Territorial Marketing Based on Non-Wood Forest Products (NWFPs) to Enhance Sustainable Tourism in Rural Areas: A Literature Review

Abstract

It is often seen how a distinctive feature of a territory is used as a brand to create an image that attracts tourists to the region. This is so-called “territorial marketing”, and together with this brand, connected products and services, usually related to recreation, gastronomy and well-being, are offered. Non-wood forest products (NWFPs), such as mushrooms, truffles, aromatic and medicinal plants, nuts and berries, are natural products connected to local traditions that contribute to rural economies, culture and society. This becomes particularly prominent when used as elements of identity to brand specific geographical areas such as the “Chestnut Route”, the “Cranberry Valley” or the “Truffle Way”. This review aims to delve into the understanding of this link between NWFPs and sustainable tourism through territorial marketing and to discuss the different perspectives that address this field, including the methodologies used for the studies, as well as to identify the main research topics tackled in the literature, territorial marketing models and the challenges for its development. The results show the multidisciplinary nature of this field of research, addressed primarily by economists through qualitative surveys and case studies. Most authors emphasize the growing interest in territorial marketing in rural areas as well as the importance of involving the local population in the implementation process. Several studies offer a territorial marketing process model, among which stakeholders’ participation, place identity and image, as well as their interaction, are main aspects to be considered when developing this strategy. A new territorial marketing model is proposed. While it is an emergent research field, studies focused on territorial marketing based on NWFPs to attract tourism remain a research niche.

Visitor’s Motivational Framework and Wine Routes’ Contribution to Sustainable Agriculture and Tourism

“…This communication should be implemented both by wineries and institutions using traditional channels and social networks to reach potential tourists [44,67]. The study highlighted that these new segments of wine tourists/consumers are very interested in sustainability issues and share their experiences with other people [87][88][89][90][91][92][93][94][95]. Therefore, the proper use of social networks and influencers appears a very effective tool to make people living the territory [73,96].…”

Chinese urban consumers' experience and consumption behavior with edible non-wood forest products

“…The qualitative approach is beneficial for interpreting the subjective experience of individual berry pickers (Collis 2014; Rovira et al 2022). The thematic analysis was adopted, since it facilitated the identification and exploration of nuanced consumer demand embedded in the broader sociodemographic and cultural narratives.…”

The Contribution of Mycological Tourism to Well-Being, the Economy and Sustainable Development

“…Their study and usefulness to humans falls within the branch of biology called mycology [ 43 ] and the relationship between these fungi and people is found within ethnomycology [ 21 ]. Mushrooms are considered a non-timber forest product (NTFP), “products of biological origin other than wood derived from forests, other wooded land and trees outside forests” [ 38 , 43 , 44 ]. The collection of wild mushrooms is an important activity for many countries.…”

“…Mycological tourism is considered a new tourism trend [ 39 ], opening the way for a wide range of promotion and marketing. Destinations can benefit from local mushrooms and fungi and increase their tourist attractiveness [ 44 ]. The creation and consolidation of recognisable tourism brands in the harvesting areas that allow their identification will be a strategy to be carried out [ 21 ].…”