Technology and Internet have significantly changed the tourist habits of the modern society. The direct access to information online and the digitalization of many tourist services, has led people to stop visiting tourist offices once in a destination. This phenomenon has been happening for several years in Switzerland affecting in particular the tourist offices of middle Alpine destinations. The research thesis makes use of the theories and the methods of Service Design, known as a discipline providing a unique approach and able to innovate services and tourist models. The introductory part of the work aims to contextualize the problem of the closure of tourist offices by retracing the birth and development of tourist offices in Switzerland after World War II. It then provides some elements to better understand the trends, behaviour and needs of the modern tourist. Starting from the concept of the tourist experience, it shows how its success depends on the quality of the service offered. It therefore introduces the usefulness of Service Design for research. The work is based on an ethnomethodology which is applied in a real case-study for the development of an innovative concept of tourist office. The result of the study is a solution based on the medieval concept of hospitality and it integrates a welcoming network supported by local businesses and a mobile self-service tourist space.
La tecnologia e Internet hanno cambiato in modo significativo le pratiche turistiche della società moderna. Grazie all'accesso diretto di informazioni online e alla digitalizzazione di molti servizi turistici, le persone tendono a visitare sempre di meno gli uffici turistici di una destinazione. Questo fenomeno si verifica da diversi anni in Svizzera e colpisce in particolar modo i centri turistici della località medio-alpine. La tesi di ricerca si avvale delle teorie e delle metodologie del Service Design, nota per essere una disciplina dall’approccio innovativo in grado di ridefinire servizi e i modelli turistici. La parte introduttiva del lavoro intende contestualizzare il problema della chiusura degli uffici turistici ripercorrendo la nascita e il loro sviluppo nel secondo dopoguerra in Svizzera. In seguito fornisce alcuni elementi per comprendere meglio i trend, comportamenti e necessità del turista moderno. Partendo dal concetto di esperienza turistica mostra come il successo di quest’ultima dipenda dalla qualità del servizio offerto. Introduce dunque l’utilità del Service Design per la ricerca. La parte empirica si concentra sul caso studio di Saillon, in cui si applica una etnometodologia per lo sviluppo di una soluzione innovativa per la ricezione turistica della destinazione. Il risultato dello studio è un modello di ufficio turistico basato sul concetto medievale di ospitalità che integra una rete di accoglienza supportata dalle imprese locali e uno spazio turistico mobile e self-service.
Reinventing tourism office through service design in the digital age : the case of Saillon in the Swiss Alps
PUPPINI, ANGELA
2019/2020
Abstract
Technology and Internet have significantly changed the tourist habits of the modern society. The direct access to information online and the digitalization of many tourist services, has led people to stop visiting tourist offices once in a destination. This phenomenon has been happening for several years in Switzerland affecting in particular the tourist offices of middle Alpine destinations. The research thesis makes use of the theories and the methods of Service Design, known as a discipline providing a unique approach and able to innovate services and tourist models. The introductory part of the work aims to contextualize the problem of the closure of tourist offices by retracing the birth and development of tourist offices in Switzerland after World War II. It then provides some elements to better understand the trends, behaviour and needs of the modern tourist. Starting from the concept of the tourist experience, it shows how its success depends on the quality of the service offered. It therefore introduces the usefulness of Service Design for research. The work is based on an ethnomethodology which is applied in a real case-study for the development of an innovative concept of tourist office. The result of the study is a solution based on the medieval concept of hospitality and it integrates a welcoming network supported by local businesses and a mobile self-service tourist space.File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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Thesis Angela Puppini.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/164549