Digital and Strategic Innovation for Alpine Health Tourism: Natural Resources, Digital Tools and Innovation Practices from HEALPS 2 Project (SpringerBriefs in Applied Sciences and Technology)

This open access book presents a set of practical tools and collaborative solutions in multi-disciplinary settings to foster the Alpine Space health tourism industry’s innovation and competitiveness. The proposed solutions emerge as the result of the synergy among health, environment, tourism, digital, policy and strategy professionals. The approach underlines the pivotal role of a sustainable and ecomedical use of Alpine natural resources for health tourism destinations, and highlights the need of integrating aspects of natural resources’ healing effects, a shared knowledge of Alpine assets through digital solutions, and frames strategic approaches for the long-term development of the sector. The volume exploits the results of the three-years long EU research project HEALPS 2, which involved several stakeholders from the health tourism, healthcare and sustainable tourism industries. This book is relevant for health tourism destinations and facilities (hotels, clinics, wellness and spa companies), regional and local authorities (policy makers), business support organizations, researchers involved in digital healthcare and geoinformatics. Preface Contents Medical Evidence of Alpine Natural Resources as a Base for Health Tourism 1 Introduction 2 Alpine Health Tourism Potential—Push And Pull Factors 2.1 Air Pollution 2.2 Noise Pollution 2.3 Reduced Microbial Diversity 2.4 Lack of Physical Exercise 2.5 Loss of Contact with Nature 3 Evidence as a Strategic Development Factor in Alpine Health Tourism 3.1 Alpine Farming And Alpine Pastures 3.2 Alpine Hiking in High And Moderate Altitude 3.3 Alpine Milk And Dairy Products 3.4 Balneotherapy/Hydrotherapy/Healing Waters 3.5 Forest/Forest Therapy 3.6 Protected Areas And Biodiversity 3.7 Speleotherapy/Radon Therapy 3.8 Waterfalls 3.9 Winter Activities 4 Conclusion References KPI for Data-Driven Assessment of Innovative Development Paths for Nature-Based Health Tourism in the Alpine Region 1 Introduction 2 The KPI-Based Approach 2.1 Natural Resources and Services 2.2 Tourism Key Figures 2.3 Image and Attractions 2.4 Cooperation and Networks 3 Conclusion References Alpine Assets, Perceptions and Strategies for Nature-Based Health Tourism 1 Introduction 2 Methods 3 Results 3.1 Perceptions of Alpine Natural Resources in the Context of Health 3.2 Supply-Side Strategies for and Perspectives on Nature-Based Health Tourism 4 Discussion 5 Conclusions References An Ontology-Based Decision Support System to Foster Innovation and Competitiveness Opportunities of Health Tourism Destinations 1 Introduction 2 Related Work 3 The Ontology-Based Approach 4 Engineering and Use of the HEALPS2 Ontology 4.1 Knowledge Elicitation for Domain Analysis 4.2 Domain Conceptualization 4.3 Implementation and Development 4.4 Using HEALPS2 Ontology to Represent Health Tourism Destinations 5 Conclusions and Future Works References A Digital Application for Strategic Development of Health Tourism Destinations 1 Introduction 2 Related Work 3 Knowledge Implementation 3.1 Defining KPIs 3.2 Semantic Representation 4 The HTAB Tool Pipeline 4.1 Gathering Input Data 4.2 Reasoning and Querying Inferred Output Data (Java Middleware) 4.3 Dispatching the Output Results 5 Conclusion References A Methodology for Participatory Stakeholder Engagement in Nature-Based Health Tourism 1 Introduction 2 The Process of Stakeholder Engagement and Endorsement in the HEALPS2 Project 2.1 Step 1: Identify All Potential Stakeholders and Stakeholder Groups 2.2 Step 2: Assess and Prioritize Identified Stakeholders 2.3 Step 3: Develop an Understanding of the Stakeholders Identified and Assessed 3 Elements to Be Considered Along the Stakeholder Engagement Process 3.1 Key Points for Successful Stakeholder Engagement 3.2 Tackling Problems in Stakeholders Engagement 4 Key Mechanisms for Stakeholder Engagement in NHT 4.1 Regional and Transnational Stakeholder Group 4.2 Engagement of EU-Level Actors and Cooperation with International Networks 5 Conclusions References Innovation Practices and Techniques for Nature-Based Health Tourism Competitiveness 1 Introduction 1.1 The Pursuit of Innovation in Health Tourism 1.2 Development of Innovation Practices in the HEALPS2 Project 2 Innovation Techniques for the Alpine NHT 2.1 Participatory Processes in Health Tourism Destinations: Cooperation Between Destinations and Municipalities in Habitat Management 2.2 Integration of Health Tourism into an Existing Tourism Strategy 2.3 Design of a Health Tourism Program with a Focus on Nature-Based Wellbeing Activities 2.4 Outdoor Innovation Training for a Sustainable Future of Alpine Health Tourism 2.5 Product Development Process for Evidence-Based Products in NHT (ProDevENHT) 2.6 Creating Medical Evidence for Natural Resources in NHT (CreMENHT) 3 Innovation Supporting Tools for the Alpine NHT 3.1 The Business Model Canvas to Devise an Effective Business Model for New Local Wellness and Health Tourism Products 3.2 Miro Board for Online Idea Development on NHT Products 3.3 Template for Idea Concretization Within Alpine Health Tourism 3.4 Digital Presentation of Health Factors 3.5 Webinar Series to Foster Interest and Involvement of Local Stakeholders 4 Innovative Product Offerings for the Alpine NHT 4.1 The “Full Health Thermal Spa Resort” concept 4.2 Men-Dedicated Weekend Package 4.3 Selfness in Old Castle Parks 5 Conclusions References Strategic Communication in a Transnational Project—The Interreg Alpine Space Project HEALPS2 1 Introduction 2 Communication Goals and Channels 3 Communication Strategy for HEALPS2 3.1 SWOT Analysis for HEALPS 2 3.2 Communication at the Transnational Level 4 Communication at Regional Level 4.1 Objectives and Target Groups 4.2 Local Communication Activities 5 Conclusions References Conclusion