The prevalence and impact of depression among college students have become an important issue requiring innovative interventions. To address this challenge, this paper proposes an interactive teaching model for tourism management degrees as a strategy to alleviate depression among students. This interactive teaching model provides an active, engaging and meaningful learning experience. This model aims to help students reduce symptoms of depression through the design and implementation of the Tourism Management degree programmer.

The non-randomized controlled study involved students enrolled in Tourism Management courses, selected based on the criteria of demonstrated depressive symptoms. Depression levels were measured using the Stanford Acute Stress Response Questionnaire (SASRQ) and the 3-min Confusion Assessment Scale (3D-CAM). The acquired data were analyzed using the SPSS 23.0 statistical package.

Students exposed to the interactive teaching mode showed a significant decrease in SASRQ and 3D-CAM scores, and there was a significant difference in score changes compared to students who received the traditional teaching mode (P<0.05). It is worth noting that the interactive teaching group has a higher level of classroom participation and subjective well-being.

The use of interactive teaching models in Tourism Management courses demonstrates promising effectiveness in alleviating student depression. This innovative approach could be vital for mental health promotion in universities, potentially transforming educational pedagogy.