Nature Based Tourism and Business Development (5cr)

Evaluation scale

H-5

Content scheduling

Week 5: Introduction, familiarizing with the nature-based tourism and sport tourism industry, grouping, process planning
Weeks 6-8: Developing seasonal nature-based tourism business, products and experiences, reporting
Week 9: Sharing and presenting the outputs, evaluating the process and the competence.

Objective

After the study unit the student
- can name nature sports as part of nature tourism and the tourism industry,
- know how to plan, implement and analyze various activities that take place in nature, taking into account safety factors, sustainable development principles and natural diversity,
- can name the national nature legislation,
- discover the seasonal approach to this business type and the business models adopted to extract optimal net profits,
- learn from a European platform that will provide case studies of entrepreneurs and established businesses that work within the industry and learn the obstacles and the benefits of working with mother-nature.

Content

Content:

- Nature tourism
- Creating experiences, services, safety, sustainable development,
- Project leading

Location and time

Learning takes place online in the Moodle learning environment. The course includes scheduled online teaching/coaching sessions as well as assignments with set deadlines. In addition, groups will schedule their own work and reserve coaching sessions.

Materials

The course uses online materials, articles, and books as learning resources. The learning materials will be announced in Moodle at the beginning of the course.

Teaching methods

Studying include familiarization with materials, case-based learning and project work, as well as reporting, presenting and reflection. Active participation in online teaching is recommended, as it involves collaborative learning that cannot be replaced by recordings. The course utilizes the ARENE traffic light model: the use of artificial intelligence is allowed, but its use must be disclosed. Assessment is based on learning assignments. Study unit will be evaluated within one month after the end of the course.

Employer connections

Cases are working life-orientated.

Student workload

The scope of the course is 5 ECTS credits, which corresponds to a total workload of approximately 135 hours. The workload is distributed on average as follows:
- Participation in online meetings, teaching/coaching approx. 12 hours
- Information retrieval, familiarization with literature and materials, reading 30 hours
- Group and project work 50 hours
- Completing learning assignments 40 hours

Assessment criteria, satisfactory (1)

Level 1
Nature tourism and its´ sustainable development:
The student has a basic understanding of the nature sport industry and explores seasonal business types.

Level 2
Nature tourism and its´ sustainable development:
The student can describe the nature sport industry and provides an overview of seasonal business types.

Assessment criteria, good (3)

Level 3
Nature tourism and its´ sustainable development:
The student can describe the nature sports industry confidently and seasonal business types. She/he is able to analyse nature sport business operations and provide development, safety and sustainability recommendations and/or observations.

Level 4
Nature tourism and its´ sustainable development:
The student has a good understanding of the nature sport industry and seasonal business types. The student is able to analyse nature sport business operations and provide development, safety and sustainability recommendations and/or observations. Based on observations and recommendations, she/he is able to develop new nature sport products.

Assessment criteria, excellent (5)

Level 5
Nature tourism and its´ sustainable development:
The student has a comprehensive understanding of the nature sport industry and seasonal business types. The student is able to confidently analyse nature sport business operations and provides development, safety and sustainability recommendations and/or observations. Based on industry observations, she/he is able to develop business and product innovations.