Gamification in education injects game elements into learning environments, aiming to enhance engagement, motivation, and ultimately, learning outcomes. Gamification has emerged as an innovative pedagogical approach with the potential to enhance learner engagement, motivation, and knowledge retention across disciplines, including Tourism education. This qualitative case study explores the perspectives of Tourism student-teachers on gamified learning within an initial teacher education context. The study was conducted at on University in South Africa within the Postgraduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) programme, where student-teachers were tasked to design non-digital gamified learning activities aligned to specific Tourism content and implement them in class during their work integrated learning (WIL). Data were generated through reflective tasks and artefact analysis of the designed activities. Findings reveal that while student-teachers demonstrate an emerging awareness of the pedagogical value of gamification and shifting teacher roles towards facilitation, they experience uncertainty in effectively implementing such approaches due to limited training. Contextual constraints such as overcrowded classrooms, limited resources, and classroom management challenges further complicate implementation. The study highlights the need for structured support and targeted training in gamified pedagogies within teacher education programmes, particularly in under-resourced contexts.

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Keywords: game-based learning, tourism education, non-digital games, student-teacher.