The essay is a summary of the article, ‘Tourism Policy, Tourism Organisations and Change Management in Alpine Regions and Destinations: A European Perspective’ by Harald Pechlaner and Paul Tschurtschenthaler. The essay endeavors to answer the question, what are the factors responsible for the development of the European East Alpine Regions as a tourist destination? The literature review starts by giving a brief account of the development of Alpine Tourism. Tourism development in Alpine started as early as the late 18 century to the beginning of the 20th century. Alpine region is characterized as being less developed, a situation that is often associated with the prevalent low wages for Alpine Tourism. The European Alpine area covers regions such as parts of Italy, Germany, Austria, France, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Slovenia.
This area accounts for approximately 11% of the overall worldwide tourism and 17% of Europe tourism. The following discussion concentrates only on those Alpine regions that are members of the ARGE ALP association that were founded in 1972 to address common problems experienced in these regions. These challenges entailed issues to do with the environment, tourism management, and traffic. Among the named Alpine regions, France and Italy are members of the ARGE ALP association. The development of the Alpine region entailed a series of stages that comprised the reconstruction of the infra and superstructures destroyed in World War I and World War II. Within four years the reconstruction had finished which was responsible for transforming the tourism industry to become a very significant economic activity in the Alpine and in particular the corresponding nations.
One of the factors that enhanced the success of the Alpine region as a tourist niche is its favorable location. The alpine region is believed to be strategically geographically located in the heart of Europe. The presence of good infrastructure in the region that comprises a railroad junction from the north to south and from east to west makes it very accessible from any part of Europe and in particular the highly populated and economically developed European regions such as UK and Germany. Summer tourism was noted to stagnate in the 1970s due to the stagnation of summer tourism, but the booming of winter tourism in the region has helped to compensate for the revenues lost during the summer season. The existence of good infrastructures such as good roads, rail networks, and air travel has greatly enhanced the growth and development of Alpine tourism in the region.
Moreover, the privatization of international air travel companies in Europe has greatly reduced airfares which greatly promote more people from far countries to visit the Alpine region.. During the early 1970s, the Alpine region was characterized by low productivity since it was not as developed as another region outside the Alps. This made it possible for the Alps tourism industry to offer competitive products at a more affordable price compared to suppliers in other more developed regions. The differential in wages greatly enhanced the development of the Alps tourism since an investor could make more money to extend the services to attract more visitors. The development of winter tourism by the inclusion of winter sports such as skiing was a very instrumental opportunity for the growth of the Alps tourism.
The presence of good natural features such as beautiful landscapes has greatly enhanced the growth and development of the Alps tourism. In addition, the Alpine region is associated with a favorable culture that is characterized by the high hospitality of the local people that facilitate the tourism industry in the area greatly as foreign visitors feel appreciated. In addition, ecological factors such as the presence of the summer and winter seasons greatly favor the prevalence of the tourism industry in the region. The summer season facilitates activities such as swimming and sunbathing from the beach, while the winter season is conducive for winter sports such as skiing.
The presence of Tourism organizations in the Alpine region also greatly helped to enhance tourism in the region. They started as places for offering public goods free of charge. The existence of these organizations and the extensive expansion of the Alpine tourism region has also faced several problems that include degradation of the environment and many social problems that are prevalent in many tourist destinations worldwide. Such challenges require the implementation of appropriate regulations and policies to curtail them.
The study used a survey method to collect the required data for this study. The data collected was analyzed quantitatively and appropriate graphs that illustrated the effects and growth o the Alpine tourism being generated.
The discussion highlighted several recommendations which are aimed at improving the tourism industry in the Alpine region. The suggested strategies comprised of change of business approach and reengineering processes adapted. The discussion suggests an improvement of Alpine tourism from the current prevalent small-scale-oriented businesses to attract bigger multinational corporations to invest in the region. There is still a need more the management of the tourism region in the region to formulate appropriate curricula to equip the employees that work in the tourism region in the area with relevant skills so that the tourism industry in the area can improve the quality of its services/products to attract more visitors.
Similarly, the concerned governments opt to support the industry accordingly through enacting appropriate policies to regulate the tourism industry in the area aptly. In addition, other issues that require to be addressed in the future include; offering the employees that work in the tourism industry better remunerations to attract a more competent and experienced workforce. The existing tourism organizations in the region need to be transformed to be more competent in addressing the underlying issues in the industry. Lastly, the issue of environmental degradation needs to be tackled so that to preserve the favorable environment in the region to sustain a long-term and vibrant tourism industry in the region.