Foundation Travel and Tourism
WJEC Foundation Travel and Tourism is a two unit portfolio qualification for learners in Years 10 and 11 working at Entry Level or Level 1, with the VCSE Travel and Tourism as a natural next step. Literacy runs through everything, and Appendix A maps listening, reading, speaking and writing to every learning outcome. Learners move from naming to explaining ideas about tourism in Wales, read websites, leaflets and reviews, interview people, make materials that communicate an attraction idea, pitch it and answer questions, then review their own work. Evidence can be written, spoken or recorded. Numeracy is lighter and sits mainly in Unit 2: tallying and charting survey responses, using maps to place an attraction, and thinking about costs, discounts and value for money.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Entry Level and Level 1
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- Medium
- Amount of numeracy work
- Low
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Next step up
- VCSE Travel and Tourism, Level 1 and Level 2
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Exploring travel and tourism in Wales: Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time 12 hours (typically 9 to 12 hours), 48 points (48 of the 116 qualification points), 48 guided learning hours, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC; taught first and available from summer 2028
- Unit 2: Designing a tourist attraction for Wales: Centre marked non-examination assessment, a portfolio of evidence from teacher-set activities, maximum assessment time 18 hours (typically 14 to 18 hours), 68 points (68 of the 116 qualification points), 72 guided learning hours, assessed in centre and moderated by WJEC; available from summer 2029
Skills that use Understanding, response and analysis
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Reading information from websites, leaflets and case studies
Learners use published information such as websites and leaflets to find out about attractions, read reviews to see how an attraction meets visitor needs, and at Level 1 read a short case study and present findings from a range of sources. Appendix A maps reading to every learning outcome.
Literacy: Reading strategies, Understanding, response and analysis
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils scan a printed leaflet for a Welsh attraction to find the opening times, prices and three things to do.
- Year 8
- Pupils read two web pages about the same beach and note the facts both give and one fact that only one of them gives.
- Year 9
- Pupils read a short case study about tourism in Tenby, highlight the main points and write a summary of what visitors come for and what problems they cause.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 2, assessment criterion 2.2.4, page 33; example tasks, pages 36 and 37; Unit 1, example tasks, page 21; Appendix A, page 49
“learners use different published information (for example websites, leaflets)”
Progression step 3
I can use a range of strategies for finding information, e.g. skimming for gist, scanning for detail.
I can make use of reference/digital sources to select, summarise and synthesise information, referencing as appropriate.
Progression step 4
I can use a range of strategies, e.g. speed reading, close reading, annotation, prediction, to skim texts for gist, key ideas and themes, and scan for detailed information.
I can evaluate the usefulness and reliability of texts.
Good to know
- Appendix A (page 49) maps listening, reading, speaking and writing to "All" learning outcomes in both units, and maps the numeracy strands to LO1.3 and LO1.4 in Unit 1 and LO2.1, LO2.2 and LO2.4 in Unit 2.
- Evidence does not have to be written. It can include "responses to structured questions, either written or oral" and "a written or recorded account by the learner" (Section 3.3, page 42).
- Spoken work is marked from records: "performance evidence (for example, presentations or practical demonstrations)" must be documented using observation records (Section 3.6, page 43).
- Support depends on level. Entry 1 learners get "verbal, visual and practical assistance, use of symbols, or assistive technology" and Entry 2 learners may use "scaffolded templates" (Section 3.4, page 43).
- Level 1 learners work independently, but teachers "can provide advice on planning and structuring their answers" (Section 3.4, page 43).
- Each criterion has four bands, from Entry 1 to Level 1, and the verbs step up from name and list to state, outline and explain: "Four different bands of assessment criteria are provided, reflecting differing levels of learner ability." (Section 2.1, page 10).
- Teachers set the tasks: "Teachers have the flexibility to design assessment tasks and activities that best meet the needs of their learners." (Section 3.1, page 41). There are no written examinations.
Links with other qualifications
The Foundation course leads into VCSE Travel and Tourism and builds the same literacy and numeracy in a simpler form. Reading websites and reviews about attractions becomes, in the VCSE, selecting, comparing and summarising sources for a destination fact file. Foundation materials and pitches that give key information become persuasive, audience tailored proposals, itineraries and marketing materials, and presenting with a Q&A grows into presenting a whole trip and answering questions on it. On the numeracy side, the Foundation survey with tallies and simple charts steps up to a VCSE feedback survey whose responses are collated, while value for money and an activity schedule become a full trip budget, costed itinerary and timetabled schedule, plus calculations with Welsh tourism data in the Unit 1 sector test. Maps and the impacts of tourism also link with GCSE Geography.
Source: WJEC Entry Level/Level 1 Foundation Travel and Tourism specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).