Mattia Bertoli, Head of Business Development & Product Management, Lugano Region

To help current students and recent graduates navigate the world of work, several USI Alumni shared their career paths and career story. Here the story of Mattia Bertoli, Head of Business Development & Product Management at Lugano Region in Lugano (CH). USI Degree: Master in International Tourism, 2022.

How did you start your career?

While writing my master thesis, I started my professional journey as an intern at Elia Frapolli Consulenza e Turismo, a boutique consulting firm in the field of tourism products, hospitality, feasibility studies, masterplans. and consulting. This allowed me to have a first hand insight on the whole area of tourism in Ticino, collaborating with municipalities, DMOs and providers from day one.

In October 2022 I started working at Lugano Region, the DMO of my home region, as Product & Content Manager, developing new products in the destination, managing existing one and implement part of the new strategy. I could also work on the editorial aspect of our new Welcome guide. On many projects I could work closely with our Director, which led fast to being in charge development and strategic issues. Since January 2024 I am Head of Business Development & Product Management.

Why did you choose a career at Lugano Region?

From my point of view, working in tourism means laying the foundations for the development of a destination and creating the best possible experience for the visitor. Being able to do this in the area that you call home means being able to contribute even more to its development and well-being. I am lucky enough to be able to do this for my region and I have chosen to stay in the Lugano area to live and work.

What is your current role/duties?

The destination development department is responsible for drawing up development plans, as well as for designing and implementing processes to support and facilitate the destination attractiveness growth. The department is responsible for identifying strategic partners and projects and following their processes in order to implement new development systems for the destination. Tourism product development is a branch of destination development oriented towards increasing the tourism offer in the destination through concrete actions, in some cases directly linked to the direct generation of overnight stays (e.g.: offers and packages or "Million stars experiences" such as Adventurly Bubble suite).

As Head of Business Development, I maintain contacts with current and potential partners oriented towards the growth of the destination. Working closely with the director for the implementation of cross-sectoral strategic projects I also participate in high-level meetings and negotiations, deputising for the director where necessary. I also manage, coordinate, and negotiate projects in the conception, and then entrust the implementation and operational execution to the relevant in-house department. Another responsibility is to coordinate a product manager and a project manager entrusted with sustainability programs.

In your opinion, what are the qualities necessary for a successful career at Lugano Region?

To be successful in DMOs, especially in the area of business development or product management, creativity but also organisational skills are crucial. The implementation of new products is often much more complex than their conception and requires negotiation and coordination skills of numerous partners, both public and private. A deep knowledge of the peculiarities of a destination, its main actors, suppliers and environment is essential to be effective in product creation and business development.

What positive aspects and qualities meant most to you during the study programme you attended?

I particularly appreciated the interdisciplinary nature of the study programme, which allows for an understanding of tourism as a theme, the internationality of the teaching staff and students, which opens up horizons and possibilities for connecting with the world of work, both locally and internationally.

What competences and/or skills acquired in your USI Study Program have been useful/are useful to your professional career?

Studying international tourism at USI allowed me to understand tourism as a theme rather than as a subject, and how it is influenced by numerous fields, from economics, spatial planning, communication, marketing, politics, sociology and consumer behaviour, to name but the main ones.

Understanding the true concept of destination is also something I was able to grasp at USI, in particular the fact that more than a geographical space, it is a complex system of tourism and non-tourism service providers activated by visitors, who instead move in flows. This concept helps in thinking about new products or organising collaborations and implications.

What is your advice to USI students entering the job market?

Try, try, try. Try to be connected with interesting and dynamic people in the field you would like to work in. Try to be curious about the field you want to invest your time in and deepen your knowledge of this specific sector, not just from a theoretical point of view, but more as an understanding of its implications and network system. Last but not least, try to be bold and propose new ideas that goes out of the box.