INNOVATION MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

Professional status.
employment opportunities:
- Innovation management specialist for tourism businesses
- Strategic and international strategic management specialist
- International strategic marketing and tourism service design specialist
- Big data management and BES measurement specialist
- Tourism business finance specialist

Language(s) of instruction/examination.
ENGLISH

Skills associated with the function
skills associated with the function: 
- Innovation management skills for tourism businesses
- Strategic analysis and strategic management skills
- International strategic marketing and tourism service design skills
- Big data management and BES measurement skills
- Tourism business finance skills

Function in a work context
Expert in innovation management for businesses which operate in tourism 
function in a work context:
- Define and implement innovative strategies in businesses which operate in tourism, taking into account their sustainability, while respecting economic, environmental and social objectives;
- Evaluate, propose and implement new technologies which can be useful for the preservation, fruition and enhancement of the environmental, cultural and social heritage but also for the creation of territorial networks geared towards innovation and the continuous improvement of tourism services and experiences;
- Plan and implement quality control, assessment and monitoring systems of performance for the activation of customer relationship management and customer satisfaction to support market-oriented management.

Specific learning outcomes

The degree course in Innovation Management for Sustainable Tourism (IMaST) aims to offer a solid advanced preparation in the science of economy and business administration thus allowing the student to acquire advanced tools, both methodological and analytical, needed to understand, anticipate e manage the different pathways of innovation as pertains to an economic system and business. Particular attention is given to sustainability and the competitiveness of the processes of growth in the field of tourism. The programme highlights a new way of interpreting and analysing the economical systems in tourism, with the aid of managerial tools and functional analyses in order to enhance local economy and create up-to-date experiential products which respect the natural, economic and social environments. To this end, the programme integrates new managerial, quantitative, economic and legal notions along with a set of training activities which characterise different professional profiles, thus allowing the students to acquire specific skills needed to study new models of business and territorial development. More specifically, the first year of the two-year programme focusses on economical, quantitative and legal notions  which are indispensable in order to acquire the tools to understand the specific market, the relevant norms and predictive analyses (with specific reference to the economy of sustainable development as pertains to the environment, nature and territory, data analysis, predictive methods for sustainable tourism, the legal framework) in addition to managerial knowledge regarding innovation management (with specific reference to governance models, strategic analysis and international marketing in tourism). Furthermore, the programme is completed by a wide range of electives which help the student enhance their knowledge based on their personal choice and inclination.  The second year includes the acquisition of advanced economic notions (with particular reference to natural capital, eco systemic services, and, more generally, cultural capital), quantitative notions (with reference to equality sustainability and well being measurement) and further managerial notions (with reference to innovation management in tourism and advanced financial business tools). The acquired notions highlight the superior skills of future graduates and foster operative autonomy which can be functional for the strategic and competitive growth in businesses and tourism destinations. In this programme, the IMaST graduate will therefore acquire the managerial competences needed to manage public and private organisations, geared towards economic, social and environmental innovation and sustainability, and a focus on competitive dynamics and the interpretation of pertinent legal contexts and market trends. In order to respond to the challenges that digitalisation obliges all tourism companies to face (public and private) and in addition to the disciplines required by business training in an international operative context, the programme offers workshop activities of a more operative nature  (regarding sustainable entrepreneurship, quality control, destination management, marketing, business organisation and human resources management, ethical tourism, geo-economical analysis models, European law, the use of ETIS, the European system of indicators for sustainable management of tourism) thus consolidating soft skills and aimed at developing:
- systematic and long term analytical skills (following the principles of smartness and big/open data);
- the ability to analyse the behaviour of tourists in order to supply efficient planning of service-experience in physical, digital or phigital contexts, following the implementation of the principles of  innovation management;
- the ability to use new technologies for the implementation of marketing strategies (business and destination);
- the ability to master digital marketing strategies and activities (at business and destination levels);
- the ability to set up efficient destination management models (governance & amp; branding);
- the ability to facilitate the integration and  collaboration of various business functions;
- the ability to facilitate the integration and  activation of horizontal collaboration (between business competitors), vertical collaboration (between businesses other than those in the field of tourism) and oblique collaboration (between businesses in different sectors which, though not necessarily tourism related, play a role in tourism in a given territory).
The interdisciplinary nature of the notions acquired foster  the development of multifaceted skills and competences which are useful to interpret and manage the turbulence in markets through strategic activity underpinned by the principles of sustainability, innovation management and digitalisation, according to a micro (single organisation) and macro (destination) perspective. Furthermore, the learning objectives aim to develop the students’ international and multicultural experience, also thanks to the opportunity to obtain a double degree. The development of international programmes and the creation of workshops which foster constant interaction with managers, professors and students coming from innovative and multidisciplinary contexts are the foundation for the development of professional competences specific to the field of tourism.