Department of Tourism and Leisure Activities

The Department of Tourism and Leisure Activities was established in 2014 by the merger of the Department of Tourism, the Department of Physical Culture and Sports Activities and the Department of Foreign Languages. The Department guarantees the full-time professional Bachelor's degree programme in Tourism and Travel Management. The aim of the degree programme is to provide students at the first level of their studies with knowledge in all key economic disciplines, along with specialised expertise focused on management, product development, and business processes in the areas of food services, accommodation, transport, spa, and supplementary services. The programme also focuses on the acquisition and development of practical skills, as well as on confronting theoretical knowledge with real-world experience. The quality of university teaching and the achievement of educational goals are supported by an emphasis on solving practical problems, the intensive use of software tools widely used in the tourism industry, professional internships, and the involvement of experienced industry professionals. Students also have the opportunity to participate in study stays or internships abroad through the Erasmus+ programme, gaining valuable insights and skills.

Language and communication competencies are important abilities of our graduates. The Department provides courses in German and English, as well as communication courses and related subjects. It regularly invites industry professionals to deliver expert lectures and organises workshops led by practitioners and experts from partner Czech and international universities. The Department also organises sports events, outdoor student activities, and other animation programmes. Internships are arranged both in the Czech Republic and abroad, within a network of partner travel agencies, accommodation and food service providers, various tourism-related enterprises, as well as in public institutions. Cooperation is being further strengthened with Darkov Spa, a.s. in Karviná, Slatinice Spa, a.s., Hotel Studánka, and other tourism-related enterprises. Through the Department, the university has also become an active member of the Czech Association of Hotels and Restaurants (AHR ČR), the Association of Tourist Guides of the Czech Republic (APČR), the Regional Club Ostrava of the Czech Marketing Society (ČMS RKO), and the Marketing Teachers’ Club of the Czech Marketing Society (KUM – ČMS).

Research and publishing activities of the Department’s academic staff represent an essential component of its development. The Department collaborates with both domestic and international universities, including partnerships within the framework of SVECR (Association of Scientific Experts in Tourism) and institutions such as the Faculty of Economics of Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, the Faculty of Central European Studies of Constantine the Philosopher University in Nitra, the Institute of Management of the University of Ss. Cyril and Methodius in Trnava, the Faculty of Commerce of the University of Economics in Bratislava, as well as with the Wrocław University of Economics and Business – Branch in Jelenia Góra, the Department of Tourism and Sport Management at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and selected universities in Turkey and Bulgaria. The Department's members publish in peer-reviewed scientific journals, both domestic and international, as well as in peer-reviewed conference proceedings. They also contribute to the development of university-level study materials and related academic resources.

Since 2012, the Department of Tourism and Leisure Activities, in cooperation with the Institute of Spa, Gastronomy and Tourism at the Faculty of Philosophy and Science in Opava, has annually organised the international conference "Current Trends in Spas, Hospitality and Tourism." Since 2020, the Department of Tourism at the Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University in Banská Bystrica, and the Department of Marketing and Tourism Management at Wrocław University of Economics and Business – Branch in Jelenia Góra have also been co-organisers. Since 2022, the Institute of Hospitality Management Prague (VŠH Praha) has become a co-organiser, and as of 2025, the Department of Tourism and Sport Management, the Institute of Entrepreneurship at Jagiellonian University in Kraków, and the Department of Tourism at the Faculty of Commerce, University of Economics in Bratislava have also joined as co-organisers.