Rural Tourism and Territorial Development in Italy

Abstract

This chapter analyses the development of rural tourism in Italy over the recent decades. Since the end of the twentieth century, also due to the crisis of industrialization and the exhaustion of the factory work model, interest in "returning to the countryside" has grown. The spreading of new social and cultural trends, more sensitive to the issues of sustainability and preservation of natural wealth, has encouraged in Italy, the country of art and the beautiful landscape, a sudden increase in new tourism initiatives that are environmental friendly and revolving around quality food and wine. The "Roads of flavours" and numerous associations of small towns have therefore been created, to enhance the Italian artistic and architectural heritage. In particular, interest in Mediterranean diet has increased, as shown by the growth in tourism linked to oil. There is no lack of compatibility problems as well as difficulties in devising new cohabitation formulas, but as this work demonstrates, after the boom of the "sun and beach" tourism of the 1960s, today a far more diversified tourist panorama has emerged, thus allowing the rural world to benefit from a renewed momentum.

Wine Tourism, Designations of Origin and Business Performance: An Analysis Applied to the Valencian Community Wine Industry

“…The use of collective brands has been one of the most widely implemented differentiation strategies in the agri-food industry in general and in the wine industry in particular [42][43][44][45]. In the Spanish case, the DOs have been widely used for the recognition of wine quality since they accredit compliance with a series of common requirements in terms of quality, geographical origin and production methods [46]. Thus, according to the latest data provided by the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA, for its acronym in Spanish), there are currently 102 DOs.…”