Food Tourism Entrepreneurship Program (Postgraduate) (H417)

Program Description

Program Overview

The Food Tourism Entrepreneurship graduate certificate prepares graduates to create "tastes of place" experiences that support local economies by fostering relationships between stakeholders in agriculture, hospitality and tourism. Exploring the geography of food and beverage, students will learn to develop partnerships to communicate and market unique experiences that emphasize sustainability and transparency. Graduates may find career opportunities at local and international tourism attractions, culinary travel groups/associations, restaurants, wineries, breweries, cideries, distillers, agricultural destinations, destination marketing and development organizations, and government agencies, in roles such as culinary tourism program manager, marketing travel consultant and conference services manager. 

Full Description

The Food Tourism Entrepreneurship program will prepare graduates to harness local economies and cultures of food and drink production and consumption and channel them into successful and resilient tourism “experience” enterprises. Geared toward diploma and degree graduates who want to specialize in food tourism development and entrepreneurship, this three-semester program builds on the strengths of George Brown's School of Hospitality & Tourism Management and our Chef School. Business graduates may also be interested in pathways in this field.

Students will learn to:

  • Connect and work with businesses, communities and associations in municipal, regional, provincial, national and international locations.
  • Support local economies by fostering relationships with stakeholders in agriculture, hospitality, tourism and agritourism.
  • Bring creative entrepreneurship skills to the small and medium businesses that make up the food tourism sector.
  • Continue to provide consumers with "taste of place" experiences that build on new business models and opportunities.
  • Develop the partnerships and tools to generate, capture, communicate and market unique experiences that speak to consumer values of sustainability and traceability.

The first two semesters of this program each include six courses provided through hybrid delivery. The third semester includes three online hours of independent research projects per week, plus a work-integrated learning experience.

Note: George Brown College has adopted a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) initiative. As a result, we no longer have computer lab classrooms. For classes that require computers, students will need to bring their own laptops. Our Library Learning Commons offers open access computers as well as equipment that can be borrowed on a short-term basis. For more information, please contact The Centre for Hospitality and Culinary Arts at chcastudentsupport@georgebrown.ca

Career & Postgraduate Study Opportunities

Career Options

Graduates may pursue employment in such roles as:

  • tourism entrepreneur
  • culinary tourism program manager
  • communications co-ordinator
  • travel consultant
  • food and beverage manager
  • conference services manager

Graduates may find career opportunities in:

  • local and international culinary tourism attractions
  • culinary travel agencies/tour groups/associations
  • restaurants and resorts
  • farms and fisheries providing tourism experiences
  • wineries, breweries, cideries and distillers
  • destination marketing and development organizations
  • government agencies

Industry

The food tourism sector's return to the impressive growth and innovation of pre-pandemic years is going to be founded on creative entrepreneurship and local "taste of place" experiences that explore the geography of food and beverage in traditional and new ways. According to Destination Canada, Canadians spend $43 billion a year outside the country, while inbound visitors to Canada spend $22 billion. There is an immense opportunity within Canada and, as Marsha Walden, President and CEO of Destination Canada, has said, “If we could capture 25 per cent of that outbound revenue it would be a huge boost to our industry.” New enterprises that grow from the disruption of the global pandemic will be agile, local and will reinvent the way consumers connect with their culinary landscape.

Educational Pathways

This graduate certificate program is well suited to graduates of programs in hospitality, tourism, culinary arts, business or marketing, including:

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