Destination Development and
Institutionalization Strategies
In the OIC Member Countries
106
Tyrol” brand and under the umbrella of a “Future Tourism” plan, the DMO IDM South Tyrol was created in
2016 by merging four preexisting DMOs. By 2018, The IDM plans to have six regional offices in Glurns,
Merano, Bolzano, Bressanone, Santa Cristina and Brunico. In 2016, overnight stays exceeded for the first
time the 30 million benchmark, with tourists coming mainly from Germany and more recently from other
European destinations. 326
1. DMO Development
Tourism in Italy is managed at the national level by the Italian National Agency for Tourism under
the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism. In 2007, the agency was given a wider mandate in terms
of decision making autonomy in areas of destination management and accounting. The agency is
responsible for the branding, positioning and marketing of the Italian destination as a whole, in
addition to undertaking research activities. On the regional level, Italy applies a “subsidiary”
approach with national tourism legislation only partially applied, thus tourism leg islation is mainly
the responsibility of regional governments. 327 In South Tyrol, tourism organizations exist on three
levels: the level of the province of South Tyrol, the regional level, and the local level. At the province level,
the DMO IDM handles all marketing communication, provides support to tourism industry players in
addition to coordinating in area of product development with tourism associations who work at both a
regional and local level to develop tourism products as well as coordinate tourism providers.328
Figure 33: Italy Destination Management Structure
Source: DinarStandard Analysis
The tourism associations are also engaged in service delivery such as providing assistance to tourists and
organizing local events, in addition to coordinating with local tourism suppliers to develop products and
326 Welcome to IDM Südtirol - Alto Adige. (n.d.). Retrieved fro
327 Pechlaner, H., Beritelli, P., Pichler, S., Peters, M., & Scott, N. (2015). Contemporary Destination Governance: A Case Study Approach.
Bridging Tourism Theory and Practice, 6, iii. doi:10.1108/s2042-144320140000006045
328 Welcome to IDM Südtirol - Alto Adige. (n.d.). Retrieved fro
National Agency
for Tourism
(ENIT)
South Tyrol
Brunico
Santa Cristina
Bressanone
Bolzano
Glurns
Merano
Naturno
Val Passiri
National
Brand Italy
Provincial Regional Local