More about SGDM
Why this new approach was needed and an overview of industry and academic publications for those who want to know more.
Why a new model for destination management?
Many tourist service providers and other destination actors struggle to keep up with the full scope and complexity of their markets. They exhibit very limited degrees of market orientation. In consequence, products and services fail to meet travel motives of tourists; the actual behavior of visitors is not reflected in strategic initiatives and marketing plans.
The St. Gallen Model for Destination Management (SGDM) addresses those challenges and offers a new approach for more and consistent market orientation. We build on practical experience in more than 30 destinations in Europe, Africa, and Asia as well as the latest insights from research on destination management and marketing.
Understanding tourist demand is at the core of the SGDM. Strategic visitor flows (SVF) are the basic unit of analysis and planning of the new approach. Those flows capture present and future tourists’ variable behavior and motives in destinations. The depiction of flows in space enables decision-makers to understand and develop tourist demand in all its versatility and richness. In addition, it enables them to break free of existing preconceptions (e.g., where the destination ends and what it is about). The SGDM helps identifying key influencers in markets (demand networks) as well as service production (supply networks). Thus, the SGDM enables actors to establish a sound basis to increase destination competitiveness – in coordination and yet with focus.
The model accounts for three important contingencies:
destinations are difficult to delimit from the visitors’ point of view;
destination actors and organizations are not necessarily following a single, consistent vision and strategy; and
suppliers cannot directly shape «the market».
Familiarize yourself with SGDM
Book (Hardcover, Kindle E-Book) - Professional and academic audience
ISBN - 978-3-9523471-9-5 ¦ Available on Amazon as digital download or at IMP-HSG as Hardcover.
«The St. Gallen Model for Destination Management»
This book illustrates how the boundaries created to manage and market tourist destinations are the root of the practical and academic problems that trouble destination management these days. The St. Gallen Model for Destination Management (SGDM) introduces an alternative perspective that allows transcending past boundaries and thus getting closer to the real complexities of managing tourist behavior in dynamic systems.
While this may sound daunting, it starts with something very practical: The observation of how tourists of different kinds move about as flows of visitors. Strategic visitor flows (SVF) are the basic unit of analysis and planning of the new model. The SGDM connects these flows to demand and supply networks. Underlying mechanisms explain the social forces that drive tourists’ behavior and the interdependencies that determine a viable supply of tourist services in destinations.
The model builds on practical experience in more than 30 destinations and the latest insights from ongoing research on destination management and marketing. Internationally, we observed that a basic understanding of the presence of multiple visitor flows and of the related network mechanism enabled actors (e.g., from hotels, food and lodging, operators of attractions, transportation, tourist organizations, and politicians) to break free of existing preconceptions. The SGDM and its instruments enabled them to rethink tasks, responsibilities, and projects. This ultimately allowed them to make more efficient and effective use of their scarce resources, benefiting both visitors and destination actors.
Industry publications
Beritelli, P., Crescini, G., Reinhold, S., & Schanderl, V. (2019). The visitor flow approach: How flow-based destination management blends theory and method for practical impact (pp. 289-310). Tourist Destination Management: Instruments, Products and Case Studies. Cham, Springer.
Tourism Review (07/2017). Swarm intelligence and the current tourism market. Published online Jul 03, 2017.
More industry publications in other languages are available here.
Academic publications
Beritelli, P. (2023). How do leisure travel decisions come about?-A study report. St. Gallen: University of St. Gallen. doi: 10.6084/m9.figshare.24912729
Reinhold, S., Beritelli, P., Fyall, A., Choi, H.-S. C., Laesser, C., & Joppe, M. (2023). State-of-the-Art Review on Destination Marketing and Destination Management. Tourism and Hospitality, 4(4), 584-603. doi:10.3390/tourhosp4040036
Reinhold, S., Beritelli, P., & Laesser, C. (2023). The 2022 consensus on advances in destination management. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 29, 100797. doi:10.1016/j.jdmm.2023.100797
Beritelli, P., & Reinhold, S. (2021). Sustainable destination management - What can we learn from forestry? In M. Valeri, A. Scuttari, & H. Pechlaner (Eds.), Resilienza e Sostanibilità: Dinamiche globali e risposte locali (pp. 113-129). Torino: G. Giappichelli Editore.
Beritelli, P., Reinhold, S., & Laesser, C. (2020). Visitor flows, trajectories and corridors: Planning and designing places from the traveler's point of view. Annals of Tourism Research, 82. doi: 10.1016/j.annals.2020.102936
Beritelli, P. (2019). From Flow Analysis to Shared Insight to Planning for Impact: The Development Campaign of Altdorf (CH). In M. Volgger & D. Pfister (Eds.), Atmospheric Turn in Culture and Tourism: Place, Design and Process Impacts on Customer Behaviour, Marketing and Branding (Vol. 16, pp. 195-207): Emerald Publishing Limited.
Beritelli, P., Reinhold, S., & Luo, J. (2019). “How Come You Are Here?” Considering the Context in Research on Travel Decisions. Journal of Travel Research, 58(2), 333-337. doi: 10.1177/004728751774601
Reinhold, S., Laesser, C., & Beritelli, P. (2019). Flow-based destination management and marketing: a perspective article. Tourism Review, 75(1), 174-178. doi: 10.1108/TR-05-2019-0193
Beritelli, P., & Reinhold, S. (2018). Chance meetings, the destination paradox, and the social origins of travel – Predicting traveler’s whereabouts. Tourist Studies, 18, 417-441. doi: 10.1177/1468797617748292
Reinhold, S., Laesser, C., & Beritelli, P. (2018). The 2016 Consensus on Advances in Destination Management. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 8, 426-431. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2017.03.001
Baggio, R., & Scaglione, M. (2017). Strategic Visitor Flows (SVF) analysis using mobile data. In Information and Communication Technologies in Tourism 2017 (pp. 145-157). Springer, Cham.
Beritelli, P., & Laesser, C. (2017). The Dynamics of Destinations and Tourism Development. In D. R. Fesenmaier & Z. Xiang (Eds.), Design Science in Tourism: Foundations of Destination Management (pp. 195-214). Cham: Springer International Publishing.
Beritelli, P., Buffa, F., & Martini, U. (2015). The coordinating DMO or coordinators in the DMO? – an alternative perspective with the help of network analysis. Tourism Review, 70(1), 24-42. doi: 10.1108/TR-04-2014-0018
Reinhold, S., Laesser, C., & Beritelli, P. (2015). 2014 St. Gallen Consensus on destination management. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 4(2), 137-142. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2015.03.006
Beritelli, P., Bieger, T., & Laesser, C. (2014). The New Frontiers of Destination Management Applying Variable Geometry as a Function-Based Approach. Journal of Travel Research, 53(4), 403-417. doi: 10.1177/0047287513506298
Laesser, C., & Beritelli, P. (2013). St. Gallen Consensus on Destination Management. Journal of Destination Marketing & Management, 2(1), 46-49. doi: 10.1016/j.jdmm.2012.11.003
More academic publications in other languages are available here.
Cases und student theses
The student theses and cases below are listed with explicit permission of the authors according to the guidelines of the education institutions mentioned for the listed documents at the time of publication. For questions and inquiries, please contact Prof. Dr. Pietro Beritelli (contact details at the bottom of this page).
Master theses in English (EN) - University of St. Gallen and Management Center Innsbruck
Bapst, M. (2018-05-22). Why do people choose the alp cabin experience? Insights from selected case studies in Switzerland. Master Thesis. St. Gallen: University of St. Gallen. (pdf)
Csörgo, A. (2021-10-25). An exploratory study to identify reasons why tourist groups choose a travel destination. Master Thesis. Innsbruck: Management Center Innsbruck, MCI. (pdf)
Ellemund, A. (2019-07-19). The role of context in travel decision-making – an exploratory study. Master Thesis. Innsbruck: Management Center Innsbruck, MCI. (pdf)
Kuzzy, G. (2018-07). A quantitative analysis of visitor flows based on destination card use. Master Thesis. Innsbruck: Management Center Innsbruck, MCI. (pdf)
Lambacher, V. (2023-07-14). Identification and analysis of visitor flows in the South Tyrolean destination Brixen. Master Thesis. Innsbruck: Management Center Innsbruck, MCI. (pdf)
Master theses in Italian (IT) - Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa
Belzuino, C. (2020). Il ruolo dei Rolli a Genova: Indagine sull’importanza del Sistema dei Palazzi dei Rolli e dei Rolli Days nel panorama turistico genovese. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Bonaccorso, O. (2021). Milazzo: criticità dei flussi turistici analizzati attraverso il Modello San Gallo. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Fruzzetti, D. (2022). COVID - 19: un approccio qualitativo dei vincoli e delle strategie di negoziazione dei turisti italiani nel contesto pandemico. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Micelotta, L. (2024). Incentivare la domanda turistica domestica nei periodi di bassa stagione tramite l’analisi dei flussi turistici: il caso della città di Jesolo. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Odorico, F. (2021). Nuova progettualità per Genova – Analisi dei flussi turistici del Centro Storico e del quartiere Foce. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Petrera, M. (2023). Applicazione dell’approccio dei flussi a San Giuliano Terme: analisi e suggerimenti. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
Trombani, L. (2022). La dinamica turistica nella città di Mantova: un’analisi dei flussi turistici. Master Thesis. Lucca: Università degli studi di Pisa, Fondazione Campus. (pdf)
More cases and student theses in other languages are available here.