The Open University of Catalonia (UOC) has designed, in collaboration with TUI Spain’s human resources department, a postgraduate programme in tourist company management and marketing for the company’s employees.
TUI Spain, the leading inbound tourist service provider in Spain, was among the companies invited to participate in the Meeting of the UOC’s Associated Companies, which was held in Madrid on 27 November 2007.
Josep-Anton Grases, TUI Spain’s director of human resources and communication, submitted the report entitled “Training as a facilitator of cultural change”, in which he described his experience in the TUI Spain group.
The participation of the company in this event is a result of the collaboration agreements existing between the company and the UOC. In fact, the UOC has designed a postgraduate programme in tourist company management and marketing geared exclusively to TUI Spain’s employees.
The aim of this postgraduate programme is to develop the strategic and corporate vision of graduates in tourism or related studies, as well as widening their general knowledge of the tourist industry’s complex framework. The growing importance of IT (Information Technologies) in the overall management of tourist companies is also highlighted.
In the opinion of Josep-Anton Grases, trade professionals should value the importance of product differentiation strategies: “You have to learn how to get to know your customers, segment the market and establish your target, offering potentials a valuable proposal that differentiates you from your competitors. Nowadays, we cannot attend to and serve our clients indiscriminately and indifferently.”
TUI Spain is the leading inbound tourist agency in the country, with over 26 offices in Spain and the Dominican Republic, and 400 guides and 1,600 employees. Every year, the company attends to five million clients. In addition to its event management division, the company has a transport division with a fleet of 180 coaches, while handling outbound travel through the tour operator Ambassador Tours (No Mas Fronteras and Expomundo) and the online agency TUI.com.
