Previous knowledge in the field of economics and management is not required.

The Tourism and Heritage Management course aims to provide students with an international perspective on the theory and practice of managing tourism destinations and their heritage in a globalised world.

The course aims to promote students’ participation and critical understanding of the opportunities, challenges, and issues that tourism organisations face in the “glocal” context by discussing a selection of case studies. In line with the objectives of the Master’s degree in ITourDeM (LM-49), the module focuses on the need for a holistic and multi-stakeholder approach to managing place-specific cultural resources for promoting innovation in tourism and developing sustainable destinations.

Theories, concepts, tools and business examples discussed during the course will provide students with knowledge and understanding of destination management. Specific competencies will be acquired in planning, implementing and evaluating tourism destinations.

The course explores tourism management and sustainable development by analysing destinations as local systems based on the interaction of public and private stakeholders, their diverse needs, objectives, and relationships. The first part provides a theoretical background and an overview of tourism management paradigms and tools. Then, the course examines changes that have resulted from the globalisation of society over the last twenty years and their implications for tourism and heritage management (e.g., overtourism, digital transformations, the Covid-19 pandemic, etc.).

The course discusses different approaches and practices in managing tourism destinations and local resources, and analyses in-depth case studies to provide students with a global perspective on these topics.

The following topics are addressed:

• Tourism from the perspective of sustainable development;
• Destination planning, management and governance;
• Stakeholder management, partnerships and community engagement;
• Tourism, culture, cultural heritage and museums;
• Managing cultural heritage from a tourism perspective;
• The Italian heritage system: a SWOT Analysis;
• The heritage experience: characteristics, components and development;
• The experiential approach in museums and heritage sites;
• The digital transformation in cultural tourism.

(A) Minnaert L.; Tourism Planning and Policy. Strategies for Destination Development and Management; Sage, London; 2025; pp. 1-316; ISBN: 9781529621853.

(A) Della Corte V.; Hospitality Management; Wolters Kluwer, Milano; 2020; a chapter of your choice; ISBN: 9788813373337.

(A) Cerquetti M., Romagnoli A.; “Toward sustainable innovation in tourism: the role of cultural heritage and heritage communities”; in Cultural leadership in transition tourism. Developing innovative and sustainable models; Springer, Cham; 2022; pp. 33-50; ISBN: 9783031141218.

(C) Buonincontri P., Errichiello L., Micera R.; Tourism, Hospitality and Culture 4.0: shifting towards the metaverse, guest editor G. Del Chiappa; McGraw-Hill, Milano; 2022; pp. 1-268; ISBN: 9788838657566.

(C) Morrison A.M.; Marketing and Managing Tourism Destinations; Routledge, London and New York; 2019; pp. 1-370; ISBN: 9781138897298.

The lecture notes do not replace but supplement the study of the texts specified in the bibliography. Any further bibliographic suggestions and teaching materials will be provided during the lessons and can be downloaded from the course’s Teams page.

• The course is delivered via lectures, interactive lectures, group discussions and teamwork. International, national and local case studies will be presented and discussed during lectures. Study visits and meetings could also be arranged. Moreover, students are required to complete a short piece of project work (e.g., a slide presentation). Those who attend the course are expected to lead a classroom discussion related to their presentation, while those who are unable to attend the course can present their project work at the exam. More instructions about the project work (e.g., sources, structure) will be provided at the beginning of the course.

• The course includes a final interview aimed at verifying the acquisition of the theoretical knowledge acquired in the field of tourism and heritage management; to verify the ability to process the course contents and their application to a case study, students will also be required to prepare and discuss a short piece of project work, in addition to studying the exam programme. The project work’s structure and content will be agreed upon with the teacher.

   

  The final evaluation (a maximum total of 30 marks available) is based on the following criteria: knowledge and understanding (up to 10 marks); critical elaboration and problem-solving skills (up to 10 marks); communication skills (up to 10 marks).

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