Tourism Supply Chain Management BRL304

Learning outcome

Upon completion of this course, the candidate shall have the following knowledge, skills, and general competence:

Knowledge

• Have specific knowledge of the structures of tourism supply chains (TSCs) and distribution chains in international tourism through theory and illustrations.
• Have an overview of how the main actors are interlinked and interact on different levels and within different competitive environments.
• Have an understanding of the nature of business-to-business exchange relationships, main challenges, strategies, and management approaches.
• Have an overview of strategic alliances and brands in the international tourism industry.
• Have an overview of various conflicts and distribution of power on the vertical level and about the institutional framework that can explain the relevant critical issues.
• Have knowledge of how management within/of TSCs can contribute to sustain tourism development for tourist destinations and for the industry.
• Have knowledge of how local tourism firms can interact directly with consumers/visitors and co-create experience products.
• Have insights into how to manage challenges by online booking firms and web-based communication.
• Insights into challenges caused by uncertainties and changes in the markets and on the business environment will especially be emphasized.

Skills:

• Have the ability to analyze how processes and structures related to the TSC have an impact on the practical day-to-day actions and long-term development within individual firms and the wider industry constellation. Adoption to uncertainty and changes in the business environment will be emphasized.
• Know how to influence situations by strategic and managerial interventions.
• Have the foundation to undertake further research and analysis on supply chain-related issues within and beyond the international tourism industry.

General competence:

• Have basic knowledge of the structures of tourism supply chains (TSCs) and distribution chains in international tourism.
• Have knowledge of how to interpret and analyze the main challenges for business actors, organizations, and networks in the TSC.
• Have knowledge of how such challenges can be managed by actors within the TSC and by external competent agencies.
• Understand how TSCs can be managed to satisfy the majority of sustainable tourism development criteria, including economic (business) development.

Content

The course will illuminate why firms and organizations build relationships, how they manage the interactions within them and how they do this within a competitive environment. There will be a particular focus on the way tourism firms and organizations within destinations interact to create values and to develop a viable tourism industry in the destination together with external national and international partners. Also, the opportunity to bypass intermediaries and co-create experiences directly with the consumers will be discussed as well as the influence of online technology and the situation in the business environment on distribution chain activities. This insight is necessary in order to understand the mutual interdependency of firms and their joint performances within the complex international markets.

Required prerequisite knowledge

One of the following alternatives:
BRH100 Servicemanagement, BRH210 Marketing
BHO130 Service management and service design, BHO270 Marketing management

Recommended prerequisites

BRL140 Introduction to Tourism

Exam

Course teacher(s)

Course coordinator: Øystein Jensen

Head of Department: Trude Furunes

Method of work

Lectures, guest lectures, and case-presentations. These will be mediated digitally online or/and in recorded form. There will be three classroom seminars: In the beginning, in the middle of, and towards the end of the semester. 

Course assessment

The course will be evaluated by following the studentevaluation procedure set by UiS and the Faculty of social science.

Literature