Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism
Location: Lecce (LE)
Academic Biennium: 2025–2027
National Figure: 9.1.1 Higher Technician for the design, development and promotion of the tourist supply chain
Program Overview
The highly specialized program in Digital strategies for tourism and culture aims to train an expert in communication and experiential tourism promotion, capable of creating advanced multimedia content and designing immersive narratives, using technologies such as virtual reality, augmented reality, and gamification.
Context
Digital content and communication technologies have become fundamental tools for enhancing Italy’s cultural and artistic heritage. In this context, phenomena like “TikTok tourism” emerge, triggering new behaviors in travelers driven by the virality of destinations and visual immediacy. Statistics also confirm that audiovisual content has a 90% positive impact on the territories involved. The need arises for a professional figure able to combine creative and technological skills to tell the story of territories in an authentic and sustainable way. The Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism course is designed precisely to meet this growing demand for innovative digital promotion of cultural tourism.
Professional Profile
The professional who graduates from the Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism program is capable of enhancing cultural heritage by designing accessible and engaging tourism experiences. In-depth knowledge of emerging technologies such as augmented reality, virtual reality, and AI enables them to design virtual tours and interactive, immersive installations that innovate the cultural tourism offer. This profile also works closely with the local business community, managing relationships with public and private stakeholders to expand the local tourism offer and promote its cultural identity.
What you will learn
In the Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism course, you will learn to:
- Use text-to-image, text-to-video, text-to-audio, and text-to-podcast platforms
- Promote cultural events, itineraries, and heritage sites with an experiential approach
- Create documentaries, video clips, mini-clips, and promotional spots for wide online distribution
- Manage relationships with public and private stakeholders to expand the tourism offer
- Apply techniques of cultural gamification, content design, and digital storytelling for tourism
What you will study
During the Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism program, you will study:
- Analysis and monitoring of tourism trends and the reference territorial system
- Analysis and design of innovative solutions for tourism and culture
- Design, production, and management of photographic, audiovisual, graphic-editorial, and narrative content for tourism and cultural enhancement
- Definition of marketing policies and actions for the tourism-cultural product
Graduates of Experiential Marketing and Digital Strategies for Cultural Tourism can find career opportunities in:
- DMO’s, companies, and institutions promoting tourism and culture
- Consortia and operator networks for the promotion and commercialization of tourism offers
- Hospitality structures with an experiential and cultural focus
- Companies in the ICT and new media sectors, marketing and advertising agencies
- Sector press offices
The course lasts 1800 hours in total, distributed over two academic years as follows:
- 1080 hours dedicated to classroom laboratory teaching, laboratory case studies and/or work placements, seminars, educational and study visits, project work;
- 720 hours of internship activities in work contexts
The daily schedule will be determined based on the operational program and may vary from 5 to 8 hours. Attendance is mandatory for at least 80% of training activities, under penalty of exclusion from the final exam which will be held in accordance with the procedures established by the Ministry of Education and Merit.
At the end of the course, and upon passing the final tests and evaluations, students will be awarded the Specialization Diploma in Applied Technologies at EQF level 5 (the fifth level of the European Qualifications Framework for lifelong learning).
The diploma is issued by the Ministry of Education and Merit along with the Europass diploma supplement, is valid throughout the national territory, and constitutes a valid qualification for access to public competitions.
Where the requirements exist, and according to the specificity of the field of study, students will acquire skills aimed at taking exam tests for the following certifications:
- Certifications for the use of specific sector software
- Certifications in English and a second foreign language according to CEFR levels (Common European Framework of Reference for Languages)
- Certifications related to workplace safety
- HACCP certification
- Advanced EIPASS, upon passing the exam (ITS acts as the certifying body).
The ITS path is also valid for ITP teaching competitions from 2025 and in the Public Administration.
