USI Università della Svizzera italiana Master of Arts in International Tourism
USI Università della Svizzera italiana

USI Università della Svizzera italiana

Master of Arts in International Tourism

Lugano, Switzerland

MA

2 years

English

Full time

30 Jun 2026*

Sep 2026

CHF 4,000 / per semester **

On-Campus

* 30/04/26 for non-EU/EFTA; 30/06/26 for EU/EFTA

** applicants whose official residence was in Switzerland or Liechtenstein at the time of the final high school exam - Maturità - pay a reduced semester fee of CHF 2,000 per semester

Key Summary

About: The Master of Arts in International Tourism at USI offers an interdisciplinary, practice-oriented curriculum in small intercultural classes in Lugano. You get a helicopter view of the international tourism industry via core courses, labs, group projects, conferences, field excursions in Switzerland and abroad, a Study Tour to a European city, and a tourism internship. USI's small, cosmopolitan, informal culture helps you engage directly with international faculty and define your educational path.

Career Outcomes: Career opportunities include destination manager, tourism marketing specialist, hospitality manager, tour operator, travel consultant, sustainable tourism planner, events manager, cultural heritage coordinator, policy analyst, and more.

Master of Arts in International Tourism

Tourism has grown to become a global economic industry. Managing international tourism means understanding its diversity and requires a frequent change of perspectives between the various stakeholders involved in tourism: different types of tourists, tourism businesses, the local community, tourism employees, governments, NGOs, activist groups, and tourism industry associations – to name a few.

The USI Master in International Tourism responds to this need by offering a multidisciplinary and forward-thinking approach. While acquiring toolkits of Economics, Communication Sciences, and Management, you master different ways of critical thinking which are key to solving complex problems in tourism.

While our core courses give you a helicopter view of the International Tourism Industry, you specialize yourself during your minor in eTourism, minor in Sustainability, the World Challenges Programme, or a semester abroad at one of our selected partner universities.

You study in small intercultural classes taught by an expert Faculty coming to Lugano from all over the world. Through various labs, applied group projects, conferences, field excursions in Switzerland and abroad, Study Tour to a European city destination, tourism internship, you sharpen essential soft skills and gain valuable hands-on experience in tourism at university level.

The USI Master in International Tourism is designed to equip learners from a wide variety of educational backgrounds with the toolkits and soft skills needed to shape international tourism in a sustainable way, creating the best possible start for a successful tourism career.