E-marketing for Tourism
Code: 104965Credits: 6
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Tourism | OP | 4 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Albert Vancells Farraró
- Email :
- albert.vancells@uab.cat
Teaching staff
- Luca Magagni
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
There are no prerequisites.
Objectives
This course examines how organizations in the tourism and hospitality sector build lasting competitive advantage through brand strategy, narrative, and digital communication. Rather than focusing on platform mechanics or tool operation, the course develops strategic and creative thinkers who understand why certain brands dominate their market and how to design and communicate a coherent brand identity across digital channels.
The course is built on three convictions. First, that digital marketing without brand strategy produces noise, not value. Second, that storytelling and storydoing are not creative luxuries but core business competences — in tourism more than in any other industry, because what is being sold is always an experience before it is a product. Third, that marketing decisions are project decisions, and that the ability to plan, iterate, and deliver a marketing strategy as a structured project is as important as the strategy itself.
The course follows a deliberate path: from understanding the landscape, to defining brand identity, to building narrative, to designing experience, to deploying tactics, to choosing channels, to measuring outcomes. Each step builds on the previous one. Students work individually and in teams throughout the course, culminating in a group marketing project developed using an agile project management approach — structured in iterative cycles, responsive to feedback, and presented publicly in the final session.
The course is strategic and practical, not technical. It does not teach platform operation or analytics software. It teaches students to think, decide, and communicate as marketing strategists in the tourism sector.
On completing this course, students will be capable of:
1. Analyzing a tourism brand’s identity, positioning, and narrative coherence across digital channels.
2. Applying storytelling frameworks and archetypal brand logic to develop compelling, audience-specific content for tourism and hospitality contexts.
3. Distinguishing between storytelling and storydoing, and designing brand experiences — not just brand messages — that generate trust and community.
4. Building a strategic social media and digital marketing plan for a tourism brand, grounded in clear objectives, defined audiences, and measurable outcomes.
5. Evaluating the effectiveness of digital marketing efforts using strategic KPI frameworks, without dependency on specific tools.
6. Applying an agile project management approach to the planning and delivery of a marketing strategy, including iterative cycles, feedback integration, and team coordination.
7. Recognizing the ethical, sustainability, and gender dimensions of digital marketing practice in contemporary tourism.
Learning outcomes
- Develop a capacity for independent learning.
- Use communication techniques at all levels.
- Work in a team.
- Have a business vision, pinpoint the customer's needs and pre-empt possible changes in the environment.
- Self-assess the knowledge acquired.
- Identify information systems and use commercialisation software in tourism.
- Adapt to ongoing technological changes.
Contents
Step 1 — Where are we? Understanding the digital tourism landscape
Step 2 — Who are you? Brand identity and positioning
Step 3 — What do you say? Storytelling and message architecture
Step 4 — What do you do? Storydoing and brand experience
Step 5 — How do you fight? Marketing tactics and strategic communication
Step 6 — Where do you show up? Digital channels and owned presence
Step 7 — Does it work? Measuring what matters
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Study | 15 | 0.6 | 1, 3 |
| Tutorials and project cycle reviews | 24 | 0.96 | 5 |
| Group project development (agile cycles) | 30 | 1.2 | 4, 5 |
| Theoretical and case-based classes | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2, 3, 6 |
| Public presentation of group project | 4 | 0.16 | 5, 6, 7 |
| Resolutions of practical cases | 30 | 1.2 | 1, 2, 6, 7 |
The course runs on three methodological pillars.
Strategic lecture and case analysis. Each session combines conceptual input with real-world tourism cases. Cases are selected to be analytically rich rather than simply illustrative — students are expected to interrogate them, not just absorb them. Audiovisual materials, brand examples, and live digital artefacts are used throughout.
Practical exercises. Individual and large-group activities are designed for a 60-student classroom: live voting, competitive identification challenges, rapid creative exercises, and structured debate. No small-group breakout or individual coaching is assumed. Activities are cognitively demanding without requiring logistical complexity.
Agile group project. Student teams develop a digital marketing strategy for a real tourism brand across the full semester. The project is structured in iterative cycles: each cycle produces a deliverable, receives feedback, and informs the next. The final output is presented publicly in the last session. Agile methodology is introduced and scaffolded from Session 1; no prior knowledge is required.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final Exam | 30% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 |
| Group project + presentation | 30% | 5 | 0.2 | 4, 5, 6, 7 |
| Mid-term Exam | 20% | 1 | 0.04 | 1, 2, 3 |
| Practical activities | 20% | 10 | 0.4 | 2, 6, 7 |
Continuous assessment:
Practical activities (20%): Individual exercises and case analyses delivered throughout the course within pre-established deadlines. Exercises are based on the analysis of real tourism brands and campaigns, including topics of sustainable tourism, ethical communication, and gender equality.
Group project + presentation (30%): Teams develop an integrated digital marketing strategy across the semester in three agile delivery cycles, with instructor feedback after each cycle. The final presentation is delivered publicly in Session 14, with 5 hours allocated across all team presentations. All team members are expected to present. The grade reflects both the quality of the final output and the evidence of iterative development across cycles.
Midterm exam (20%): Written examination held at mid-semester, covering the initial sections of the course content. Format includes both conceptual questions and short case-based analysis. Duration: 1 hour.
Final exam (30%): Written examination at the end of the semester, covering the full course content with emphasis on remaining sections and integrative application across all steps. Format includes conceptual questions, case analysis, and strategic reasoning exercises. Duration: 1 hour.
To pass the course a minimum average of 5 out of 10 is required. Participation in all four assessment activities is compulsory to calculate the final grade. Students who do not participate in all activities must sit the single assessment final exam.
Single assessment: Students who opt out of continuous assessment may take a single final examination, which constitutes 100% of the final grade. The single assessment exam covers the full course content and includes an integrative strategic exercise equivalent to the group project brief.
Re-evaluation: Students obtaining between 3.5 and 4.9 in the final exam may repeat the exam in accordance with the UAB academic calendar. A minimum of 3.5 in all components is required to access re-evaluation under continuous assessment.
Use of AI
This subject allows the use of AI technologies exclusively for support tasks such as bibliographic research, corrections, translations, and the synthesis of multiple sources—always citing the sources. The final text must be written by the student or group of students themselves.
The student must clearly (i) identify which parts have been generated using AI technology; (ii) specify the tools used; and (iii) include a critical reflection on how these have influenced the process and outcome of the activity.
Lack of transparency regarding the use of AI in the assessed activity will be considered academic dishonesty; the corresponding grade may be lowered, or the work may even be awarded a zero. In cases of greater infringement, more serious action may be taken.
Copy/Plagiarism
In accordance with the current academic regulations, “in the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject”.
Bibliography
Bibliografia Bàsica (no obligatoria):
- Androniki Kavoura, Efstathios Kefallonitis, Apostolos Giovanis (2019). Strategic Innovative Marketing and Tourism: 7th ICSIMAT, Athenian Riviera, Greece 2018. Springer International Publishing AG.
Additional digital materials and web links provided via UAB Campus Virtual (Moodle).
Software
- UAB Campus Virtual (Moodle)
- MS Office
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE
| Type of teaching | Group | Language | Semester | Shift |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (TE) Theory | 1 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |
| (TE) Theory | 2 | English | first semester | morning-mixed |