The objective of this thesis was to determine if the results of the research unearthed any areas of the Degree Programme in Tourism of Tampere University of Applied Sciences which require improvement and, if so, how they could be developed for the benefit of the quality of the Degree Programme. The research investigated the experiences and opinions regarding the studies of the current second and third year students of the Degree Programme. The Degree Programme was launched in 2007, so it is fairly new and has not had any extensive evaluation completed of it, thus making it an interesting subject of research. Also, the curriculum of the Degree Programme is currently under revision, which has added to the topicality of the research.

The focus of the research was to examine what the general experiences of the students had been and, especially, how their expectations had been fulfilled and goals reached during their studies. The 2nd and 3rd year students of the Degree Programme were given a questionnaire, which included questions on various topics concerning their studies. The teachers of the Degree Programme in Tourism were given a similar questionnaire in order to obtain a wider perspective of the operations of the Degree Programme. The questionnaire consisted mainly of structured questions, with an addition of some semi-structured and open questions aimed at clarifying the quantitative data gathered through the structured questions. The results were analysed through the grounded theory approach based on a modified customer satisfaction analysis.

The main results found through the research were focused on three areas requiring development: English as a teaching language, course contents and coordination, and the necessity for additional resources. There were also concrete development ideas and recommendations developed on the basis of the results, which could be used in the future development of the curriculum as well as the Degree Programme in Tourism as a whole.