Corso di geografia turistica

Unit A1

p.11

• The plan to revive international tourism in Australia leverages the exceptional nature of its natural environment and the culture of its native population, the Aborigines.
• The geopolitical isolation in which Australia remained confined up to 1800 enabled the development of endemic species of plants and animals with unique features compared to the rest of the world.
• The Great Barrier Reef, the largest coral reef on the planet and a World Heritage site, is just one example of how Australia’s natural environment has survived the ravages of anthropization. Other protected areas and natural parks testify to the government’s commitment to ecosustainable development
• Australia’s National Landscapes operates with the same objective, this is a project to revitalise the regions involved that draws on their natural attractions for motivating tourists to participate in a profound and authentic experience of the country.
• An extraordinary tourist attraction is represented by the ancient culture of the Aborigines, the native population, which was for a long time persecuted by the colonising Europeans and deprived of basic civil rights until 1967. Today, Aboriginal art and culture have become one of the exclusive and distinctive elements of the Australian tourist offer, a worldwide destination for ethnic tourism.

Unit A2

p.17

• Having remained for a long time isolated and closed to foreigners, due to the fear that the purity of Nippon culture would become contaminated, Japan is struggling to become a tourism destination of great appeal; despite being a country rich in natural beauty, history and traditions.
• Neither can it be said that the Japanese are not great travellers: in fact, they are known worldwide for being tireless tourists outside their national borders and great consumers of package holidays. However, until the middle of the twentieth century, tourism remained a call limited to domestic trips, above all during national holidays. The preferred destinations being the most important natural and religious sites, thermal resorts and sites where traditional ceremonies are held.
• At the end of the nineteenth century initial tentative attempts were made to open the country up to international tourism with business ventures directed towards welcoming and accommodating western travellers according to standards acceptable to them. However, it was only with the Tokyo Olympics of 1964 that Japan finally opened its borders to the free flow of people.
• Today, tourism from Europe to Japan mainly involves British, French and German citizens interested in the discovery of a culture that has not succumbed to the allure of globalisation. However, the difficulties of language, the complicated toponyms and social rules that are profoundly different from those common in the western world, still represent an obstacle to Japan’s full integration in holiday geography.

Unit A3

p.23

• The Maldives archipelago is made up of around 1,100 islands, which form about twenty atolls off the coast of Sri Lanka. The very fine sand, transparent waters and extensive coral reefs have made them a paradise for lovers of diving and sea life since the 1970s.
• Over the course of time, however, the mode of expression of tourism in these islands has changed, transforming them into a non-place, a tropical paradise dedicated to relaxation, wellness and entertainment; where luxury resorts, villages designed for family holidays, or even specialised hotels for the cure of the body and spirit, offer diversified packages designed to satisfy every possible need of the international tourist. Each tiny island is “specialised” in some particular form of offer to continually provide a tailor-made holiday.
• Tourism accounts for nearly half of GDP, but the local government is trying to maintain a clear separation between the lifestyle of the tourists, who flock each year to the small islands, and the indigenous population, which has retained a simpler way of life that is still dependent on the sea. For this purpose, tourists are forbidden from freely visiting islands inhabited by Maldivians.
• Through this system, a deep rift has been created between the population, their rhythms of life and traditions, and the tourists barricaded in the island villages: which provide a stereotyped image of the archipelago that is estranged from the life of the local community.

Unit A4

p.29

• Syria and Jordan are two tourist destinations with great appeal due to their extraordinary historical and archaeological heritage, which has been unveiled and made use of only in recent times. Unfortunately, the geopolitical context in which they are placed, as well as internal or international tensions involving these two countries, make the development of stable international tourism extremely difficult, it having been heavily penalised by episodes of violence and by political and military instability in this part of the Mediterranean basin.
• Jordan has promoted initiatives to protect its natural heritage and to support the development of ecotourism, creating nature reserves, training local guides and preparing tourism itineraries inspired by the discovery of the land and its inhabitants. Nature reserves and the desert of Wadi Rum are offered as destinations for naturalistic tourism, the Red Sea and Dead Sea for beach tourism and wellness, Petra and Jerash for archaeological tourism, and Bethlehem for religious tourism.
• Syria has recently embarked on the path of enhancing the territory for tourism purposes, but its internal political situation is a serious obstacle to the development of tourism. The glorious past of the beautiful cities of Palmyra, Aleppo, Damascus, and Homs is testimony to the flourishing ancient civilizations that were nurtured here, and whose ruins, temples and royal palaces, even if damaged by time, have survived up to our times. Recently, the process of restoring this heritage, and the need to provide adequate infrastructure for tourists through the construction of hotels and suitable restaurants, has been prioritised. However, the recent crack down by the authoritarian regime that rules the country has marked a halt on the road towards a revival of international tourism.

Unit A5

p.35

• The island of Hispaniola is politically divided into two states, a symbol of very different social and economic realities: in the west the Dominican Republic, for decades the main destination for Caribbean tourism; in the east the Republic of Haiti, the poorest state in the Americas, torn apart by civil strife, natural disasters, poverty, social exclusion and disease.
• In the last fifty years of the twentieth century the Dominican Republic was able to grasp the trends of international tourism, providing itself with adequate infrastructure, which initially meant mainly large hotels and luxury resorts, facilities for beach tourism, places for recreation and entertainment, and golf courses.
• With the development of tourism demand and the spread of a new attention towards the environment the country has been able to adapt its traditional offer to new trends in naturalistic tourism.
• Therefore, initiatives were developed aimed at making the most of the extraordinary wealth of biodiversity and ecosystems that have led to the establishment of 25 national parks and 14 nature reserves. The visitor is offered the guided discovery of mountains and forests, streams and waterfalls, and environments where species of rare plants and endangered animals live. From the peaks of the central mountains, with forests of conifers, cedars and walnuts, to the karst phenomena in the northern area, with underground streams and lagoons, to semi-desert landscapes with huge cacti and succulents with unusual shapes so as to withstand the heat of the Sun: the variety of environments fascinates the tourist who is no longer satisfied with the “Sun and sea” holiday.

Unit A6

p.41

• The Danakil is a region of Ethiopia in the Horn of Africa between the Red Sea and the waterfalls of the river Awash. Sparsely populated, it takes the form of a vast land depression (in some places it reaches 120m below sea level).
• Traditionally identified as the land of the Afar, a nomadic people dedicated to pastoralism, it remained for a long time excluded from exploration, gaining the reputation as a dangerous land.
• The extraordinary geography makes it a unique place in the world: here in fact three tectonic faults cross and is the perfect observation point for movements of the Earth’s crust that cause the slow but continuous divergence of the African plate from the Arabian Peninsula.
• Other wonders of the area are the rupestrian churches excavated in the twelfth century by the Coptic Christians in the city of Lalibela: eleven underground cathedrals are linked together by artificial canyons.
• The impenetrable nature of the region, the desert expanses and the perennial activity of the Erta Ale volcano, combined with the bloody reputation of the Afar population, have for a long time discouraged the development of tourism. Today, SUVs and trained guides have minimised many of the drawbacks, while its inhabitants, who understand the economic importance of tourism, have worked hard to accommodate increasing numbers of tourists.

Unit A7

p.49

• Food is a powerful tourism booster: not only because it attracts foodies and those who are curious for unknown tastes, but also because it is an extraordinary promotional tool for a country, its culture, its traditions and its people.
• Some typical cuisines, such as Indian and Chinese, belong to traditional cuisine of ancient origins and have long been renowned throughout the world. Others have recently established themselves for the atmosphere and suggestiveness that have been created around them, almost becoming a fashion, especially among young people. This is the case with Mexican cuisine, and those of North Africa and the Middle East.
• Chinese cuisine actually varies from one region to another of this immense country. That which we are all familiar comes from the Cantonese region, meat is preferred in the north, rice and fried dishes in the south, and fish, shellfish and stews (this is the home of the celebrated bird’s nest soup) along the southeast coasts. A wide variety of sauces and the abundant use of sweet-and-sour tastes characterise many dishes, almost always accompanied by tea.
• Indian cuisine is famous for being an exultation of spices: the skill actually lies in knowing how to mix them with balance and imagination. Here dishes and flavours also vary widely from region to region, from village to village. The tandoor, a clay oven in which bread and various dishes are cooked, is typical of the northern area.
• Mexican traditional cuisine descend from pre-Columbian civilizations, onto which the customs and habits of Europeans conquistadors have been grafted. From this comes the taste for ‘contaminazione’ (a fusion of tastes and culinary styles) and the abundance and variety of ingredients that characterise the most typical dishes.
• North-African and Middle-Eastern traditional cuisine is characterised by the abundant use of pulses, vegetables and lamb; all flavoured with sauces and spices. Prepared dishes such as cous cous and kebabs are now well known throughout the Western world.
• As with food, wine also has a tourism appeal: not only along the trails indicated by the wine routes, but also in all the countries where there is a lively wine tradition (such as the United States, Argentina, Chile, Australia, South Africa), where visitors can grasp the opportunity of their trip to deepen their understanding of wine production methods, food and wine combinations, and the places where the wines come from