Laurea (First cycle degree/Bachelor - 180 ECTS) in Economics of Tourism and Cities

TOURISM BUSINESSADMINISTRATION MANAGER

Function in a professionalcontext

A tourism business administration manager deals with theadministrative activities of tourism businesses. The tourism businessadministration manager:

- assures the management andsupervision of the company's administrative activities, including generalaccounting, the preparation of financial statements, financial analyses and themanagement of tax issues;

- in particular, assures thecorrect general accounts entries, regulatory coordination to ensure the correctissue of invoices, relations with credit institutes, specific analyses offinancial results, tax returns;

- as part of the staff, theadministrative planning and control officer checks the accounts, invoicing,drafts the financial statements and oversees the company administration;

- the budget and managementcontrol officer oversees the management and analyses the leverage forincreasing the profitability of contracts and projects; they monitor internalbusiness costs and the production budget;

- the purchasing officer appliesprocurement techniques and concludes supply contracts;

- they use the software andtechnology made available by the company.

Competencies associated tothe function

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills,

- soft skills in organisation andmanagement.

Employment opportunities

- Private companies

- Tourism businesses (hotels)

- Hotel chains and businesses

- Public services

HOTEL MANAGER

Function in a professionalcontext

The hotel manager is responsible for the running of the hotelbusiness, drafts company strategies and oversees all management-relatedactivities:

- they oversee all the hotelactivities, firstly drafting the corporate strategies and financial,management, marketing and business development policies, considering theavailable resources or following group policies if part of a large hotel chain;

- they manage all theadministration and paperwork required, constantly monitoring the budget, theaccounts and the economic results achieved;

- in agreement with the owner,they define the pricing policies, and the consequent quality level of theservices, managing and promoting the company image;

- as personnel manager, they dealmainly with the management and processing of data and information concerningpersonnel administration and management;

- with accounting andadministrative duties, as well as more strictly managerial tasks, they assistthe HR manager in the definition of human resources planning strategies and inthe personnel selection, training and assessment processes;

- in the field of travel agencymanagement, they select and develop outgoing tourism products with reference tothe current and potential market in which the agency works; they assess andguide the financial and administrative management and agency personnel; theyoversee all the activities of the agency; they draft the corporate strategiesand financial, management, marketing policies and strategic development plans,taking into account the available resources or following the group policies,when part of a large distribution chain.

Competencies associated tothe function

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics;

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills;

- soft skills in organisation,management and planning;

- ability to cooperate with themain stakeholders (colleagues, other professionals, and public and/or privatecustomers) in accordance with his/her assigned level of autonomy andresponsibility, with defined organisational and work methods.

Employment opportunities

- Hotels and the hospitalitysector generally

- Hotel chains and businesses.

TOURIST PLANNINGOFFICER/TOURISM PROMOTER/DESTINATION MANAGEMENT OFFICER

Function in a professionalcontext:

This individual presides over the planning of tourist destinations,from identifying production chains to defining destination managementstrategies:

- on behalf of touristorganisations, they analyse the local and market context, identifying andcross-referencing the production chains, assessing the competitive position ofa destination or company, drafting and developing plans to promote demand;

- on behalf of agencies and touroperators and on the basis of their own experience and knowledge of the touristmarket, they create, plan, implement and test new tourist "products",i.e. tourist packages and holidays in Italy and abroad, with particularattention to the organisation, use and enhancement of tourist packages forcultural tourism;

- as tourism market analysisexpert, they assess the key performance indicators of tourist destinations andcompanies, identifying strengths and weaknesses, opportunities and threats;

- as marketing office: they helpto define the general sales strategy of the company; their tasks relate to allaspects of the launch, sales and marketing of a product (advertising,promotion, merchandising, price, distribution): they improve the competitiveposition of a tourist product from an integrated viewpoint, coordinating thevarious aspects of the tourist product in order to make it as usable aspossible and suited to the needs of the tourist; - as destination managementofficer, they help to define the sales strategy for a territory; their tasksrelate to all aspects of the launch, sales and marketing of a touristdestination (advertising, promotion, merchandising, price, distribution): theyimprove the competitive position of a tourist destination from an integratedviewpoint, coordinating the various aspects of the tourism chain al fine inorder to make it as usable as possible and suited to the needs of the tourist

Competenciesassociated to the function:

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics;

- ability to read and analyse aterritorial context (assets, criticalities, opportunities);

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills;

- soft skills in organisation,management and planning;

- ability to cooperate with the mainstakeholders (colleagues, other professionals, and public
and/or private customers) in accordance with his/her assigned level of autonomyand responsibility, with defined organisational and work methods;

- skills in the field ofterritorial marketing and communication.

Employment opportunities:

- Public tourist organisations(tourist bodies, strategic plans)

- Private tourist information andincoming businesses, tourism trade associations

- Tourism or local promotioncompany and communication agencies.

- External consultant in privatecompanies, public bodies and large tourist companies

- Manufacturing companies in theconsumer goods sector

- Tour operators

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ECONOMIC CONSULTANT FORSUSTAINABLE URBAN DEVELOPMENT/PROJECT-SPECIFIC BUSINESS NETWORKCOORDINATOR/LOCAL DEVELOPMENT CONSULTANT

Function in a professionalcontext:

The economic consultant for sustainable urban development analysesthe costs and benefits of the projects and operational activities of localbodies working in city development.

The consultant:

- cooperates with localauthorities and businesses; in particular, they are part of interdisciplinarywork groups for the creation of synergies for urban development;

- analyses the current socialcosts and estimates the expected future benefits of an urban development plan;

- analyses and promotes theability to attract funds to implement urban development activities;

- uses the software andtechnology made available by bodies/businesses to generally increase theefficiency of urban sustainability;

- provides information,consulting and technical assistance to private and public bodies for accessingfunding opportunities;

- on behalf of local authorities,performs research for sustainable urban development.

- As urban design expert:

- drafts project presentationdocuments for investment purposes;

- defines the company structureand leadership;

- defines the activity plan,drafts the business plan and the budget, assesses potential forms of funding(calls, ..);

- defines how to measure thebenefits (performance indicators), establishes external relations (e.g.,banks), defines an integrated structure for roles and expertise.

- As marketing officer: helps todefine the city branding strategies and communication.

Competencies associated tothe function:

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics;

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills;

- soft skills in organisation andmanagement;

- ability to understand theeconomic feasibility of projects in order to attract stakeholders

Employment opportunities:

- Private companies

- Consulting firms.

- Research centres

- Public services

EVENT DEVELOPER

Function in a professionalcontext:

This individual presides over and coordinates the development of anevent idea and/or project from the feasibility analysis phase, from identifyingstakeholders and seeking out funding and sponsorships, to definingcommunication strategies.

- on behalf of public and privatetourist and economic organisations, they analyse the event, defining thetargets, identifying potential stakeholders and investors, identifying andcross-referencing the production chains, assessing the potential of the eventprospectively and in relation to competitors, formulating and developing eventpromotion plans;

- on behalf of agencies workingin the field of communication, events organisation, trade fair and conferencecentre management and on the basis of their own experience and knowledge of theevents market and specific sectors, they perform research, incubation,creation, planning, implementation and organisation of events that can involvea very large number of participants and visitors to a given tourist destinationor a selected and qualified participation of persons linked to a given community(scientific, hobbies, interests, passions, etc.);

- as event analysis anddevelopment expert, they research the possibility of partnerships, jointventures and business networks, assessing the reliability, commitment andknow-how of potential partners, developing operating methods and models,defining the project team, performing feasibility and market analyses;

- as expert event developer:drafts project presentation documents for investment purposes, defines thecompany structure and leadership, defines the activity plan, drafts thebusiness plan and the budget, assesses potential forms of funding (calls, ..),defines how to measure the benefits (performance indicators), establishesexternal relations (e.g., banks), defines an integrated structure for roles andexpertise;

- as marketing officer: helps todefine the general sales strategy of the company; their tasks relate to allaspects of the launch, sales and marketing of an event (advertising, promotion,merchandising, sponsor prospectus, etc.): improves the visibility andreputation of the event through the use of the main social media"; leadsand develops the discussion of the event through a complex network ofinterpersonal relations (blogosphere), collaborates with tourist operators inthe formulation of holiday packages linked to the event, with particularattention to the organisation, use and enhancement of tourist packages.

Competencies associated tothe function:

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics;

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills;

- soft skills in organisation,management and planning;

- knowledge of communication,conventional and non-conventional marketing, the use of the main communicationtools and means;

- multi-direction interpersonalskills, from media relations to blogosphere relations;

- ability to cooperate with themain stakeholders (colleagues, other professionals, and public and/or privatecustomers) in accordance with his/her assigned level of autonomy andresponsibility, with defined organisational and work methods.

Employment opportunities:

- Public tourist organisations(tourist bodies, strategic plans);

- private tourist information andincoming businesses, tourism trade associations;

- tourism or local promotioncompanies;

- communication and eventsorganisation agencies;

- trade fair and conferenceorganisations;

- trade fair and conferencecentres;

- external consultant in privatecompanies, public bodies and large tourism and other companies, newspapers,specialist journals.

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MARKET ANALYSIS OFFICER

Function in a professionalcontext:

A market analysis officer cooperates with others on market researchthat underlies the development policies of the company or territory.

- participates in the documentedinvestigation of the reference market, identifying growth prospects,opportunities and threats;

- takes part in evensophisticated quali-quantitative analyses, processing the available data;

- takes part in the organisationof field surveys to collect data and process them according to the businessobjectives

- takes part in the definition ofthe strengths and weaknesses of the company or territory in relation to theidentified market.

Competencies associated tothe function:

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills

- soft skills in organisation,management and planning

- ability to cooperate with themain stakeholders (colleagues, other professionals, and public and/or privatecustomers) in accordance with his/her assigned level of autonomy andresponsibility, with defined organisational and work methods.

Employment opportunities:

- Convention Bureaus andDestination Management Organizations

- Trade fair and eventsorganisation companies

- Tourist organisations (localmarketing firms and bodies)

- External consultant in medium-and large-sized companies and public bodies.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT OFFICER

Function in a professionalcontext:

A project management officer is involved in managing and schedulinga company's activities, ensuring that the projects for which he/she isresponsible are delivered on schedule, on budget and in compliance with thecustomer's initial needs.

- in a business environment,manages the evaluation, planning, implementation and control of a project; thetasks involved in assuring the success of the project fall into two areas:operations: working methods, instruments and techniques required to bestachieve the project objectives;
relations: interpersonal dynamics andcommunication;

- in an administrative role in atourism company, assures the management and supervision of the company'sadministrative activities, including general accounting, the preparation offinancial statements, financial analyses and the management of tax issues;

- assures the correct generalaccounts entries, regulatory coordination to ensure the correct issue ofinvoices, relations with credit institutes, specific analyses of financialresults, tax returns;

- as part of the staff, checksthe accounts, invoicing, drafts the financial statements and oversees thecompany administration;

- as part of the staff, overseesthe management and analyses the leverage for increasing the profitability ofcontracts and projects;

- monitors internal businesscosts and the production budget;

- as conference operator: managesall design, organisation and coordination activities for congresses,conventions, symposia, conferences, etc., from the initial contact withcustomers/clients to the final implementation of the event.

Competencies associated tothe function:

In order to carry out the above functions, the following arerequired:

- specific knowledge, abilitiesand skills in the fields of business and economics.

- self-learning and continuousupdating skills

- soft skills in organisation,management and planning

- ability to cooperate with themain stakeholders (colleagues, other professionals, and public and/or privatecustomers) in accordance with his/her assigned level of autonomy andresponsibility, with defined organisational and work methods.

Employment opportunities:

- Private companies

- Tourism businesses (hotels andhospitality companies)

- Hotel chains

- Tourist organisations (local marketingfirms)

- Public services

External consultant in private companies andpublic bodies.