Course 2015-2016 a.y.

Course Objectives

The workshop introduces students to the global trends and key economic, socio-cultural and environmental challenges characterizing tourism nowadays. It provides an overview of the tourism sector and introduces the competences and tools necessary to manage an increasingly complex and globalized industry where however the ability to ground strategies in the unique local identities of tourism places is essential. The workshop deals with the management of both tourism companies and destinations. The workshop is mainly based on discussion of case studies and on the exchange with qualified guest speakers: as such, students can gain the most from attending classes.

Course Content Summary

The course develops through frontal classes, case discussions and guest speakers key managerial challenges for tourism companies and tourism destinations:

• How to cope with global trends in the demand for local identities.
• Analysis of newtourism segments (i.e. Wellbeing and SPA, lifestyle and shopping, wine tourism, congress and conventions).
• Innovation in the tourism supply chain: old and new intermediaries.
• Standardization, personalization and emotional tourism for the hotel industry (hotel chains and independent hotels).
• How to create local networks and manage destinations.
• New approaches to local products in restaurants and in the food and beverage sector.
• Sustainability and green management for destinations and local operators (i.enatural parks, eco-friendly accommodation, ).
• The impact of the ICTs on the tourism sector.

Detailed Description of Assessment Methods

For Attending students:

Written exam 50% of the total grade

Project work50% of the total grade

The written exam will be in the form of open questions on the topics discussed in class and covered by the materials for attending students.

The projectwill be in the form of a group work and will be presented to the class at the end of the course. The group work will concentrate on the analysis of a specific tourism segment also in terms of benchmark and on the development of a project proposal either for a tourism company or for a tourism destination.The after Expo will be the framework.

For Not-attending students:

Written exam 100% of the total grade

The written exam will be in the form of open questions on the topics covered by the materials for non attending students.

Textbooks

• Collection of readings on course reserve.
• Class presentations and materials available on eLearning.
  

• R.C. Mill, A.M. Morrison, The Tourism System, Kendall Hunt. Selected Chapters,2012 , 7 ed.
  

Prerequisites

The workshop is thought for students with a specific interest for the tourism sector and for the tourism enhancement of territories.