2003-02-15

The tourism and hospitality industry is the largest in the world in terms of income and employees. Competition is fierce among countries and cultural institutions. The "Mediterranean Conference on Cultural Tourism, Cultural site, Hospitality and Museum Marketing and Strategy Planning" will apply marketing principles and tools to raise the visibility of tourism, using, as case study, Catania and Sicily to demonstrate the value proposition that tourists to Sicily (or any other Mediterranean region) will enjoy that will not be available in other tourist locations. A second part of the conference will focus on cultural institutions such as museums, which often are attractions and destinations that lead tourists to select one place over others. Marketing and strategic planning at museums will indicate ways museums can attract the types of audiences they desire and provide exceptional experiences to their visitors. Building audiences, creating a community of stakeholders, and increasing revenue at cultural institutions will be highlighted in the discussion.
Chairman of the conference is Dr. Neil Kotler, co-Author of the book "Museum Strategy and Marketing".