The School of Tourism Sciences at Beijing International Studies University (BISU) has unveiled a new undergraduate program: Digital Culture and Tourism. The offering has been approved in line with the Catalogue of Undergraduate Majors for Regular Institutions of Higher Education (2026)" issued by the Ministry of Education.

This program will open for enrollment in the 2026 national college entrance examination. Tailored to support China's goals of becoming a cultural and tourism powerhouse, the program addresses the urgent need for interdisciplinary, tech-savvy and integrative talent in the face of the digital transformation of the culture and tourism industry.

The program focuses on AI transformation in the tourism industry, smart tourism innovation, digital cultural and tourism product design, and online platform operations. It aims to cultivate interdisciplinary professionals with "creativity + scenario" and "AI + culture and tourism" thinking.

Its curriculum builds on foundational theories of tourism management and offers core courses such as Introduction to Smart Tourism, Introduction to Tourism Artificial Intelligence, Tourism Big Data, Digital Creative Product Development, and Destination Digital Marketing.

These courses aim to develop students' comprehensive abilities in product thinking, experiential thinking, technical thinking, and operational thinking, empowering the culture and tourism industry with cultural creativity and digital technology.

Graduates of the program will possess a solid understanding of digital culture and tourism theories, the ability to apply "AI + culture and tourism" tools, skills in digital product development, and expertise in data analysis and platform operations. They will be prepared to engage in innovative practices in digital culture and tourism roles.

A group photo of the students majored in Tourism Marketing and E-commerce at BISU

The School of Tourism Sciences has a strong foundation in cultivating digital culture and tourism talent.

In talent training, the school partners with leading social media and travel tech firms, such as Ctrip, Meituan, Mafengwo, and Fliggy. It delivers project-based training, corporate practice, and industry exchanges, ensuring its talent cultivation stays closely aligned with real industry demands.

Meanwhile, the school's Digital Culture and Tourism Research Center was approved as a research base by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism in 2023, further strengthening the synergy between research and teaching to support talent development in digital culture and tourism.

Over the years, the School of Tourism Sciences has pioneered the establishment of a comprehensive "industry-academia-research integration" model for digital culture and tourism talent cultivation among domestic tourism institutions.

Looking ahead, BISU will continue to advance program development and innovate talent cultivation models, providing robust support for the high-quality development of the cultural and tourism sectors.