This discipline is an outgrowth of increasing public interest in outdoor recreation and nature tourism that ranges from wilderness backpacking and river floating to hang-gliding, cruising, and enjoying the comforts of a resort. The ever-increasing variety of demands and conflicts and the growing numbers of tourists in all age and cultural groups has created unprecedented pressures on recreation resources. At the same time outstanding opportunities are being created for the tourism industry. Modern recreation and tourism management attempts to reconcile conflicts and ensure high-quality opportunities of all kinds while at the same time protecting natural, social, and cultural resources for the future. The educational objective of this curriculum is to provide men and women with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to handle a wide array of professional opportunities now available in resource-based recreation and tourism.
Students receive a solid educational foundation by studying natural resources and their management.
This is coupled with courses in the human dimensions of resource use, including a strong emphasis in communication and business. In addition, experiencing outdoor recreation and tourism is emphasized as well as learning firsthand about its management. Graduates find employment in private businesses, in county, state, and national parks, in educational institutions, and in a variety of resource-management agencies such as the U.S. Forest Service, Bureau of Land Management, National Park Service, and others. Some students combine their education in resource recreation and tourism with a second degree in forest, wildlife, or range management to broaden their employability even further. Still others select a foreign language to prepare for work at the international level.