Management for Sustainable, Inclusive, Accessible experiences in Mediterranean hospitality

According to the Global Wellness Institute, the wellness economy in 2022 reached an aggregate value of $5.6 trillion and is expected to grow at a rate of 8.6% by 2027. Wellness tourism is a “way of traveling in which tourists seek to improve their emotional, spiritual, physical and intellectual well-being” which translates into hospitality that pursues the goal of providing well-being to all its visitors, in biological, geographical, economic and motivational terms, following the related cultural, social and demographic evolutions and transformations. Puglia, in 2022, was one of the regions most sought after by tourists who appreciate “the liveliness and dynamism of the local socio-cultural fabric, its relational skills”, an expression of the “tourist appeal”, able to offer cultural tourism full of different activities. Additional travel motivations expressed by modern consumers are related to sustainable tourism, respectful of the environment and nature, to “experience alone and in community” and “pay attention to personal regeneration”: this is why local communities must develop wellness tourism, being lavish and ready to welcome tourists in sustainable environments, spread and immersed in the nature and culture of the territory, making the destinations inclusive and accessible. In this context, ITS’s vision is to create an innovative training course that creates a professional profile capable of fully understanding the wellness tourism system and the conditions necessary for the design of a network of structures and services differentiated and characterized by the ability to satisfy the different types of tourism: sustainable, inclusive, accessible and of prevention of the good life.

the outgoing professional profile must be able to interact and collaborate in the creation and management of “flexible offer packages” on behalf of tourist-accommodation companies, companies specialized in travel production and intermediation, as well as public and private organizations, profit and non-profit, which provide tourism services within the wellness economy. The Higher Technician organizes and designs customized travel solutions capable of enhancing and ensuring the full use of inclusive, accessible, sustainable and preventive experiences for the good life, linked to the Mediterranean and Apulian culture, with the skills of the “problem solver” and “facilitator” in order to offer tourists an all-encompassing experience consistent with the needs that different types of customers require.

Course participants will be able to:

• acquire the tools to get to know the territory
• networking to respond to the needs/requirements of customers and activating meeting and animation processes
• implement the inclusion and integration of fragile people by promoting the development of human-centered empathic skills
• design “packages/systems” of tourist reception and animate them with socio-educational, cultural and entertaining-recreational activities using local skills and experience
• support the entrepreneur to adapt his structure and services in an inclusive way, intervening in the processes of selection, production, management and control
• be versatile and show adaptability
• respond to the needs of national and international demand in compliance with the standards and certifications related to hospitality for accessible tourism (e.g. UNI CEI EN ISO/IEC 17065 certification), defining and coordinating a plan for the quality of the services offered
• manage emergency activities, for the safety of guests