From 17 to 19 June 2019 the Chair of Tourism / Center for Entrepreneurship proudly welcomed Prof. Juergen Gnoth, Ph.D. in part of the KU visiting professors program. He is one of the most cited researchers on tourism and Professor at the Department of Marketing at the University of Otago in New Zealand.
His recent work focuses on understanding consumers’ experience processes, how they create well-being, and how companies can assist. In this context, his research informs on how company brands can help build and leverage destinations, and helps managers build stronger relationships that enhance destination sustainability, competitiveness and productivity.
In the master´s lecture of “Theory and Strategy in Destination Management and Marketing” in Ingolstadt, he provided insights into his developed Tourism Experience Model. He stated his view, that success of sustainable Tourism Business is based on helping tourists co-create well-being. He described what tourism does to destination cultures and environments and questioned who helps the tourist shape their encounter and help them to achieve their well being. At the end he summed up, that businesses need to acquire practical skills, to design services that not only satisfy needs and wants, but also challenge tourists appropriately, to explore and learn what is unique.
Within the bachelor´s course of “Tourism Management” in Eichstätt Prof. Juergen Gnoth talked about the Structure of Destination Brands and how place brands can be managed. At the end of the session the students where able to describe the difference and structure of place and destination management and how place brands can be managed by Destination Marketing Organizations. He also stated that Brands are the consequence of interactions within networks of relationships. So Brand meaning is no longer under the control of the legal owners of the brand, but is in the hands of the community of customers and anyone else who is interested.
The international visiting program was supported by the Bavarian State Government.