Guido Sommer

Guido Sommer is a Professor at the Faculty of Tourism Management of Kempten University of Applied Sciences since 2014, specializing in Digitalization, Tourism Marketing, and Sustainable Data Infrastructure. He leads the Institute for Sustainable and Innovative Tourism Development (INIT) in Füssen since 2020 and serves as Dean of the Faculty of Tourism Management since 2022. His research focuses on tourism data analytics, artificial intelligence applications, and visitor flow management.

• Professor for Business Administration and Marketing in Tourism
• Dean, Faculty of Tourism Management
• Director, Institute for Sustainable and Innovative Tourism Development (INIT)

His work centers on digital transformation in tourism, particularly open data infrastructure for smart destinations, AI-driven tourism management, and data-based visitor steering. Key projects include the BavariaCloud Tourism initiative (2018-2021) and the 2040 Tourism Scenarios for Bavaria project (2019). Publications analyze topics like tourism ecosystem dynamics, data governance models, and climate-resilient tourism strategies.

His academic career includes studying Organization and Strategic Management in Trier and Madrid, a 2007 PhD dissertation on knowledge-based destination marketing, and prior roles at Cologne Business School (establishing tourism management faculty) and consulting firms. He actively participates in tourism development through advisory roles in the Allgäu GmbH Tourism Advisory Board and Kempten Tourism Council.