Corso di geografia turistica

Unit C1

p.97

• The number of tourists visiting Russia each year is increasing. The government, aware of the economic value of the tourism industry, has started work on the recovery and restoration of the country’s historic and artistic heritage in order to support and encourage cultural tourism.
• Tourism flows are mainly directed towards the great historic cities of Moscow and St. Petersburg. The first is a modern and cosmopolitan city, the political, economic and cultural heart of the country. Tourists can discover its diverse inhabitants and reconstruct its history from the Middle Ages to the present day. St. Petersburg has been restored to its original splendour. Its elegant buildings, bridges, canals, and the Hermitage Museum, all have a strong appeal for international tourism.
• Niche tourism involving Russian history is also attracted by the prestigious residences symbolising the power of the tsars, such as Peterhof, Oranienbaum, Pavlovsk, as well as many small towns that have monuments preserved from medieval times.
• Another popular destination is the circuit of the Golden Ring, a circular itinerary combining visits to ancient Russian Orthodox monasteries and traditional villages, with the aim of exploring the still wild and pristine Russian landscape,
• Finally, in recent years river cruises on the “Tsar route” have been very popular: along the rivers and canals that for centuries were the principal communication routes of the country.

Unit C2

p.103

• Although historians argue that one cannot speak of a unified Celtic culture, exhibiting the same homogeneous character throughout the vast territory occupied by the Celts, what can be ascribed to that civilization is a strong appeal for tourists across Europe.
• The scarcity of the evidence that has come down to us, as well as the interweaving of historical events with legends and literature, has helped to create an aura of mystery around the Celts, which is very popular today.
• Their cult of nature, the equality of the social roles between men and women, their goldsmith art and musical traditions is very much appreciated.
• Travel itineraries in the footsteps of the Celts have been created in Brittany, Burgundy, Ireland and Great Britain.

Unit C3

p.107

• Amusement parks can be defined as non-places, entities that do not belong to precise geography: they are situated in a place, but could equally be anywhere with the same characteristics. A park’s attractions do not have any link with the surrounding area, they attract in their own right, with standardized offers that are predefined in every detail, so that visitors feel special and unique and, at the same time, appreciate their participation in a group.
• The Euro Disney park, after a slightly problematic start, with not very enthusiastic results, has managed to establish itself as a tourism destination in its own right, with 2 million visitors annually and good levels of hotel occupancy within the structure,
• The keys to successful have been the investments carried out to provide attractions that are always up to date and a flexible management that relies on technological solutions for calibrating services perfectly (for example, electronic and video billboards for communicating to visitors in real time, and the use of bluetooth technology for messages about waiting times).
• Behind the successful games is the work of dozens of imagineers, scientists of the imagination, whose creativity is tasked with looking after the setting and its emotional impact, so that visitors of all ages can suspend their disbelief and let themselves return to childhood.

Unit C4

p.111

• Recent surveys confirm the significant effect of youth tourism on total tourism trips.
• In particular, school trips and vacation-stays abroad to learn a language have become established practices for young Europeans in the 13-18 years age group.
• On the European scene, the lion’s share of the preferred destinations is made up of stays in English speaking countries: the United Kingdom, Ireland and Malta.
• The format of the stays, organised by specialist tour operators, includes several hours of daily lessons, trips to significant sites (museums, theates, historic sites) and accommodation with colleges or families.
• The most popular destination is London, followed by other cities in the United Kingdom, but also Dublin, Ireland, is very popular, it being a city “suitable for young people”. Malta is chosen by those who wish to combine practicing their English with the benefits of a seaside holiday.

Unit C5

p.119

• Spain is focusing on the richness of its inland territory to ease the pressure on the coasts; by deseasonalising the offer (distributing demand across the year) and spreading the benefits of the tourist industry throughout the country.
• Its trump card is cultural tourism, which moves in the footsteps of the great literary works, paintings and art forms that are famous around the world.
• For example, the literary tradition has inspired the route of Don Quixote, a set of paths that connect the places of the famous novel by Cervantes. In Castile, the Way of the Castilian language can be followed that leads to the places where the Spanish language, in its first literary expression, was cradled,
• Even the figurative arts provide tourism itineraries: Dali’s painting is the thread that links the Dali Triangle, by following which the visitor can discover the places where the great surrealist painter lived and worked. Those who choose the Places of Goya can retrace the most important phases of the court painter’s life and art of, whose edgy and lonely character bring him closer to the type of the modern artist.
• Finally, itineraries with an historical background take the tourist on visits to fortified castles and the sites of bloody battles between the Spanish Christians and the Spanish of the Arab caliphate.

Unit C6

p.123

• The countries of ex-Yugoslavia, following the end of the war in the 1990s, have recovered their tradition of tourist beach resorts and focus on specific features to consolidate their market share; attracting tourists with high purchasing power and foreign investors.
• Croatia is committed to the diversification of its tourism offer: alongside the beach and nautical tourism, it presents itself on the international market as a territory rich in unspoiled and undiscovered natural beauty, with an ancient tradition of gastronomy and handicrafts.
• Montenegro has sold some strategic locations to foreign companies to finance the government’s development program dedicated to eco-compatibility and land conservation.
• Slovenia has revitalised its tradition of casinos and gambling, which dates back to the Austro-Hungarian Empire, to attract weekend tourists from neighbouring countries.

Unit C7

p.129

• There is a form of niche tourism whose object is the memory of the past. The tourist is interested in reviving, albeit in a forcibly contrived way, an historical event, the daily life of remote times, the lifestyles of a population or a specific group (knights, explorers, cowboys, ancient Egyptians). Historical theme parks offer reconstructions of the past based on stereotypes that are more or less supported by scientific evidence.
• Tourism of memory also concerns the places where dramatic events have unfolded (battles, crime scenes, genocides) or the resting place of famous people (monumental cemeteries).
• In particular, some European cemeteries are considered tourism destinations requiring protection, such as the Père-Lachaise in Paris, the Woodland Cemetery in Stockholm, and High Gate, London.
• Some tragedies of recent history (the Holocaust, the atomic attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the attack on the Twin Towers in New York) have also left visible marks on the ground: these are places of pilgrimage imbued with feelings of patriotism and compassion.