Corso di geografia turistica

Unit A1

p.14

• The concept of sustainable development requires that civil societies live and prosper in balance (or equilibrium) with the environment, to keep economic and population growth compatible with social equity and ecosystems.
• The creation of protected areas meets multiple objectives: to protect natural resources and habitats; to promote the spread of environmental awareness; to help indigenous communities in supporting environmentally friendly activities; to promote the need of «city dwellers» to reconnect with nature, and to promote forms of tourism that are compatible with the conservation and enhancement of natural heritage.
• The protected area definition identifies various forms of environmental protection, including nature reserves, national and regional parks, and natural areas. UN member states have signed a commitment to implement measures for environmental sustainability through the creation of protected areas.
• Italy possesses an extraordinary wealth of biodiversity, and from the early decades of the twentieth century has had a high percentage of land subject to protective constraints.
• The framework law on protected areas entrusts the conservation and management of this natural heritage to the state and the regions, but recognises a key role for the communities located in these areas.
• A wildlife park or a reserve becomes a tourist destination when responding to the ecotourist’s desire to be in contact with nature, to enjoy its natural beauty in harmony with nature and the area’s cultural identity.
• Ecotourism, a category of responsible tourism, attracts ever-increasing numbers of people across the world.

Unit A2

p.21

• Tourism resources are not inexhaustible, therefore they must be the subject of intelligent and shrewd management, directed towards the protection and enhancement of existing assets.
• Local authorities and citizens need to invest to restore the most visited destinations, to improve services, to enhance the qualities that make a place unique, and to implement adequate promotion.
• The Tuscany region represents an extraordinary example of the farsighted management of tourism resources. Support and promotion activities for the area have been implemented successfully for some time, using all the means of communication provided by technological advances.
• The goal of generating tourism demand has been achieved by implementing financial policies and promotional activities, together with interregional projects, in order to develop new offerings to satisfy (or even anticipate) new demand. Alongside proposals related to seaside and mountain tourism, those inherent in food and wine, wellness, cyclotourism, protected areas, traditions, history and art have been added.

Unit A3

p.29

• After the very successful years of mass tourism, mountain tourism is now in stagnation: the requirements of the market now go beyond the skiing vacation. The modern tourist is looking for structured products in which sport and hiking are integrated with wellness, wine and food tours, cultural offerings, and nightlife. The whole with a careful eye on costs.
• The Dolomites have been an international tourist destination for more than a century. The area, spread administratively across five provinces and three regions, experiences variable tourist flows.
• With the same natural and landscape beauty, it is the effect of promotion, support and resources management that makes the difference, as demonstrated by the provinces of Trento and Bolzano.
• Recognition of the Dolomites as a World Heritage site has made a convergence of purpose and a common policy possible, which favour the development of sustainable tourism, by promoting initiatives and behaviours that respect the environmental and anthropological characteristics of the area. This will also have benefits for the forest and wildlife heritage of the protected areas.

Unit A4

p.35

• Matera is a remarkable example of an urban ecosystem. It reveals to modern man the extraordinary system for utilising natural resources that its inhabitants were able to practice from the most ancient times. A civilisation that understood how to use its resources without destroying them, and today serves as a model of eco-sustainability.
• The city represents a unique case of the restoration of an urban structure that had been forcibly abandoned by its inhabitants and left neglected. In 1993, UNESCO’s recognition (of Matera as a World Heritage site) gave rise to a careful restoration of the Sassi that was able to take into account their environmental and cultural aspects. New residents today occupy the houses carved into the rock.
• Matera now attracts cultural tourism: travellers interested in the history and architectural beauty of its underground construction, intrigued by the rain water conservation systems, the use of light and heat from the sun, and the cultivation of its roof gardens.
• The surrounding area boasts numerous protected areas with ecotourism appeal, where rare and endemic animal and plant species live, and where history has left deep traces that we can still read in the ancient and historic remains of human settlements.

Unit A5

p.43

• A real «taste revolution» took place in the 1980s: in the collective imagination, food and wine began to be perceived as a pleasure no longer reserved for the few, to be enjoyed in harmony with the landscape and traditions of a particular destination.
• Interest in a destination’s typical products, the search for original flavours, and the passion for excellent quality small-scale production have all grown exponentially.
• Associations, cooperatives, local agencies and authorities are now all working to promote high value gourmet food and wine, which have their roots in the traditions of their area. Quality marks and official recognition certify the provenance of products and their compliance with production standards.
• Italy’s extraordinary heritage has enabled an authentic and genuine food and wine map to be created, divided into themed itineraries that extol individual local products and that, when promoted appropriately, have fuelled the trend for wine tourism.
• A positive connection between food and territory has been created: promotion of the former has led to the revival of the latter. Food and wine tourism has in fact resulted in the greater appreciation of the environment and places of natural beauty, artistic heritage, and cultural attractions. Consequently, local producers as well as the service and hospitality industries all derive benefits.