Overview

The Department of Tourism and Heritage combines two exciting fields with major creative potential. The Tourism industry encompasses a vast range of opportunities, from cultural institutions to travel and hospitality. Heritage studies involves not only history and archaeology as theoretical disciplines, but also examines the relevance of these fields to dynamic, real-life situations. Both fields of study stimulate the development of practical, adaptive skills, and equip students with a wide and flexible global insight. 

In addition to two minors (in Tourism and in Cultural Resource Management), the Department offers a Bachelor of Art program in Tourism Studies. It aims to provide a nationally and internationally recognized program of excellence in teaching, research, and service in leisure, specifically in the areas of Tourism, Cultural Heritage, and Tourism Planning and Management. UAEU'S Tourism discipline aims to educate, train and assist students, individuals, businesses, and other stakeholders to take full advantage of the opportunities available through the use of responsible tourism development. The program philosophy is driven by the belief that Tourism can be a powerful driver for economic development in emerging, transitioning and developed economies, and can also fulfil a significant role in a community social-cultural development, congruent with the cultural norms and values of the multicultural populations of the UAE. 

Research conducted by faculty members within the Department ranges from topics on hospitality and the travel industry to archival analysis and archaeological fieldwork.