IGCSE Travel and Tourism online course: how the 0471 syllabus works
Above you can see what's in our online course and what it costs. Here we go deeper: how Cambridge sets out Travel and Tourism 0471 for 2027 to 2029, how the two exams are marked, how to sit them as a private candidate and how our lessons cover it.
Travel and Tourism is the study of why people travel, where they go and the organisations that look after them. It's one of the world's biggest industries, so it suits a young person who likes geography, people and the wider world. It's practical, too: most of it is about real hotels, airlines, attractions and resorts.
At a glance
- Qualification: Cambridge Travel and Tourism 0471, from Cambridge International
- Two written exams, each worth 50%: 1 hour 30 minutes and 2 hours, 80 marks each
- No coursework and no tiers. Certificate grades run from A* to G
- Five topic areas, and either exam can draw on any of them
- About 130 hours of study, and learners don't need any earlier knowledge of the subject
- June and November series, open to private candidates
Which year's version?
Use the syllabus for the year your child sits. Our course follows the 2027 to 2029 version. Cambridge says there are no significant changes which affect teaching compared with 2024 to 2026, and any textbook endorsed for examination from 2024 is still suitable. Source: the 0471 syllabus page and the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 29.
The big change came in 2024, when Cambridge dropped the marked investigation. So any older resource that asks for one is out of date.
Cambridge also has an O Level in the subject, code 7096. It's at the same level, and you can't take both in the same series. Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 25.
The two exams
Each exam has four compulsory sections worth 20 marks each, so there's nothing to choose between. Every section opens with a short text about a real or made-up place or organisation, with facts, figures or a diagram.
| Exam | Length | Marks | Share | What it tests |
|---|
| 1: Key Terms and Concepts | 1 hour 30 minutes | 80 | 50% | The introductory ideas, customer service and the effects of visitors on a place |
| 2: Managing and Marketing Destinations | 2 hours | 80 | 50% | How places are run and promoted, using a longer text about one place or organisation |
Answers in the first exam are short: a few sentences or a paragraph. The second mixes short answers with longer ones of a few paragraphs. Your child writes in the booklet, and the marks printed next to each part show how much to write. Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, pages 9, 22 and 23.
What earns the marks
Each assessment objective is a skill the examiner rewards. Knowledge alone is only 30% of the qualification, so your child also needs to apply what they know to the text in front of them and weigh things up.
| Assessment objective | Overall | Exam 1 | Exam 2 |
|---|
| AO1 Knowledge and understanding | 30% | 40% | 20% |
| AO2 Application | 30% | 20% | 40% |
| AO3 Analysis | 25% | 25% | 25% |
| AO4 Evaluation | 15% | 15% | 15% |
Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 10.
Command words to know
Cambridge lists ten command words. They tell your child what kind of answer to write:
- Define, identify, state, give: short, precise recall
- Describe, explain: features, then reasons and links
- Suggest: use your knowledge where more than one answer works
- Discuss, assess, evaluate: look at both sides and reach a judgement
Most lost marks come from describing when the exam asks you to explain or evaluate. Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 24.
What's in Travel and Tourism 0471: an overview of the five topics
Here's a quick overview of the topics, in the order Cambridge sets them out, starting with an introduction to the industry. Cambridge's own document is the final word on what can come up.
- Introduction to travel and tourism: the main kinds of tourism, reasons why people travel, sustainable travel, what makes the industry different, types of tourists and types of destinations.
- Global tourism: the scale of the industry and what drives demand, what makes a place appeal, the role of organisations in running it, what helps or holds back tourism growth, managing destinations sustainably, and economic, environmental and sociocultural impacts.
- Travel and tourism organisations: travel agents, tour operators, hotels and other places to stay, attractions, the products and services they sell, how they work together, types of transport, greener travel and travel and transport infrastructure.
- Customer service: why it matters, handling complaints and enquiries, serving different types of tourists, and the personal skills needed in a travel and tourism career.
- Destination marketing: why organisations promote themselves, the four Ps of product, price, place and promotion, research tools such as SWOT and PESTLE, and market segmentation and targeting.
Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 8. Our lessons follow the same five areas, split into smaller units so each idea gets its own lesson.
Sustainability runs through all five, not just one chapter. If you found us searching for sustainable tourism online courses, this is a good choice for a teenager: ecotourism, responsible tourism, carrying capacity and greener transport all get their own lessons, and it ends with a recognised certificate.
Why Travel and Tourism suits home education
For a lot of families, it's one of the easiest subjects to take on outside school. Here's why.
- No fieldwork, lab work or project to arrange.
- No tiers, so everyone sits the same two exams.
- Private candidates can enter in June or November.
- Learners don't need to have studied it before.
- Everyday life is a free resource: holiday brochures, airline websites, a museum visit or a day out.
- It shares ideas with Geography and Business, so some topics count twice.
Is the certificate accepted like a GCSE certificate? UK ENIC, the national agency that compares qualifications, found Cambridge's international certificate comparable to the standard of a GCSE in the United Kingdom. Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, page 5. Our comparison guide explains the differences.
Where it leads: A Level and a career
Cambridge says learners with A* to C are well prepared for courses such as its AS and A Level Travel and Tourism. It can also lead straight into work. Source: the 2027 to 2029 syllabus, pages 4 and 5.
The skills carry over well too. Communication, numeracy, research and handling people help with almost any career, not just a role in airlines, hotels, events or tour companies. It's a friendly first certificate for a young person who wants to work with people, and the certificate stays with them for life.
Sitting Travel and Tourism as a private candidate
If your child is home educated, they enter as a private candidate. You book a seat with a centre that takes outside candidates, such as a college or a private test centre. The centre makes the entry and sets its own fee.
- Pick your series: June or November. Centres set their own dates and deadlines, and entries close months before.
- Ask a few centres early. Travel and Tourism is less common than Geography or Business, so not every centre offers it.
- Give them the code, 0471, and check they can run both exams.
- Mention any access arrangements at the very first contact.
- Get the fee and dates in writing before you pay.
With only written exams, there's nothing for a centre to mark or sign off, which makes this one of the simpler subjects to book. Our private candidates guide walks through it step by step, and our home education page covers planning a full set of GCSEs.
How our Travel and Tourism online course works
We wrote every lesson from the 0471 syllabus for 2027 to 2029. There are 260 short lessons, in order, from the introduction to tourism right through to market segmentation. Our IGCSE Travel and Tourism lessons start with a gentle introduction, so nobody needs to know the subject first.
Lessons, flash cards and digital resources
Read it, hear it, then test yourself. Each lesson explains one idea in plain English with real examples, from MICE travel to overtourism. If something doesn't click, our AI explains it another way at any hour. A quiz then checks it's gone in. Our TV-style quiz show Lemonaire and our zombie game Last Stand turn every lesson into a game too.
There are 5,046 Travel and Tourism flash cards for the key words, which matters in a subject where precise meanings earn so many marks. The final 22 lessons cover the exams themselves: the command words, how to use the text in each section, and a full mock of each exam with a marking review. It's all digital, so there's nothing to print unless you want to.
Free travel games to try
Anyone can play our 10 free Travel and Tourism games, with no sign up needed. They're a practical introduction to the subject and a good way to see if it clicks.
- MICE Tycoon: run an events city and win a world congress.
- Eco Inspector: test which trips are real ecotourism and catch greenwashing lodges.
- Holiday Factory: sort primary, secondary and ancillary products and pack the right holiday.
- Season Dial: read climate graphs and fill a resort's quiet months.
- Getaway Express: send each type of tourist to the right day trip or short break.
The rest, including Viral Bay and Visit Aurelia, are on our free resources page.
A weekly study plan
It's about 130 hours in all, including games, quizzes and flash cards. Pick a finish date and your timetable sets the weekly work.
| Pace | Hours a week | Roughly done in |
|---|
| Fast | About 5 | 6 months |
| Steady | 2 to 3 | 12 months |
| Light, alongside other subjects | 1 to 2 | 18 to 24 months |
One tip: keep the last six to eight weeks for past exams done against the clock. Since the content hasn't changed since 2024, anything from 2024 onwards is a close match.
Do you need a textbook?
No. Our lessons cover the whole syllabus on their own. If you'd like extra reading, the endorsed coursebook is a helpful resource, but it's optional.
See our prices page for the savings when you take two or three subjects together. For a full tour, see how it works.
Travel and Tourism online: FAQs
Can you take Travel and Tourism online?
Yes. Your child can learn the whole course online on a phone, tablet or computer, then sit the same exams as everyone else at a centre that takes private candidates. The certificate is exactly the same as a school pupil's.
Is there coursework?
No. Cambridge removed coursework from 2024. Your child's grade comes only from the two written exams.
Is it hard?
Most young people find the ideas easy to follow, because they link to real holidays and places. The harder part is using the text in the exam and writing balanced judgements. Both improve with steady work on past exams.
Which syllabus should we follow?
Use the 2027 to 2029 syllabus if your child sits in 2027, 2028 or 2029. That's the one we follow. The 2024 to 2026 version is for sittings up to the end of 2026.
What grade does the certificate show?
Results run from A* to G, not 9 to 1. Colleges and sixth forms accept the certificate alongside GCSEs.
Do you book the exams for us?
No. You book and pay with a centre. Centre fees aren't in our price, so ask them for their charges.
