The Degree Course (CdS) in “Management of Tourism Organizations”, until the academic year 2021/2022 called “Tourism Manager”, was established with Ministerial Decree 270 in 2017 (ref. favorable opinion of the Regional Coordination Committee of 01/23/2017). In 2020, a process of improving the names of some courses of this degree course was started, in such a way as to make the same names self-explanatory with respect to the contents of the same courses. This process concluded with the update of the training offer provided and scheduled in 2021. In 2022, a change in the organization was proposed (ref. Department Council Resolution no. 5 of 01/20/2022) which provides for the introduction of workshops with companies and the change of name of the course to "Management of Tourism Organizations", in order to better reflect the skills provided to students during their studies (see the Minutes of the Tourism Area Teaching Council no. 2 of 01/18/2022 - Point 4 "Improvement actions"). This important change was also introduced in response to requests from the outside world and, more specifically, from the Tourism Area Steering Committee in the meeting of 01/17/2022. In this meeting, in fact, the usefulness of introducing these laboratories to enrich, in a transversal way, the cultural background of students with new theoretical knowledge and practical skills that can be used in the job market was widely recognized and the opportunity to review the previous name of the Degree Course was highlighted.

The Degree Course in “Management of Tourist Organizations” intends to respond to the emerging training needs in the tourism sector in relation to the current dynamics and needs of development and competitiveness, as also highlighted by the main stakeholders of the economic-social partnership of immediate reference in Puglia. Puglia itself, in consideration of the recent and positive dynamics of territorial tourism development, even in contrast to the national ones, represents a laboratory of significant importance both for collecting emerging training needs and for experimenting with new training paths and professional figures by involving students in learning by doing activities with the transdisciplinary collaboration of companies and professionals.

The figure of the expert in management of tourism organizations aims to respond to the needs of medium-high level professionalism that currently (and in the future) the tourism market expresses, in relation to the skills linked to the management of destinations and experiences to be enjoyed by tourists, as well as the maximization of the impact of tourism spending on other production chains of local economies. Specifically, the course aims to train the following professional figures: Expert in organization and management of the tourism chain; Organizer/agent of incoming tourism services and events; Animator of cultural tourism and expert in experiential tourism. These figures are responsible for the planning, construction, promotion and marketing phases of tourism products capable of matching tourists' expectations with the characteristics of the territory according to a tailor-made approach.

The Degree Course is characterised by a three-year training course, divided into disciplinary areas aimed at training the aforementioned professional figures, with a wealth of theoretical knowledge (in terms of content, methods and tools) specific to the various disciplines envisaged, as well as the ability to apply this knowledge in a multipurpose way in companies and administrations active in the sector.

In particular, the training course is divided into lessons, seminars, discussion of case studies, in the following disciplinary areas:

- economic, statistical, legal, business and organisation of tourist services;
- anthropological, psycho-social, territorial; historical-artistic;
- linguistic.

With reference to linguistic skills, in addition to the teachings dedicated to this, language learning is also encouraged through activities that, within individual teachings, are carried out in English. The training path is in fact structured in lessons, seminars, group work, discussion of real cases, and exercises aimed at acquiring knowledge in the aforementioned areas and developing methodological skills connected to them. Where possible, students are encouraged to adopt an international perspective, for example, by providing material in English based on case studies from international literature and practices, by delivering individual lessons or seminars in English, and/or by creating working groups that include students from different geographical backgrounds, in order to encourage cultural contamination (see Resolution of the Teaching Council of 07/02/2023).

The educational offer is also enhanced by other training activities (internships and mobility) and initiatives (study days, international conferences) that contribute to consolidating the skills acquired. Furthermore, the skills in the above-mentioned disciplinary areas are corroborated by the experiences that can be gained within a laboratory with companies in which entrepreneurs will present and address some real and specific problems of the sector to which they belong.

The Degree Course in “Management of Tourist Organizations” has been designed to constitute an optimal training basis for the Master's Degree in “Management of Tourist and Cultural Activities” (LM-49), consistently with the tourist vocation of the immediate reference territory with the support of the social partners (Chamber of Commerce, Confindustria, Confcommercio di Lecce, Confartigianato, APT and others). Following the deactivation of the aforementioned master's degree course, the Degree Course in "Management of Tourism Organizations" has been strengthened in some of its quantitative, economic-business and historical-geographical courses (ref. Resolution of the Tourism Area Teaching Council of 03/28/2025), in order to facilitate its students to continue their studies in the "Tourism Management and Marketing" curriculum of the new master's degree course called "Management of Territories, Public Companies and Tourism" of the LM 77 class, which is due to start in the 2025-2026 academic year.

Admission to the course is subject to possession of a high school diploma or other equivalent qualification.
Knowledge of the English language, logic, history and geography is also required, in the latter two subjects with particular reference to the Italian case; logical-deductive and analytical skills are also required, as well as possession of elementary notions of mathematical symbol processing.
These requirements will be verified through a specific admission test, as specified in section A3.be determined by the Teaching Regulations of the Degree Course where the additional training obligations envisaged in the event that the verification is not positive will also be indicated.

The final exam consists in the preparation of a document on a topic defined by the supervisor, taking into account the analysis of the general principles of the discipline as well as the reworking of concrete cases that may also be the result of direct experience lived by the student.

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