The Project Consortium consists of eight partners out of six different countries: Austria, Germany, Italy, Slovenia, Romania and Poland. The project partners combine science and practice: not only universities, but also Innsbruck Tourism as a Destination Management Organization (DMO) and experts in the field of sustainability in practice (EURAC and TourCert) are part of the ETSM2023 Consortium.
University of Innsbruck
Research Center of Tourism and Leisure
The University of Innsbruck (UIBK) from Austria and its Research Centre for Tourism & Leisure represent an interdisciplinary research and higher education institution.
The team at the Department of Strategic Management, Marketing and Tourism unites various disciplines in the Research Centre from sociology to economic geography, management and informatics.
Furthermore, the InnCubator is a university spin-off which supports new business start-ups with a special focus on social (and sustainable) entrepreneurship, and cooperates with the Research Centre for Tourism & Leisure in the Digital Innovation Hub West . This partner is part of the UniNETZ – University network "Education and Communication Sustainable Development" and the Aurora European Universities Network (EU/Erasmus).
Mike Peters
Head of project management a coordination, leader of WP 1, senior researcher, coaching and training
Birgit Pikkemaat
PC manager, coordinator of SP 1, senior researcher, tourism innovation expert, coaching and training
Johanna Sparber
Administrative personnel, project management, communication
Marina Farbmacher
Administrative personnel, project management, communication
Valentina Mitterdorfer
Administrative personnel, project management, communication
Eurac Research
Center of Advanced Studies of Eurac Research
Eurac Research is a private research institution based in Bolzano (Italy), that is conducting research on a wide variety of fields. The Center for Advanced Studies carries out interdisciplinary research on different social, economic and political topics. The team combines expertise from political science, sociology, economics, socio-economics and philosophy. It consists of both specialists and generalists working closely together to inform and provide food for thought - in critical exchange and with different scientific methods.
Sustainable tourism has been one of the center’s main fields of research. Besides several scientific publications on tourism, the team elaborated the scientific basis of the provincial program for the touristic development of South Tyrol for the year 2030. Furthermore, the center is part of the INSTO-network of sustainable tourism observatories of the UNWTO and monitors the economic, social and ecological effects of tourism in South Tyrol (STOST).
Harald Pechlaner
Head of Center, management and coordination of WP 3
Christoph Kircher
Valentin Wallnöfer
Junior researcher, survey and empirical analysis, elaboration of thematic groups of SMTEs
Marlies Blaas
Administrative personnel, controlling and financial administration
Poznan University of Economics and Business
PUEB
The Poznań University of Economics and Business (PUEB) from Poland, is a profiled research and higher education institution in economics and finance, business management, business administration, ICT, and commodity science.
The team based in the Institute of International Business and Economics has developed research, higher education programmes and business expertise in tourism, focusing on tourist firm management and destination governance, as well as on cooperating closely with the local and regional tourism organisations.
In 2018-2021, The PUEB's Centre for Executive Education delivered 60+ courses aiming at SMEs, including tourist entrepreneurs. PUEB has run many training and consulting schemes founded by European Union, included SMEs' eco-innovations and managerial performance. The PUEB's Knowledge Transfer Company (https://scuep.pl/) completed 350+ development projects for 200+ companies and public institutions.
Piotr Zmyślony
Project management, leader of WP2, organisation of selection process of SMTEs, senior researcher, coaching and training
Aleksandra Gawel
Senior researcher, entrepreneurship expert, coaching and training
Justyna Majewska
Senior researcher, digital expert, coaching and training, project management
Natalia Latuszek
Junior researcher, destination competitiveness expert, project management
Maciej Pietrzykowski
Senior researcher, sustainable tourism, regional and local economy expert, coach and trainer
Anna Dybiona-Jaroni
Administrative personnel
RoMontana
National Association for Mountains and Rural Development
RoMontana is the National Association for Mountains and Rural Development and it was established in 2000 as a multisectoral association or co-operation and development of the mountain areas in Romania.
Our mission is to promote living mountains, integrated and sustainable development and quality of life in mountains.
In order to achieve this, RoMontana facilitates the exchange of information and experience among these areas by organising events, by conducting and collaborating in studies, by developing, managing and participating in European projects and by working with the national and European institutions on mountain issues.
RoMontana has developed a wide national network of stakeholders and competences on developing policies for the mountain areas, facilitating tourism development, supporting mountain producers to organize and add value to their products and many other activities that contribute to the sustainable development of the mountain areas, in the rural and mountain communities, having experts among its personnell and established a wide range of partnerships with relevant stakeholders at national and international level.
RoMontana is also member of wider international networks such as the Mountain Partnership (FAO) and Euromontana - European association of mountain regions, that include SMEs, regional development agencies, local and national authorities, agriculture organisations, environmental agencies, forestry organisations and research institutes with the mission to promote living mountains, integrated and sustainable development and quality of life in mountain areas.
Radu – Adrian Rey
Team leader and sustainable development expert and researcher
Andrei Coca
Sustainable and digital tourism expert and researcher
Ionel Budăi
IT and tourism expert
Cătălin Apăvăloaie
Communication expert and IT consultant
IMC Krems
Institute Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing
The IMC University of Applied Sciences Krems (IMC Krems) from Austria and its Institute Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing represent a higher education and research institution focusing on application-driven research with an international focus and integrating business expertise into teaching.
The team at the Institute Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing as part of the Department of Business concentrates mainly on three lines of research: consumer studies and innovation management, tourism marketing and technology research as well as regional economics and agrobusiness research.
Current research projects have been concerned with the authenticity of tourism products and experiences, centring on the arts and culture sector, as well as sustainable tourism development and digitalisation in tourism businesses and regions. The team has furthermore carried out eye-tracking studies in order to evaluate consumer behaviour at the point of sale, and to gain academic insights into aspects of sustainability in the wine business and wine tourism, as well as the development of international wine markets. National and international projects have aimed at complimenting existing cyclotourism initiatives and projects, as well as to identify best practices in building transport equity for older people living in urban and suburban areas in Poland and Austria. A showcase project funded by the Austrian Partnership Programme in Higher Education and Research for Development (APPEAR) has aimed at capacity building in higher education in Mozambique for sustainable rural tourism development.
Christian Maurer
Head of Institute for Tourism, Wine Business, and Marketing; Programme Director Master Marketing, Leader of WP 6
Claudia Dolezal
Professor and Senior Researcher in Tourism, Institute of Tourism, Wine Business and Marketing, Co-leader of WP 6
TourCert
The
independent certification organisation TourCert gGmbH
was founded in 2009 and has set itself the task of promoting
ecological, social and economic corporate responsibility in tourism.
Under the motto "Travel for Tomorrow", TourCert advises and
accompanies tourism companies and destinations in the implementation
of a sustainable and successful business strategy and qualifies them
with seminars and online trainings from the TourCert Academy.
Cilia Mayer
PC project management, coordination and acquisition of SMTEs
Angela Giraldo
Coaching and training, sustainability monitoring and measurement
Johannes Mäding
Sustainability monitoring and measurement
Carola Haas
Dissemination through industry network
University of Ljubljana
Center of Business Excellence
The Centre of Business Excellence (CBE) is a bridge between the business world and the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana. Its purpose is to allow a two-way flow of internationally competitive and high-quality knowledge through executive education, consulting projects and various business events. CBE is well known for it’s open and in-company programs as well as the unique capacity to bring together interdisciplinary consultancy teams, conduct business research and develop new solutions in which CBE brings together global knowledge. CBE’s team delivers more than 60 consulting projects every year, focusing mostly on digitalization strategy, development of sustainable business strategy, HRM transformation for business success support and the renovation of the salary and reward system. CBE is well known in Slovenia, as well as on the markets of the Western Balkan countries, for it’s in-company tailor-made learning programmes that are based on preliminary screening of the company’s current situation, needs of each employee, and are focused on overcoming specific challenges within the company. Special part of CBE operations is also Ljubljana MBA programme at the School of Economics and Business, University of Ljubljana that is among 1% business schools worldwide with all the leading and most important accreditations in the higher education – EQUIS, AACSB and AMBA. Most recently in 2020, CBE has taken over the lead role of the Strategic Research and Innovation Partnership in Tourism in Slovenia.
CBE is the lead coordinator of the Strategic Research and Innovative Partnership in Tourism, which is part of S3 strategy for Slovenia and therefore coordinates the cluster of major tourism stakeholders (involving SMEs, larger companies, academia and educational institutions, NGOs, etc.). As such, CBE is providing full business support to all partners in the tourism cluster, the majority of them being SMEs. This includes:
- Providing a supportive environment for research and development as well as technology transfer. In that regard, most recently coordinated a demo project on digital reception.
- Comprehensive business and project consulting, especially on the implementation of the sustainable business models, digital transformation, internationalization and marketing.
- Building better visibility of tourism cluster in Slovenia and EU through promotion, networking and EU partnerships.
- Establishing and growing a partnership environment, including business, academia and government sector stakeholders, for national and international initiatives and programs.
- Providing educational, coaching and mentorship programmes for the senior and middle management in tourism to develop needed skills to tackle digital transformation, change management and the transformation towards more safe, sustainable and green tourism.
- Developing basic and applied research for the needs of the tourism industry.
Ljubica Knezevic Cvelbar
Coordination, leader of WP 5, senior researcher, coaching and training
Monika Lapanja
Project manager, task coordination, SME management, reporting and deliverable management
Iana Bilynets
PC assistant manager, junior researcher, support for selection of SMTEs, SMTE survey, dissemination through industry networks
Tibor Derganc
Administrative personnel, project management, communication
David Kosem
Administrative personnel, project management, communication
TVB
Innsbruck Tourism
Innsbruck Tourismus is the official destination management organisation (DMO) of the Innsbruck region, which includes the Tyrolean capital and its 40 surrounding communities – from the Inn Valley to the Mieming Plateau and from Kühtai to the Sellrain Valley. With almost 3.5 million overnight stays in 2019, the Innsbruck region is one of Austria’s largest DMOs. Its 90 or so employees always attempt to ensure that guests receive comprehensive information, expert event support, innovative and sustainable destination development and professional market backing, as well as outstanding communication via our analogue and digital channels. The main goals of Innsbruck Tourismus are to future-proof the attractiveness of the Innsbruck region as a holiday destination, extend the average length of stay, achieve year-round occupancy and sustainably develop the Innsbruck region as a place to experience and enjoy.
The goal of the newly created Research & Development department at Innsbruck Tourism is to provide data-based and target group-oriented impulses for destination development - especially regarding sustainability - without neglecting the overall development of the Innsbruck region. Here, alpine and urban key topics as well as card management are further developed and optimized, but also trends and digitalization projects are pursued. Last but not least, sustainable development of the destination and CSR are integrated into the company and the overall region.
Benjamin Türkis
Research expert, representation of DMO Innsbruck Tourism, tourism innovation expert
Theresa Geißel
Representation & project coordinator of DMO Innsbruck Tourism, overall support for WPs, support for selection of SMTEs
Marie-Christin Repp
Representation of DMO Innsbruck Tourism, Destination development