Design, marketing and innovation in the management of coastal accessible tourism

the XI National Report on the Economy of the Sea overturns the traditional way of looking at the territorial processes of development in our country and redesigns North-South relations. In the South, there is a growth more than double, compared to the national one, of the “blue” entrepreneurial fabric. In Puglia, the maritime economy accounts for 4.9% of the total regional economies, and with more than 1000 km of coastline, it needs operators who are able to formulate proposals with a high experiential slant, focused on its most important resource: “the sea”.
The sea and the coast are very important resources but not yet adequately exploited in terms of tourism. The potential of this combination is considerable and can refer to a wide range of solutions that would respond to multiple market segments. Physical activity, immersion in nature, adventure, sport, boating, are just some of the possible declinations of the solutions that can be structured around what we can define as “coastal tourism”. To do this, it is necessary to activate the formation of a profile that knows how to design and manage, in a managerial key, a complex of initiatives, even integrated with each other, structured around the coastal experience, and create the conditions to improve the “coast-hinterland” integration relationship. To respond to the growing need for professionalism, the ITS Course for “Design & Management of sustainable coastal tourism” aims to train a technician able to organize and manage experiential and wellbeing activities related to the use of the sea and the coast.

thanks to design and management skills, versatility, linguistic-relational skills and a deep knowledge of the territory, together with various communication technologies (web, visual and multimedia communication), the “Higher Technician” is able to plan, manage, monitor and promote programs for the development of the tourist offer for sea tourism at 360°.
The profile also works for the integration of the coast and the territory, through the complete enhancement of both the available resources related to the sea, the coast and the beaches but also to the beauty of the villages and the pleasure of a favorable climate all year round; and the active and driving role required of local operators; and, finally, of a highly professional and focused welcome to meet the expectations of tourists who love the sea and the activities related to it.

Participants will be able to:

• identify solutions for the use of the sea and the coast by dealing with the practicability, safety and accessibility of the possible forms of use identified
• plan and create experiential packages focused on sea-sport-sustainability
• plan aquatic events from a technical-organizational and promotional point of view
• define and implement marketing and promotion actions centered on a place identity and on the characteristics of the products related to the “sea-coast” combination
• interact and support the various business functions in the management of the services of the tourist facility
• organize and manage the functional aspects of centers, establishments and infrastructures dedicated to water sports activities by applying the sector regulations and the related required protocols
• assist the boater/nautical tourist in the use of the opportunities and tourist services available
• detect the degree of customer satisfaction and translate the feedback obtained into elements of greater accessibility and usability of the services provided
• relate to the multiplicity of partners and providers of travel services by defining terms and conditions for collaboration
• contribute to the qualification of the tourist services offered in a logic of territorial enhancement
• functionally use big data and propose product and service offers
• plan and coordinate online communication strategies and use communication channels that make use of new languages and tools related to the most advanced 4.0 technologies