The Dean’s Message
Dear students,
If you regard yourself as eager and talented about offering services to people, getting to know different cultures and communicating with others and if you can keep up with the entertaining, yet the busy and at times challenging atmosphere of the tourism sector, then you can be an ideal candidate to study in the field of tourism. As Erciyes University Faculty of Tourism, we endeavor to provide various opportunities for our graduates to be employed at qualified jobs and attain good career opportunities
As of 2020, there are three departments at Erciyes University, Faculty of Tourism. The departments that have actively registered students are Tourism Management and Tourism Guidance. On the other hand, the Department of Gastronomy and Culinary Arts does not have actively registered students yet..
The graduates of the Department of Tourism Management qualify as candidates of tourism managers while the graduates of the Department of Tourism Guidance are awarded diploma as a candidate of a tour guide. The main goal of our departments is to educate qualified mid-level and senior manager candidates needed by the tourism sector, and tour guide candidates who play an important role in promoting the touristic values of our country, within the framework of vocational education based on practice and dialogue. For that purpose, it is our fundamental responsibility to educate our students so that they can speak (a) two foreign languages, (b) one of which is English, (c) they are aware of new information technologies, and (d) they are well equipped with the required knowledge and skills for modern business management in the tourism sector and tourism management field.
The curriculum of our departments is mainly based on foreign languages and theoretical and practical vocational education, and is supported by basic management and guidance courses. Moreover, the students of “The Department of Tourism Management” are required to do an internship of 90 days in (a) 3-, 4- or 5-star hotels, first class holiday villages and first class motels with tourism operation license, (b) travel agencies and tour operators (A and B groups), (c) airlines, (d) Food and beverage establishments with tourism operation license, (e) education and recreation facilities within public institutions accepted with the approval of the Faculty Administrative Board. As for the students of “The Department of Tourism Guidance”, the establishments eligible for the internship of 45 days consist of (a) domestic or foreign travel agencies and tour operators, (b) Tourist Information Desks affiliated to Ministry of Culture and Tourism, (c) museums and archaeological sites, (d) other establishments except the aforementioned ones accepted with the approval of the Faculty Administrative Board, and (e) public institutions accepted with the approval of the Faculty Administrative Board, and gift shops. In addition to the domestic businesses, our students can also do their internship in foreign organizations that are similar in nature.
In this context, in order to educate mid-level and senior managers and professional tour guides with “skills”, “competences” and “qualifications” required by the tourism sector and tourism enterprises, we aim to enable our students to acquire the following skills;
a) knowledge of advanced English,
b) vocational knowledge and skill,
c) knowledge of a second language,
d) learning different social structures and characteristics,
e) discovering and developing their own skills,
f) having good communication skills,
g) learning teamwork,
h) developing creative and productive personalities,
i) learning values such as tolerance, responsibility, discipline, courtesy, and respect.
Moreover, in the field of tourism management and tourism guidance, our faculty is one of the most preferred departments of higher education in Turkey. It is observed that after the vocational education they acquire, our students improve themselves on the following issues:
a) integration of theoretical knowledge with application skills,
b) increase in the opportunities to find a qualified employment,
c) increase in their self-confidence,
d) development of the sense of responsibility,
e) positive development in their working habits,
f) improving professional and technical skills in a real business environment,
g) improvement in their team spirit.
Considering the fact that tourism is a fast-developing sector, there is a wide variety of job opportunities for the graduates of both departments, “Tourism Management” and “Tourism Guidance”, such as accommodation establishments, travel agencies and tour operators, food and beverage enterprises, museums and archaeological sites, airlines and other transport enterprises, gift shops, entertainment and recreation enterprises, businesses for congress and fair organizations, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and academic institutions. Moreover, our graduates can set up SMEs as entrepreneurs. The graduates of the Department of Tourism Guidance have the opportunity to become a region or country guide in accordance with the scope of the compulsory trip, providing that they meet the required conditions. As one of these conditions is proficiency in English, our faculty provides courses to improve students’ foreign language levels, and strives for our students to learn a second foreign language. In conclusion, we endeavor to train our graduates as well-equipped individuals who can quickly adapt to the business world. We aim to increase the level of success with new lecturers in the semesters to come. I believe that we will be more successful with your involvement, and I would like to express that we will be delighted to see you at our Faculty.
The Dean
Prof. Dr. Ömer ŞANLIOĞLU
