- Location
- Cardonald Campus
- SCQF Level
- 6
- Start Date
- 25 Aug 2025
- Qualification Type
- NQ
- Course Type
- Full-Time
- Duration
- 1 Year (August to June)
Applications for this course are now closed,
Follow your passion for travel with this course that will get you ready to work in a wide range of travel and tourism businesses. Covering everything from airline check-in and reservations and travel agency work to tour guiding and hotel operations, it’ll open the door to jobs across the sector. Over the year, you’ll get hands-on use of industry-standard software and develop expert skills in the latest reservations and check-in systems. Successful completion also allows you to move on to HNC Travel and Tourism, or you can jet off into a job in the industry.
What will I learn?
This NQ Travel and Tourism course covers a variety of subjects useful for employment in a variety of roles within the tourism industry such as working at the airport, for an airline, in a travel agent or hotel or overseas as a holiday rep. Subjects covered include:
- Selling the travel and tourism product
- Understanding tourism in the local area
- Resort representation: an introduction
- Skills for customer care
- Travel and tourism study visit
- Working as air cabin crew
- Hospitality front office skills
- Marketing in travel and tourism
- Leisure and business tourist destinations
- Airport ground operations
- An Introduction to the cruise industry
- Tour guiding.
Follow us on Instagram @gcctravelandtourism
Hear from student Connor as he shares his experience of studying NQ Travel and Tourism with us.
Entry requirements (minimum)
- Three National 5s, or equivalent, at C or above; OR
- NQ Take Off Travel and Tourism (Level 5), or equivalent
- You must be fluent in spoken and written English. If English is not your first language you need to have CEFR level B2 / National 5 ESOL at Grade C, or equivalent
- We will consider your application if you can demonstrate an active interest in travel and tourism but have no formal qualifications
- You should be 16 years or over by 30 September 2025.
Entry requirement equivalency table
- If you do not meet the entry criteria for your chosen course, you may be offered an alternative course in the same subject area.
Employer and industry links
All of the staff teaching the course have relevant industrial experience and maintain close links to those working within the industry. We offer work experience and invite guest speakers from a variety of organisations within the travel industry. Listed below are just some of the organisations we have links with.
- Emirates
- British Airways
- Jet2.com
- Air New Zealand
- TUI
- Swissport (for airport check-in)
- Barrhead Travel
- Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park.
Jobs and further study
Successful completion of the course will allow you to progress to HNC Travel and Tourism at Glasgow Clyde College.
Take a look at the course progression map for travel and tourism courses.
The travel and tourism industries comprise of so many sectors and there are a huge number of opportunities both in the UK and overseas. You’ll be working for the biggest and most exciting industry in the world! Whether you choose a career in retail travel or airport ground operations, or decide to travel the globe as a tour guide, holiday rep or cabin crew member - the sky really is the limit.
Our students tend to go into employment in the following sectors:
- Airport check-in
- Cabin crew
- Retail travel (travel agents)
- Business travel
- Holiday rep
- Tour operations
- Hotel reception
- Tour guiding.
Making an application
For courses starting in August, you can make up to two applications.
Applications are made to a course and a first choice of campus. If the course is oversubscribed at your first choice you will be automatically considered for alternative sites and may be made an offer without a further application.
I've applied — what happens next?
When you apply
You will receive an automated email confirming that we have received your application (remember to check your SPAM folder).
Your application will be reviewed by the admissions team and you will either be:
- Made a direct offer (unconditional or conditional) Note: If you do not have the formal qualifications but have experience working in a customer focused environment or have demonstrated an active interest in the travel industry a lecturer will call you to discuss your application
- A lecturer will phone you normally within 1 week of you accepting an offer to discuss the course contents and give you the opportunity to ask any questions about the college or the course.
- Advised that your application is unsuccessful – you have not met the entry requirements for this course and are advised to contact the College Student Advice Centres to discuss alternative options which may be available to you.
- We aim not to reject an application and if you don’t meet the entry requirements you may be referred to a different course or level.
If you are invited to interview, you will be informed of the outcome of your interview by email within 14 working days. The outcome will be one of the following:
- Unconditional offer of a place– you have met all the entry requirements and your place is guaranteed. You will be required to accept this offer to secure your place.
- Conditional offer of a place– your place is secured pending you meeting the entry requirements. This may mean achieving school or college qualifications which you may not be able to provide to us yet. You will be required to accept this offer to secure your conditional place. Once your conditions are met this will change to an unconditional offer of a place which you must accept before you can enrol on the course.
- Waiting list– you have met all entry requirements, and have been interviewed however, the course is now full so you have been placed on a waiting list. If any spaces become available you may be contacted, usually around the course start date. We would advise that you also consider other application options.
- Reserve list– following your application, you have unfortunately not been successful in this round of recruitment. We have placed your name on a Reserve list and your application may be reconsidered at a later date. This could happen any time up to the start date of the course but it is very possible that you will not be offered a place. We would advise that you also consider other application options.
- Unsuccessful– your application has been unsuccessful. You may be offered a place on a course at a different level, or advised to contact the College Student Advice Centres to discuss alternative options which may be available to you.
Once an offer is received, you must reply within 14 working days or risk losing your place, as the system will automatically decline your offer after 14 days.
The induction for this course takes place in college on week beginning Monday 13 May 2024. This will be a chance for you to meet your lecturers and classmates and allow us to help you with other things e.g. funding and IT requirements. This will ensure your start to the course is as smooth as possible. You will be expected to attend the induction.
