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This case study briefly reviews the development of tourism degrees in the United Kingdom before considering the experiences obtained by students on year-long internship programmes over a period of 8 years.Verbatim confidential comments, from students, are provided and specific transferable skills discussed.Whilst some skills can be developed during the course of an academic programme, it is argued that the internship period can provide a wider range and help clarify career intentions.Tourism was introduced at first-degree level, in the United Kingdom, in 1986.Growth during the 1990s was truly remarkable (Airey 1999), partly because of low resourcing costs (Busby, 2001).However, it is not easy to identify exactly how many awards exist because modularisation permits a wide range of titles.A search of the UCAS (Universities and Colleges Admissions Service, 2003) website (www.ucas.ac.uk2003), for autumn 2003 entry revealed over 950 programmes that incorporate the term 'tourism' in the title.To illustrate the diversity of award titles, some examples of first degrees incorporating Tourism
Graham Busby (Mon,) studied this question.