introduction to financial accounting. It encompasses the concepts
and measurements that underlie financial statements and at the end of the module students will
acquire the skills needed to analyse financial statements effectively as well as an understanding of the
choices enterprises make in reporting the results of their business activities. Students will be exposed to
the decisions firms make relating to their operating, capital investment, and financing policies. Emphasis
is placed also on understanding both the mechanical elements of financial accounting and the discretion
managers have when reporting financial results.

Sustainable Tourism
This module provides a deep understanding of sustainability in tourism. Businesses, organisations,
governments and the public expects that new developments and products are designed and managed
with a long term, responsible vision. Also the Myanmar tourism master plan is based on a responsible
approach. The module focuses on how the challenge is dealt with in various types of organizations: How
to manage natural and cultural heritage sites, How to involve communities and How to manage the
visitor experience.

Foreign Language II
This module aims to consolidate foundation communicative skills for a wide variety of daily life
situations; reading, writing; taking and leaving messages, making announcements; using simple and
complex sentences; knowledge of intercultural communication

INTERNSHIP I
Internship is set up for students to get a first-hand experience of the work environment and industry
practices. The aim of including an internship is to acquaint the students to the work atmosphere, to
include a practical component to a theory driven curriculum such that students know the value of both
these components, and to provide them with a good understanding of the various job avenues within
the industry which they could pursue upon graduation.

YEAR 3

English for tourism

This is an upper-intermediate (B2+) English module that caters to the specific language requirements of
a Bachelors degree in Tourism and Hospitality. The module devotes adequate attention to all four
language skills: reading, writing, listening and speaking. It is contextualized to both the general
curriculum of the degree program and the specific linguistic demands of a career in the fields of Tourism
and hospitality.

Service Management in hospitality

This module encompasses the nature of service and the scope of service industry. It examines the
concept of service encounters and its impact on customer satisfaction and evaluates various practices of
hotel service. The module also examines the steps and process in handling customer complaints and to
identify the methods in balancing the demand and capacity in service industry.

CSR and Ethics

This module considers the ethical responsibilities of managers and corporations. It encompasses
individual and organizational business actions and decisions in the light of moral principles and values.
This is intended to raise difficult ethical challenges and to provide frameworks that inform about
common patterns of success and failure in managing ethics and corporate responsibilities. It also
addresses address the multi-level (individual, team, organizational level) and multicultural context of
ethical behaviour and responsibility. Finally the module will give a focus on ethical values in business and
market activity, and analyse the potential changes to business caused by the consideration of ethics
central role.

Travel & Tourism Operations

This module provides students a systematic understanding of the travel and tourism operations.
Students will be able to analyse the management of land, sea and air transportation systems that
support travel. It examines airlines, cruise ships, buses, rail and travel packages and the development of
new approaches to transport. It also investigates the different types of operators, their products and
services, the scale of the industry and how it has been affected by trends and developments.
Management issues will be covered by examining strategic and tactical decision making in order to
develop students decision-making skills. Students will also review distribution methods used by tour
operators to sell holidays, including the traditional use of travel agencies but also methods such as the
internet and television.

Hotel & Restaurant Operations

This module will focus on the management of Food and Beverage operations. Students will review and
evaluate different food and beverage production and service systems, together with aspects of menu
design, financial and staffing implications for different outlets. They will investigate the importance of
financial controls, including costs and selling prices and aspects of the purchasing programme. Students

will also develop their understanding of the processes involved in planning and developing recipes, the
methods that can be used, and a range of factors that affect menu compilation.

Business and Tourism Law

This module provides an introduction to the legal aspects of business and service transactions. Topics
covered will include law relating to contract, agency, employment and the sale of goods and torts.
Importance of licenses and other legal obligations surrounding business transactions will also be
examined from a hospitality and tourism context. Agreements and laws amongst ASEAN countries that
affect the tourism industry will be also covered.

INTERNSHIP II and III

Internship is set up for students to get a first-hand experience of the work environment and industry
practices. The aim of including an internship is to acquaint the students to the work atmosphere, to
include a practical component to a theory driven curriculum such that students know the value of both
these components, and to provide them with a good understanding of the various job avenues within
the industry which they could pursue upon graduation.

Research Methodology
This module provides students an understanding and recognition of the values and techniques of
research necessary for effective decision-making and for a future career as a consultant. It gives
students the ability to recognize and objectively criticize existing research methodologies, develop and
conduct either qualitative or quantitative research, problem identification and definition, scope of
study, research design, sampling, data collection, data analysis using statistical analysis, discussion of the
findings, and recommendation for future research.

Human Resource Management

Human resources are an important element of the service business. This module provides insight into
managing human resources which includes HR planning, selection and recruitment and reward
structure, HR systems including staffing, training, employee development, compensation,
empowerment, performance evaluation, and job design in setting the standards for the organization to
achieve its goals and objectives.

Consumer Behavior in Tourism

This module integrates a wide variety of social and psychological concepts and theories to provide a
framework of understanding consumer behaviour in the travel and tourism industry. Topics include
motivation, perception, attitude formation and change, personality, culture, social class, group
influences and decision making process.

Tourism Geography
This module provides an introduction to the relationship between tourism and geography with a focus
on Geographical theories and factors pertaining to tourism. It introduces the fundamentals of travel
between locations; the way in which the world climate affects travel; climate as a key factor impacting

on attractions, access and activities and therefore the distribution of tourism; cartography. It will also
explore Myanmar geography and its major tourist attractions of each region.

ICT in Tourism and Hospitality

This module provides an insight of the ICT role in managing transactions in terms of integrating the
various functions of business into a cohesive whole. The role of state-of-the-art technology and the
impact on hospitality and tourism operations is covered with emphasis on property management
systems and point-of-sale systems to manage guest services and transactions.

Tourism Impacts and Issues

This module provides knowledge on the different impacts, positive and negative that tourism
development can bring into a destination. Economic, environmental and socio-cultural impacts will be
discussed. Attention on the cohesion among these impacts will be also given as well as a focus on the
management of these.

INTERNSHIP
Internship is set up for students to get a first-hand experience of the work environment and industry
practices. The aim of including an internship is to acquaint the students to the work atmosphere, to
include a practical component to a theory driven curriculum such that students know the value of both
these components, and to provide them with a good understanding of the various job avenues within
the industry which they could pursue upon graduation.

YEAR 4

Events & Meetings Management

This module delves into topics related to the events and meeting industry while focusing on planning,
organizing, conducting and managing meetings and events. The role of various players involved
including developers and exhibitors as well as promoters is also provided while highlighting the
importance of this segment of the tourism business on the service economy.

Tourism Planning & Development

This module aims to provide students knowledge and understanding of theory and practice of tourism
planning and development in the Myanmar as well as international context. It will focuses on the one
hand on the planning process as a method for selecting among future alternatives for a destination, the
link between tourism development and tourism planning. On the other hand, attention will be paid to
the reasons of tourism planning, the purpose of planning and its barriers, the governmental frameworks
at different levels, roles of global, multi-national, national, state, provincial, territorial, regional and local
tourism organisations.

Academic Writing
This module provides students with a foundation on how to write manuscripts from an academic
perspective. Writing skills related to manuscript development will be honed with specific emphasis on
citing and referencing key sources used in academic writing.

Business Communication
This module aims to improve students communication competencies in business. It provides an
understanding of the role and importance of interpersonal communication within organisations. It
introduces students to communication theories and concepts applicable in a business and academia
setting. Students will be able to actively listen in order to provide and receive information, to participate
and to supervise in a group meeting or group discussion in an adequate manner as well as holding press
releases.

Revenue Management
This module provides insight into how to maximize the revenue of hotel firms by adopting revenue
management strategies and tactics. Topics cover yield management and analysis, understanding the
revenue potential during peak and shoulder seasons, forecasting revenue including occupancy.

Dissertation/Project Part I
This module is designed to provide students with an opportunity to explore a research topic of interest
that is relevant to the tourism industry. In this module students will write their research proposal
including thus literature review, context of the research area and planned methodology.

Destination Management & Marketing

This module examines the attractiveness of communities (urban and rural; domestic and international)
for visitors and the implications that result from the development of a tourism industry. Methods to
encourage visitation are explored as are the attempts to create and manage the development of the
community and the tourism industry in a sustainable manner.

Customer Relations Management

This module provides students an introduction to the principles and practices of customer relationship
management, with knowledge required to identify and evaluate relationship strategies in the hospitality
and tourism industry. Topics include customer loyalty, information technology, data warehousing,
customer acquisition and retention strategies, sales force automation, automated customer service
centres and data mining.

Strategic Management
This is a capstone module that integrates the knowledge developed in various functional level subjects
with the objective of providing a strategic view of the organization in terms of environment scanning,
strategy formulation and implementation, which includes strategy choice and structure, and control. It
also provides the various levels of strategy including analysing the business mission, strengths and
weaknesses, opportunities and threats, as well as the various levels of strategy at corporate, business
and functional levels.

Leadership and Professional Development

This module provides insights into the concepts and lessons related to leadership including out-of-the-
box thinking, managing the organization and its environment, value creation, developing and improving
service standards, networking and promoting social responsibility and ethics in the tourism and
hospitality settings.

Entrepreneurship & Small Business Management

This module is designed to prepare students for the general management role of the entrepreneur.
Critical issues affecting entrepreneurship and small business management will be examined. The module
introduces the students to the basics of Entrepreneurship and Small Business Management. Students
gain an understanding of how to establish and manage a small business. An essential part of the module
is the students' development of research and analysis skills. The application of the knowledge is
demonstrated by the student completing a business plan.

Dissertation/Project Part II
This module can be started only after approval of the research proposal (Dissertation/Project I). It
consist on the conduction of research, writing of the whole dissertation/report and final defense with a
designed commission.

Elective Subjects
During the workshop, participants agreed on including in the program three streams students can
choose from the elective courses:
-
-
-

MICE
Tourism & Travel
Hospitality

Below are shown some suggested courses for each stream

MICE
-Convention and Exhibition
Planning and Management
-Festival and Special Event
Planning and Management
-Event Venue Design and
Technology
-Incentive Travel Planning and
Management

Tourism & Travel

-International Tourism
Destinations
-Tour & Travel Operations
-Principles of Tour Guiding
-Land and See Transport
-Aviation and Airlines
Operations

Hospitality
-Wine Studies
-Cultural Aspects of Food
-Resort and Spa Hotel
Management
-Hospitality Electronic and
Social Media Marketing

MA in Tourism & Hospitality Management

During the three day workshop the wants of the participants were not only to improve the current BA in
Tourism but also to design and introduce a MA in tourism for both the National Management and
Mandala Colleges.
In the following section a MA in Tourism and Hospitality management is proposed with essential
attributes aimed to be reached at the end of the program and core and elective modules to be offered.

Essential Attributes
Graduates of the MA in Tourism & Hospitality Management programme, which aims to develop future
leaders of the hospitality and tourism industry, will be able to:

1. Evaluate the knowledge and theories of hospitality and tourism, and be able to:
-
Critically assess the contributions of disciplines that explain the nature and development of
hospitality and tourism
-
Develop competence in different aspects of hospitality and tourism management
-
Integrate the appropriate knowledge and concepts which are applicable to the industry
-
Develop a holistic view of the hospitality and tourism industry
-
Deal with the dynamic and complex contemporary business environment in modern societies
-
Address the cross- and inter-cultural nature and dimensions of the industry

2. Analyse the structure, products, services, and interactions in tourism and hospitality, and be able
to:
-
Appraise the structure, operation, and organization of the commercial and non-profit sectors and
their functions
-
Evaluate the factors that affect the development of organization culture
-
Analyse the relationship among consumers, practitioners, and policy makers of hospitality and
tourism services/products
-
Develop transferable intellectual skills

3. Implement the role of hospitality and tourism in communities and environments that they affect,
and be able to:
-
Critically assess the relationship between the hospitality and tourism industry and the
environments in which the industry takes place
-
Evaluate the contributions and impacts of hospitality and tourism in social, economic, political,
cultural, and other areas
-
Integrate sophisticated research methodologies to manage the development of hospitality and
tourism through policy making, planning, and decision making
-
Identify and provide directions for ethical issues
-
Provide leadership at work and for the future development of the industry

4. Evaluate and implement, in the context of hospitality and tourism, appropriate management
theories and concepts in the areas of:
-
Human resources management
-
Marketing

-
-
-

Strategic management
Financial management
Business Research

5. Communicate and respond appropriately to the diversity that prevails within the hospitality and
tourism industry in relation to stakeholders of:
-
Consumers
-
Peers and staff
-
Commercial organizations
-
Government officials and other external bodies

6. Evaluate and implement professional skills and management knowledge to complex and
unstructured problems in hospitality and tourism, and be able to:
-
Analyse and efficiently use human, financial, and technical resources
-
Provide sound solutions to complex problems in the context of hospitality and tourism
-
Organize and analyse related numerical and graphical data, and translate them to business
information
-
Competently present and defend concepts and ideas, argue rationally, and draw independent
solutions

Indicative modules for the MA Tourism & Hospitality Programme

Six compulsory subjects:
-
Managing Human Resources in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
-
Managing Marketing in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
-
Hospitality and Tourism Financial Management
-
Research Methods
-
Research Project or Consultancy Project
-
Sustainable Tourism

Four elective subjects from the following list:

-
Myanmar Hospitality and Tourism Issues
-
Tourism Entrepreneurship Management
-
Destination Management
-
Cultural Tourism
-
Hospitality and Tourism Information Management
-
Hospitality and Tourism Training and Development
-
Independent Study
-
Meetings and Exhibition Management
-
Quality Service Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
-
Strategic Management in the Hospitality and Tourism Industry
-
Tourism Planning and Development