Course Topics
The course examines destinations as aggregating organizational units for the development of competitive and sustainable tourism offers. The course provides an advanced theoretical background of destination management and governance. The course analyses the roles and functions of governments and Destination Management Organisations (DMO), the interaction dynamics of different stakeholders, the role of different competences in reaching sustainable competitive advantage, the challenges of planning and developing sustainable and competitive tourism destinations and products. Using case studies and in-class discussions, theoretical models will be applied to destinations at different stages of their lifecycles, at local and international level, from both developed and developing economies. In more detail, the course covers the following topics: The management of tourism systems, destination competitiveness and sustainability, the functions of DMOs, stakeholder engagement and partnering, resource integration into the planning and development of sustainable destinations and products. Throughout the course, theories applied to the management of tourism destinations are critically reflected, and their limits delineated.

Teaching format
Lectures in the form of classroom teaching, exercises on case studies and student presentations

Educational objectives
Knowledge and understanding The student/trainee acquires specific competences and skills to deal with management issues from the perspective of the management of tourism enterprises, the development and promotion of tourism destinations and the planning and management of integrated tourism systems and individual services in strategic, organisational and administrative terms with an international and intercultural perspective. The student acquires the ability to identify and analyse tourism-induced environmental and social problems and to understand their interdependencies and contexts, applying theories and methods and developing explanatory approaches. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding The student/undergraduate acquires the ability to understand and analyse the problems characterising the tourism sector through the application of theories and models and the adoption of appropriate tools for the management of tourism enterprises. The student/undergraduate acquires the ability to use models for the analysis of the tourism market. The student/undergraduate acquires mastery in the management of human resources and in attributing the right value to the enterprise culture. The student also acquires skills in accounting and project financing for business development. The areas of knowledge application encompass the micro, meso and macro levels and include the acquisition of skills necessary for policy advice and business strategy development. "In addition, there are skills that have their basis in behavioural economics, decision theory and consumer behaviour research, skills that are particularly important in empirical analysis, as well as in ex-ante forecasting and scenarios in the context of future-oriented questions." The skills developed can be applied in regional, national and international contexts. The development and promotion of competences also include the ability to present complex and socially relevant issues and results in a precise and coherent manner, but in a comprehensible and target-group oriented manner Autonomy of judgement acquire the ability to select data and use appropriate information to describe an issue concerning the management of tourism businesses as well as tourism associations and destinations acquire the ability to relate models and empirical evidence in the study of tourism businesses, tourism associations, consortia and destinations Communication skills The Master's degree graduate will be able to communicate effectively in oral and written form the specialised content of the individual disciplines, using different registers depending on the recipients and the communicative and didactic purposes, and to evaluate the formative effects of his/her communication. Written and oral communication skills are particularly developed in the training activities carried out for the preparation of the Master's thesis, in the discussion of business cases and in interactive lectures involving group discussions and the comparison of individual analyses. Learning skills to identify thematic connections and to establish relationships between different cases and contexts of analysis to frame a new problem systematically and generate appropriate taxonomies. to develop general models from the phenomena studied.

Additional educational objectives and learning outcomes
Knowledge and understanding (of): • System theories related to tourism • Theories, frameworks, models, and processes that assist destination managers in the complex task of thriving sustainable competitiveness • Interaction dynamics between different stakeholders • Sustainable destination product development • Destination leadership, coordination and governance Applying knowledge and understanding • To take informed decisions in the development of successful strategies in the management of destinations • To assist tourism destinations in reaching sustainable competitiveness • To create tourism products based on the sustainable use of local resources • To coordinate different stakeholder for the successful leadership and governance of destinations Making judgments • Ability to evaluate and select adequate theories, frameworks, and models to take sustainable successful actions in destination development • Ability to evaluate, select, and interpret relevant data to take successful actions in destination management Communication skills • Verbal and written communication skills to present in a consistent and convincing way the development of competitive and sustainable strategies for tourism destinations • Communicate, information, ideas, problems, and solutions related to the identification and exploitation of market opportunities in the context of the management of destinations Learning skills • The part of the course focusing on systems and theories will enable students to independently explore how current issues occurring in different societal spheres and industries are affecting the management and competitiveness of destinations.

Assessment
Regular course attendance will be recorded by the course responsible. A minimum of 50% of attendance qualifies as "attending student" ATTENDING STUDENTS: One presentation (30%); final written exam (70%). The presentation requires students to work in groups to prepare a sustainable and competitive product/service for a tourism destination. Beside the presentation, students are required to submit a printed copy of the slides with comments in a report format. The final written exam consists of open questions and one essay-type question. These questions aim to evaluate the students’ understanding of theoretical concepts and their ability to use and critically reflect these concepts for analysing and explaining current challenges in managing sustainable competitive destinations. The final written exam will last 90 minutes. NON-ATTENDING STUDENTS: Final written exam (100%). The final written exam consists of open questions and one essay-type question. These questions aim to evaluate the students’ understanding of theoretical concepts and their ability to use and critically reflect these concepts for analysing and explaining current challenges in managing sustainable competitive destinations. The final written exam will last 120 minutes

Evaluation criteria
Assessment criteria applied: - Knowledge and understanding of texts (20%) - Ability to make connections between texts (5%) - Ability to apply knowledge (20%) - Independent judgment and critical thinking (30%) - Transfer of acquired knowledge to practical contexts (25%)

Required readings

·     Morrison, A. (2019). Marketing and managing tourism

destinations. Second edition. New York: Routledge (latest editions will be used)

·  Akhoundoghli, M & Boluk, K (2025). An examination of Degrowth Frameworks: Localizing, Socializing and Regenerative Tourism, Tourism Analysis, 30(1). 23-43

Tomassini, L., Baggio, R., Cavagnaro, E., Farsari, I., Fuchs, M. & Sørensen, F. (2024). Circular economy in tourism and hospitality: A micro-meso-macro framework for inter-disciplinary research. Tourism and Hospitality Research, https://doi.org/10.1177/14673584241257870 

Supplementary readings

 Fuchs, M. & Kronenberg, K. (2025). Assessing Cultural Tourism’s and Creative Sectors’ Contribution to build a Circular Economy, Salvador, E. & Pappalepore, I. (eds.). Responsible Consumption and Production in the Cultural and Creative Industries, Routledge, New York, pp. 75-93.

·      Chekalina, T. et al. (2018). Customer-based destination brand equity modelling – The role of destination resources, value-for money and value-in-use. Journal of Travel Research, 57(1), 31-51.

·      Fuchs, M. (2023). A Post-Cartesian Economic and Buddhist view on tourism, Annals of Tourism Research, 103, 688, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annals.2023.103688

·      Peters, A. & Fuchs, M. (2023): A relational exploration of tourists’ environmental values and their perception of restrictions in protected nature, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, DOI: 10.1080/09669582.2023.2295234

·      Eber, Z. F., Baggio, R. & Fuchs, M. (2018). Hyperlink network analysis of a multi destination region, Journal of Information Technology & Tourism, 20, 181-189.

·      Kronenberg, K., Fuchs, M., Salman, K., Lexhagen, M. & Höpken, W. (2016). Economic Effects of Advertising Expenditures – A Swedish Destination Study of International Tourists. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality & Tourism Research, 16(4): 352-374.

·      Kronenberg, K. & Fuchs, M. (2022). The socio-economic impact of regional tourism: An occupation-based modelling

·perspective from Sweden. Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 30(12), 2785-2805

·      Dang, N., Ramkisson, H., Fuchs, M., & Veglio, V. (2024). Tangible Strategies for Pro-Environmental Behaviour through Monitoring Park Visitors’ Activities and Perceived Values, Tourism Recreation Research, https://doi.org/10.1080/02508281.2025.2503990

Further information
Teaching materials, such as PowerPoint slides, required readings and further readings can be found in the Reserve Collection