VCSE Travel and Tourism
VCSE Travel and Tourism is heavy on literacy: learners read and compare sources, write a destination fact file, a trip proposal, an itinerary and marketing materials using persuasive language tailored to an audience, present their trip and answer questions, and write a reflection on their own performance. Numeracy is lighter but real, with the Unit 1 sector test asking learners to extract information, spot trends and make calculations from Welsh tourism data, and Unit 3 needing a trip budget, costings, a schedule and a feedback survey whose responses are collated. The single biggest thing KS3 should build is persuasive, well-structured writing for a named audience, backed by accurate facts and simple costings.
- Awarding body
- WJEC
- Level
- Level 1 and Level 2
- First taught
- September 2027
- Amount of literacy work
- High
- Amount of numeracy work
- Medium
- Specification
- Open the specification
- Step before
- Foundation Travel and Tourism, Entry Level and Level 1
How this qualification is assessed
- Unit 1: Introduction to the Travel and Tourism Industry: External assessment (sector test) 1 hour, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC, paper-based or onscreen
- Unit 2: Tourist Destinations: External non-examination assessment 6 hours (plus 2 hours of research beforehand), three tasks based on an assignment brief that changes every year, 50 marks, 20%, set and marked by WJEC
- Unit 3: Travel and Tourism in Action: Non-examination assessment 15 hours, five tasks based on an assignment brief, 90 marks, 60%, set by WJEC, marked by the centre and externally moderated by WJEC
Skills that use Financial literacy
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Budgeting and costing a trip
In Unit 3 learners include a budget in their trip proposal with estimated costs for travel, accommodation, meals and entry fees, and include costing in their itinerary. Insurance is also listed among the health and safety considerations.
Numeracy: Financial literacy, Strategic competence, Fluency
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils plan a class trip to a local attraction with a £15 per pupil limit, adding up entry, travel and lunch costs and deciding what fits the budget.
- Year 8
- Pupils compare two coach companies and a train option for a group trip to Cardiff, including group discounts, and decide which is best value.
- Year 9
- Pupils cost a two-day residential trip in Wales for 30 pupils, including travel, accommodation, meals, entry fees and insurance, find the cost per pupil and check the total a second way.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 3, Section 3.2.1, page 28; Unit 3, Section 3.2.2, page 28; Unit 3, Section 3.3.2, page 29
“budget: such as estimated costs for travel, accommodation, meals, entry fees”
Progression step 3
I can manage money, compare costs from different retailers and determine what can be bought within a given budget.
I can make comparisons between prices and understand which is best value for money.
I can add and subtract totals less than £100 using correct notation, e.g. £28.18 + £33.45.
Progression step 4
I can appreciate the basic principles of budgeting, saving (including understanding compound interest) and borrowing.
I can make informed decisions relating to discounts and special offers.
I can describe why insurance is important and understand the impact of not being insured.
Progression step 5
I can identify, measure or obtain required information to complete the task.
I can prioritise and organise the relevant steps needed to complete the task or reach a solution.
I can select and apply appropriate checking strategies.
Good to know
- Written NEA evidence can be handwritten: Unit 2 'must be submitted digitally, either as scanned handwritten responses or completed digitally.' (page 32).
- Spoken work is assessed through observation: 'performance evidence (for example, presentations) must be documented using observation records' (page 34).
- Learners get a research window before Unit 2: 'A further two hours should be scheduled for research prior to the completion of tasks.' (page 32).
- Teachers may not coach the writing during NEA: 'Teachers may clarify task requirements but must not provide feedback on the evidence being produced.' (page 34).
- Appendix A maps Listening, Reading, Speaking and Writing to all or almost all sections of every unit, but maps no section to geometry and measurement (pages 39 and 40).
- The specification does not say whether a calculator may be used in the Unit 1 sector test, which includes 'make calculations using a range of data' (Unit 1, Section 1.3.3, page 19).
Links with other qualifications
Climate graphs, places and tourism impacts overlap with GCSE Geography, persuasive marketing and budgeting overlap with GCSE Business, and the trip budget and timetable work draws on Mathematics, so KS3 departments could share one model of a costed, persuasive trip plan.
Source: WJEC Level 1/Level 2 VCSE Travel and Tourism specification, approved by Qualifications Wales, teaching from September 2027, for award from 2029 (© WJEC CBAC Ltd 2026).