Hospitality & Tourism Professional Development Programme
A structured, immersive professional development programme combining academic learning, industry exposure, and international best practice within hospitality and tourism environments
The Hospitality & Tourism Professional Development Programme is designed for professionals seeking a deeper understanding of international hospitality and tourism standards through applied, real-world learning.
Delivered as a structured immersive experience, the programme combines academic and vocational training, employer-led industry exposure, and destination-based learning within one of the world’s most established tourism markets. Participants develop practical insight into service excellence, operational performance, leadership, and visitor experience, while gaining exposure to best practice that can be adapted to their own organisational and regional contexts.
Delivered by expert practitioners, the programme blends globally recognised standards with practical, real-world application aligned to organisational and national priorities.
Key Course Facts
Programme Type: Hospitality & Tourism Professional Development Programme
Duration: Typically 8 days (structured immersive programme)
Delivery Formats: Immersive Programmes in Scotland | Onsite | Blended / Online (where applicable)
Certification: Certificate of Completion issued for programme participation
(Vocational or short-course certification may be included through UK delivery partners where applicable)
Available Course Dates & Booking Options
Course Overview
The Hospitality & Tourism Professional Development Programme is a highly structured, immersive learning experience designed for professionals seeking to strengthen service excellence, operational capability, and visitor experience within hospitality and tourism environments.
Delivered in Scotland — a globally recognised tourism destination — the programme combines experiential learning, academic and vocational training, and employer-led industry exposure. Participants engage with hospitality and tourism from multiple perspectives, ensuring learning is grounded in real-world environments and international best practice.
The programme supports meaningful development in professional practice, equipping participants with the insight, confidence, and applied capability required to enhance hospitality and tourism operations within their own organisational and regional contexts.
Who This Course Is For
This programme is suitable for:
- Hospitality and tourism professionals
- Tourism authority and destination development staff
- Hotel, resort, and visitor attraction teams
- Professionals working in service excellence and customer experience
- Graduates and early-career professionals entering hospitality and tourism sectors
- Organisations seeking international exposure and applied learning for their workforce
Learning Outcomes
By the end of the programme, participants will have developed capabilities that support professional practice, including the ability to:
- Evaluate international hospitality and tourism standards and operating models
- Analyse visitor journeys and customer experience across diverse environments
- Apply service excellence principles within operational hospitality settings
- Strengthen communication, professionalism, and guest engagement
- Translate observed best practice into locally relevant improvements
- Operate confidently within international hospitality and tourism contexts
Course Content
Structured Immersive Programme
- Phase 1 — Visitor Perspective & Cultural Immersion (Days 1–2)
Participants begin the programme by experiencing Scotland as international visitors. This phase is deliberately designed to help participants observe hospitality and tourism from the customer’s perspective, identifying service touchpoints, expectations, and emotional drivers across the visitor journey.
Learning focuses on:
- How visitor experience is designed and delivered
- Service standards across multiple hospitality and tourism environments
- Cultural storytelling, heritage interpretation, and destination presentation
- Understanding how first impressions and service interactions shape perception
This phase establishes a customer-centred mindset that informs all subsequent learning.
- Phase 2 — Academic & Vocational Training at Edinburgh College (Days 3–5)
Participants undertake structured academic and vocational training delivered in collaboration with Edinburgh College, a UK further education institution with strong links to the hospitality and tourism sector.
This phase anchors the programme in formal professional standards, ensuring participants develop the operational knowledge required to work confidently and responsibly within hospitality environments.
Modules covered include:
- Customer Service Excellence
- Dealing with Difficult Situations
- Food Production Safety Awareness
- Allergen Awareness (14 regulated allergens)
- Health & Safety Awareness
- Supervisory Skills
This academic component provides participants with recognised vocational learning, reinforcing credibility and ensuring experiential learning is supported by structured professional knowledge.
- Phase 3 — Employer-Led Industry Exposure: The Royal Yacht Britannia & Fingal Hotel (Day 6)
A defining feature of the programme is a dedicated day of employer-led learning within two of Scotland’s most prestigious and internationally recognised hospitality environments.
Participants gain behind-the-scenes exposure to:
The Royal Yacht Britannia
The former royal residence and official vessel of Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, now recognised as one of the UK’s leading visitor attractions.
Learning at The Royal Yacht Britannia focuses on:
- Delivering exceptional visitor experiences within a highly regulated heritage environment
- Managing brand, reputation, and service consistency for a globally recognised attraction
- Balancing heritage preservation with modern hospitality and tourism operations
- Understanding leadership and operational discipline within an internationally visible organisation
Fingal Hotel
A five-star luxury floating hotel and widely recognised as one of the world’s leading boutique hotels, Fingal has been voted World’s Number One Boutique Hotel, setting a global benchmark for premium hospitality and guest experience.
Learning at Fingal focuses on:
- Luxury service standards and guest experience design
- Leadership within boutique and premium hospitality environments
- Operational decision-making within a unique, non-traditional hotel setting
- Building and sustaining an exceptional service culture
Where possible, participants benefit from direct engagement coordinated by Franck Bruyère, CEO of The Royal Yacht Britannia and Fingal Hotel, who oversees hospitality operations across both venues. Franck and his senior leadership team contribute to participant learning by sharing practical insight into:
- Leading high-performing hospitality teams across diverse environments
- Translating brand values into consistent guest experience
- Driving operational excellence, quality, and innovation
- Developing service cultures that shape organisational reputation and guest satisfaction
This phase reinforces how leadership decisions, service culture, and operational discipline directly shape guest experience and organisational reputation. It is delivered as a structured professional learning experience — not a standard site visit.
- Phase 4 — Professional Tourism Guiding & Urban Experience (Day 7)
Participants develop practical guiding and communication skills within Edinburgh’s historic city centre, including applied learning at Edinburgh Castle, one of Scotland’s most visited and internationally recognised attractions.
This phase focuses on:
- Professional tour guiding techniques within high-footfall heritage sites
- Managing groups and visitor flow in complex, live environments
- Storytelling, interpretation, and audience engagement
- Understanding how heritage narratives enhance visitor experience and destination value
Training at Edinburgh Castle allows participants to experience guiding within a globally significant attraction, gaining insight into the operational, communicative, and experiential skills required to deliver high-quality visitor engagement.
- Phase 5 — Destination Learning & Rural Tourism: The Scottish Highlands (Day 8)
The programme concludes with destination-based learning in the Scottish Highlands, exposing participants to rural, heritage, and nature-based tourism models.
This phase supports strategic understanding of:
- Destination management beyond urban centres
- Sustainable and responsible tourism practices
- Community, environment, and cultural identity in tourism
- Differences between urban and rural tourism operations
Participants reflect on how destination strategy and sustainability can inform long-term tourism development within their own regions.
Certification & Recognition
Participants receive a Certificate of Completion confirming participation in the Hospitality & Tourism Professional Development Programme.
Where applicable, vocational or short-course certification may be included through UK delivery partners, subject to programme design and participant requirements.
Why Choose Edinburgh Connect
- UK-led programmes delivered in internationally recognised tourism environments
- Strong emphasis on applied, experiential learning
- Access to industry practitioners and world-class hospitality operations
- Access to industry practitioners and world-class hospitality operations
- Experience supporting international, government, and institutional cohorts
Course Enquiry & Booking
Fill out the form and our team will get back to you with course details, schedule, and pricing.
What’s Included
- 35 hours of instructor-led PMP® training
- PMI-aligned course materials
- Exam preparation guidance and practice questions
- Dedicated trainer support throughout the programme
- Corporate Training
We design and deliver customised training for corporate teams, government entities, and sponsored cohorts, delivered online, onsite, or through immersive programmes.
Delivery Options
This programme is available through:
Blended & Online Learning
Combining live virtual sessions with onsite or immersive components where appropriate
Onsite Delivery
Adapted to local hospitality and tourism contexts
Immersive Programmes in Scotland
The full structured learning journey
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Bespoke & Organisational Delivery
If you are looking to train a team or require a tailored approach, we work closely with our UK delivery partners and subject-matter experts to adapt content, delivery schedules, and learning emphasis to your organisation’s needs.
