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 The number system
-
Calculating with tourism figures
Learners must make calculations using a range of data on the Welsh travel and tourism industry, such as large figures for visitor numbers and spending, for the Unit 1 sector test. The specification does not say whether a calculator is allowed.
Numeracy: The number system, Calculation, Strategic competence, Conceptual understanding
Getting pupils ready
- Year 7
- Pupils read visitor numbers in the hundreds of thousands for three Welsh attractions, put them in order and find the difference between the highest and lowest.
- Year 8
- Pupils work out the average spend per visitor from total spending and visitor numbers for a Welsh town, and what percentage of visitors came in summer.
- Year 9
- Pupils calculate the percentage increase or decrease in visitors and spending for Wales between two years, then check whether their answers make sense in context.
Show the specification wording and the LNF statements
Where it is in the specification: Unit 1, Section 1.3.3, page 19
“make calculations using a range of data relating to the Welsh travel and tourism industry”
Progression step 3
I can read and write numbers to 1 million and numbers to 3 decimal places.
I can calculate a percentage, fraction and decimal of any quantity with a calculator where appropriate.
I can add and subtract numbers using whole numbers and decimals.
Progression step 4
I can calculate a percentage increase or decrease.
I can express one quantity as a percentage of another.
I can read and write numbers of any size.
Progression step 5
I can use multipliers as an efficient method when working with percentages, e.g. multiply by 1.2 to increase an amount by 20%.
I can choose an appropriate mental or written strategy and know when it is appropriate to use a calculator.
I can interpret answers within the context of the problem and consider whether answers, including calculator, analogue and digital displays, are sensible.
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).