Tali Applboim-hazan (p), Yaniv poria, Aviad raz

Andrea Omizzolo

Studies in the tourism and human-resource management fields tend to ignore the use made of heritage tourism as a tool to reward employees. This revealing study examines the effect of participation in a journey to Poland on the sense of organizational commitment. The study is based on 304 structured questionnaires completed by participants from six different public organizations, before and after their journey to Poland (in all, 608 questionnaires were completed; response rate = 60.8%). The questionnaires were distributed to the employees during the obligatory preparatory days conducted in the month preceding the journey and one to three months after the journey. The findings reveal that there was an increase in the employees' organizational commitment. The study contributes to the body of knowledge regarding heritage tourism and human-resource management. On a practical level, the insights that emerge from this study are relevant for the understanding of the use of heritage activities as a tool for human-resource management in public organizations. In light of the research results, the use of heritage tourism can be a means of improving the performance level of employees.

Andrea Omizzolo (p), Philipp Corradini (p)

Tali Applboim-hazan

Many low and medium altitude snow tourism destinations (hereafter STDs) and their communities are facing impacts related to climate change (hereafter CC), particularly those concerning the diminishment of snow cover. Damm et al. (2017) estimate a loss of up to 10 million ski tourism-related overnight stays in Europe per winter in the coming years. In the Alps, the 2°C temperature increase since the beginning of the 20th century and the resulting decrease in snow cover have significantly shortened the snow season (38 days between 1960 and 2017, according to Jeffrey Kluger - Time, Source) and increased snowmaking costs. The situation will not improve in the future. Scientists estimate that by 2100 the temperature in the Alps will increase by 1-2°C if emissions remain low (RCP 2.6) and by 5-6°C in the worst-case scenario (RCP 8.5). During the same period, the altitude for snow reliability could increase to 2,400 m. In addition to ecological impacts, these low and medium altitude STDs must also consider socioeconomic impacts, in combination with a slight but steady decrease in the number of skiers and a reduction of the average length of stay. Censuses such as those carried out in recent years by Legambiente on the viability of ski destinations in the Italian mountains describe a particularly complex situation in which abandoned/closed facilities or those that survive only thanks to heavy injections of public money are increasingly common. The sector, which in the past has been one of the pillars of mountain tourism, still provides employment opportunities for a large number of people and supports the economies of many communities and tourism destinations. A transition to new, more sustainable models of tourism development focused on the preservation and enhancement of territorial assets, unique tourism experiences based on local natural and cultural heritage is needed and is the subject of the Interreg "Alpine Space" project “BeyondSnow". The authors intend to present the first results of the project and discuss them at the 2023 ERSA Conference. In particular, the analysis carried out regarding the relationship between past/current/future climate change-induced diminishment of snow cover and the possible socioeconomic effects on Alpine STDs, as well as their vulnerability and resilience, will be presented.