Destination Management and big events in alpine districts: theory and practice

The purpose of this document is to explore existing relationships between strategic management of Alpine districts (destination management) and the organization of big events, focusing particular attention on the phase of conceptualizing the event itself. This is a very delicate stage in which various elements are defined: basic strategic objectives (either implicitly or explicitly), the organizational model, the basic structural outline of operative processes - which initiatives to carry out, what priority to give to each, what time frame and which resources. In order to investigate said relationships, this paper is structured in two parts. The first empirical section is dedicated to an in-depth study of three different experiences: St. Moritz 2003, Bormio 2005, and Livigno 2005. Two destination case studies were chosen for analysis that have not yet hosted the event in question, in order to observe the evolution of the process of conceptualization “live on the scene.” The second section summarizes the conclusions drawn by cross-case analysis, formulating a valuable theoretical model for managing the conceptualization phase of big events.