Travel & Tour Management – University College of Ratmalana

Higher National Diploma in Travel & Tour Management

The University College of Ratmalana's Higher National Diploma (HND) in Travel & Tour Management is a nationally acclaimed curriculum created to provide qualified personnel for Sri Lanka's developing tourism sector. The curriculum ensures that graduates are well-prepared for tour operations, travel agency operations, tourism products development and other small and medium-sized business units relevant to the tourism industry by integrating solid theoretical foundations with extensive practical exposure and aligning with the national vocational framework.

Program Structure and Theoretical Foundation

The HND in Travel & Tour Management is designed to gradually expand knowledge from the fundamentals of tour operations to the development of tourism products, infrastructure and resource management, and applied research techniques for the travel and tourism industry. Students are able to understand the development of tourist products and destination operations through the program's strong theoretical foundation.

Core theoretical subjects include:

Community Based Tourism
Introduction to Tourism
Travel Management
Travel Agency Operations
Designing & Development of Tourism Products
Human Resource Management for Travel and Tour operations
Financial Management and Accounting
Tourism Infrastructure Management
Resource Management in Tourism
Legal issues in tourism industry
Tourism Economics
Applied Research Methods

Through lectures, tutorials, structured assessments, and field visit-based observations, students learn how to comprehend the dynamic trends in the tourism and hospitality industry and how to enhance the current tourism products. They also learn how to design and develop new tourism products to meet the current and future demand for travel in both domestic and international contexts.

Practical Training and Industrial Exposure

One of the main tenets of a qualification is practical competency. In order to reinforce theoretical learning through practical experience, the curriculum incorporates field visit-based observations, survey sessions, and workshop practice. A key highlight of the program is the structured On-the-Job Training (OJT) period conducted in collaboration with industry partners. During this phase, students engage in industrial trainings related to:

This exposure bridges the gap between academic study and professional practice.

Learning Resources and Facilities

The University College provides modern facilities to support academic and practical learning. These include:

Students also benefit from industry-linked training opportunities and access to updated technical standards and reference materials. The learning environment is structured to promote discipline, technical accuracy, and innovation.

Academic Staff and Expertise

The curriculum is taught by skilled faculty members who have experience in both academia and tourism industry. Strong backgrounds travel & tourism operations are possessed by lecturers from the institution and from other industrial relevant organizations. Numerous employees increase the relevancy of lectures by bringing real-world industry experience into the classroom. Students receive individualized help throughout their studies thanks to ongoing academic advice, mentoring, and assessment feedback.

Module Code	Technical Module	Notional hours	Number of Credits
NVQ Level 5 Qualification Semester 1
H55T001M01	Introduction to Tourism	175	7
H55T001M02	Information services for Tourism	150	6
H55T001M03	Tourist services	175	7
H55T001M04	Travel Management	250	10
EMTM01	Workplace Information Management	75	3
EMTM02	Workplace Communication Management	50	2
NVQ Level 5 Qualification Semester 2
H55T001M05	Travel Agency Operations	150	6
H55T001M06	Designing and development of tourism product	175	7
H55T001M07	Selling Tourism Products	150	6
H55T001M08	Human Resource Management for Travel and Tour operations	125	5
EMTM03	Planning and Scheduling work at workplace	75	3
On the Job Training (06 months) 6 Months on the Job Training under the supervision of NAITA.

NVQ Level 6 Qualification Semester 1
H55T001M09	Financial Management and Accounting	150	6
H55T001M10	Tourism Infrastructure Management	150	6
H55T001M11	Tourism Infrastructure Management	75	3
H55T001M12	Resource Management in Tourism	150	6
H55T001M13	Legal issues in tourism industry	125	5
EMTM04	Problem Solving and Decision Making	50	2
EMTM05	Teamwork and Leadership	50	2
NVQ Level 6 Qualification Semester 2
H55T001M14	Tourism Economics	100	4
H55T001M15	e-marketing and e-business in Tourism	50	2
H55T001M16	Promoting Tourism Products	150	6
H55T001M17	Risk Management in the Tourism & Hospitality industry	50	2
H55T001M18	Applied Research Methods	150	6
H55T001M19	Supply Chain Management	200	8
EMTM06	Creating and maintaining of learning culture	50	2
On the Job Training (06 months) 6 Months on the Job Training under the supervision of NAITA.