Lecture Notes Module 1

The Fundamentals of
Destination Management
Welcome – who I am

Biography

Vocational Education
• 1992-1993: Bachelor of Business Administration, GSBA Zurich/Switzerland
• 1985-1989: Master Degree Teacher of Sports, University Basel/Switzerland

Professional life
• 2005 - today: Lucerne University – Business; Prof. , Co-Head Competence Centre Tourism & Lecturer
• 1999-2005: Lenzerheide Tourism, CEO Destination Management Organisation
• 1997-1999: Diners Club Switzerland, Sales Manager International Corporate Accounts
• 1995-1997: Wettstein Travel, CEO
• 1990-1995: Kuoni Head Quarter Zurich, Outgoing & Incoming, several roles in several departments

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Who I am

Additional (selected actual and former) occupations/activities

• Member Advisory Board IbexFairstay sustainability label accommodation industry

• Chair of the Education & Training Work Group GSTC Global Sustainable Tourism Council
• Sustainability Trainer GSTC
• Member Destination Work Group, Global Sustainable Tourism Council GSTC
• Member of the Board, TourCert (CRS/Sustainability in Tourism)
• Deggendorf Institute of Technology DIT, Germany, Guest Lecturer
• North Caucasus Federal University Stavropol, Russia, Guest-Lecturer & Research Coach
• Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development HNEE, Germany, Guest Lecturer
• Danube University Wien/Krems, Austria, Guest-Lecturer

Professional competencies

• Destination Management • Fundamentals in Tourism

• Strategic Development of Destinations • Guest Surveys
• Start-up & Entrepreneurship in Tourism • Consulting, Coaching
• Sustainable Development in Tourism • Applied research and development
• Cooperation Management, Destination Marketing • Destination Management Simulation Game

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Updates always on

• my profile on the HSLU website

• my profile on LinkedIn

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Learning objectives: the 4 overall goals of the course

1. To introduce destination management and sustainability

2. To link theses two management theories and practices

3. To motivate

4. To encourage and to enable applying new knowledge

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Learning objectives: the 11 sub-goals
Modul 1
The Fundamentals of Destination
Management
1. Understanding the
destination as the unit of
the competition
2. Learning the destination
as an eco-system with
multiple stakeholders
3. Recognising the tasks of
the DMO
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Modul 2
Success Factors of Destinations &
Approaches to Sustainable
Destination Management
4. Knowing the 10-A-Model
and the UNWTO.QUEST
certification programme &
being able to apply
5. Reflecting sustainability
on tourism in the three
sustainability dimensions
6a.Reading and interpreting
destination strategies
6b.Learning different country
approaches promoting
sustainability
Modul 3
Global Sustainability Goals and
the Role of Certification Schemes
7. Being aware of the 17
SDGs
8a.Learning about GSTC and
the GSTC Destination
Criteria as the global
framework for tourism
and destination
sustainability
8b.Gaining insights about
assessments and
certifications
Modul 4
Implementation in Practice and
Measuring Process
9. Valuing the importance of
stakeholders and their
professional management
10.Being able to analyse
monitorings and
evaluations and to derive
improvement activities
11. Learning from shared
knowledge/good
practices/case studies/
success stories
Key words of the 4 modules

Modul 1 Modul 2 Modul 3 Modul 4

Success Factors of Destinations &
The Fundamentals of Destination Global Sustainability Goals and Implementation in Practice and
Approaches to Sustainable
Management the Role of Certification Schemes Measuring Process
Destination Management

• Destination as the • Key performance in • The 17 Sustainable • Stakeholder management

competitive unit
• Tourism development &
impacts of COVID-19
• Eco-system «destination»,
framework, and
environment
• Stakeholders
• The two forms of a DMO
destination management
• UNWTO.QUEST
certification programme
• 10-A-Model
• Destination strategies
• Real cases
• Sustainable tourism and
sustainable development
Development Goals
(SDGs)
• The Global Sustainable
Tourism Council (GSTC)
• Assessments and
certification
• Skill-Will-Matrix
• Public-private partnership
(PPP)
• Destination goals and
monitoring systems

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How the course is organised

Each module has a guide that presents all the contents and
tasks chronologically. There are always input phases and
self-learning phases. Various tourism experts will share
their knowledge with you in interesting, short interviews.
We highly recommend to follow the suggested structure.

All documents provided are saved on the MOOC platform in

the same order. You will, for instance, find the interviews,
readings and exercise templates there.

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The symbols

The different symbols tell you what each step exactly contains:

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Course certificate

Everybody is more than welcome to attend this course! Those who even want to get a
certificate for their participation can finish the course with a multiple choice test after
module 4. The test is divided into 4 sub-chapters, similar to the course structure. If you
stay focused during the course, you won't have any problems passing the test.

Please don't worry, you don't have to decide at this point whether you want to take the
test.

As you will have read when you initially became interested in the course, the programme
is free of charge for you - unless you wish to receive the certificate.

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Exercises

The exercises are usually related to your home country or place of residence.

You can also choose a destination where you have deep insights and are well familiar
with, e.g. if you work in a specific place, or a destination that provides more information
online to complete the tasks. We leave that up to you!

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Stay on track!

We will try our best to increase your interest in sustainable destination management
during the course. However, you should stay informed - tourism is a fast-moving industry
and if you don't keep up with the trends, you will lose valuable opportunities for ideas
and success.

We recommend the following sources for continuing good information:

• UNWTO News https://www.unwto.org/news

• WTTC Newsletter https://wttc.org/About/Newsletter-Sign-Up
• UN | Sustainable Development https://sdgs.un.org/news
• GSTC Monthly Newsletter https://www.gstcouncil.org/mailing-list-subscription/

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 2

Video: 1.2

Title: The destination as the competitive unit

Topics:
a. the importance of professional destination management & understanding the
destination as the unit of competition
b. the importance of increased sustainability orientation at destination level
c. the linking of destination management and sustainability orientation

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… 200 countries ….

14, 03.05.22

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… 200’000 destinations …..

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200’000’000 businesses!

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«In the tourism market, it is destinations that
compete, not individual firms» (1)

Slide 17 (1) Sainaghi, R. (2006), From contents to processes, Tourism Management, 27, p. 1053
Three of many definitions of “a destination”

• A destination is a relatively closed entity and offers a wide variety of facilities and services
particularly for recovery and relaxation, learning and health. (UNWTO, 1993)

• Geographic area (continent, country, region, place, resort) that a guest (or a segment of
guests) chooses. It consists of all infrastructure for accommodation, food, entertainment.
A destination is therefore a strategic entity that has to be marketed and managed. (Bieger,
2004)

• Destinations are amalgams of tourism products, offering an integrated experience to

consumers. (Buhalis, 2000)

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Destination as a competitive unit

The destination is what a tourist selects

for a visit and what the service
providers market.

The customer does not judge the

individual operation of the destination,
but attributes performance and
quality to the entire destination.

The products of a destination are

services and service bundles that
provide a benefit to the customer.

Source: Kotler, 1982

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The destination from two perspectives

Guest perspective: Destination perspective:

One clear perception & Positioning

“in front of the curtain” “behind the curtain”
Dozens or hundreds of service
providers per destination

• information

Planning, Product development

Branding / Marketing / Sales

• reservation

Process & Quality control

• arrival, reception

Events / Governance
• information & support

Network control
Service Chain

Staff, Channels
• accommodation

Coordination
• activities
• entertainment
• catering
• local transportation
• settlement
• return

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Reasons for destinations to be managed

• Tourism is an extremely competitive industry and to compete effectively

destinations have to deliver excellent / maximised value to visitors.

• This depends on many aspects working together in unity.

From the time that the visitor arrives at the destination, until he/she leaves, visitor
value is affected by many services and experiences including a range of public
services, private products and community interactions and hospitality.

• Effective destination management allows destinations to not only to maximise

tourism value for visitors but also ensuring local benefits on a long term axis.

Source: UNWTO, 2007

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 Who is managing such a “destination”?

Destination Management Organisations (DMO)

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What is a Destination Management Organisation (DMO)?

A destination management organisation (DMO) is

“the leading organisational entity which may encompass the various

authorities, stakeholders and professionals and facilitates partnerships
towards a collective destination vision.”

The functions of the DMOs may vary from national to regional and local levels depending
on the current and potential needs as well as on the decentralisation level of public
administration. Not every tourist destination has or needs a DMO, if it cleverly unites with
other places in the immediate vicinity, or their DMO.

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DMOs on different geographical levels
2 examples with 4 generic levels

National DMO National DMO

Provincial DMO Cantonal DMO

Regional DMO Bigger City/Town DMO

Local DMO Little Town/Village TO

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The varying organisational structures of DMOs

• Ministry
Government • Administration
(public sector)
• Authority
• Department/Division

• Association
Private sector • Chamber of Commerce
• Company

• Public-Private-Partnership
Non-profit
organisation • NGO
• NPO
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