FH Joanneum Bad Gleichenberg in Austria is offering a part-time MBA course in International Hospitality and Spa Management beginning this October.

The programme promises to focus “on the practical requirements at the interface between hotel and spa management” and is designed both for those currently working in the industry and those planning to. The part-time programme is taught in English and requires two separate weeks of attendance per semester, with face-to-face lectures taking place, followed by extensive e-learning components. The entire course takes four semesters and costs €3,500 per semester.

“Our graduates can manage a spa as a business unit or as an independent company, but they are also prepared to manage hotels, and in that context, to make spa-related decisions,” said Dr Eva Adamer-Konig, head of the degree programme.

The programme has been developed by a combination of university lecturers and hotel and spa managers from Europe and Asia, including Anna Bjurstam of Six Senses Resorts & Spas and Raison d’Etre Spas; Peter Florian of the Parkhotel Graz in Austria; and Markus Platzer, area general manager for InterContinental and Holiday Inn Bangkok.

Course topics include spa management, hospitality management, strategic and operative management, international law, social media marketing, intercultural communication and case studies and business planning. Students will also complete a Master's thesis.