Tourism and Environment Home

Department of Tourism and Environment (TREN)



Tourism and Environment Home

The Department of Tourism and Environment at Brock University combines knowledge of environmental issues and sustainability with an in-depth understanding of tourism in all its forms.

Tourism is a global industry of great economic importance, driven by our human desire to experience new environments, be it the natural environment of a tropical beach or the built environment of an old city. But uncontrolled development and business operations can lead to some major negative consequences like pollution, loss of biodiversity, economic inequality, and unsuitable cultural change. Recognizing and attempting to reconcile these often competing social, economic, and environmental imperatives that accompany tourism is a central focus of our program. 

The Department of Tourism and Environment offers a unique and innovative degree in sustainability as applied to the tourism industry. Our distinctive degree covers the fundamental areas of tourism management, but goes much further, taking students into the long-term future of the industry and its place in society. In this program you will examine the key principles of sustainability, and apply them to environmental and tourism issues in a practical way. This will provide you with a solid background in understanding, developing, and applying sustainability criteria, and in understanding the business aspects of tourism. In coursework, you will cover all aspects of management relevant to tourism. Lectures, seminars, individual study, collaborative research, and field studies at home and abroad will develop your critical analytical abilities and qualitative and quantitative research skills, among the most important skill sets that employers want. 

It all takes place in a spectacular location on the Niagara Escarpment minutes away from Niagara Falls, one of the premier international tourism destinations in the world. Brock is the only university in Canada with the privilege of being in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, a living landscape model that explores how cities, parks, farmland and natural areas can coexist in a sustainable way. It serves as a vast and varied outdoor classroom and research site for the Tourism and Environment program.