Tourism-Based Circular Economy in Salento (South Italy): A SWOT-ANP Analysis

Abstract

This paper is aimed at eliciting, by means of a multi-level perspective, potential drivers and barriers of the tourism industry in order to generate valuable information for policy makers to improve policy strategies for an effective transition towards sustainability. A Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats–Analytic Network Process (SWOT-ANP) framework was employed to explore the potential development of a second-generation biorefinery in Salento (a touristic area located in the southeast of Italy in Apulia Region) able to integrate waste management, renewable energy and bio-products production based on resource circularity in the tourism industry. Results indicate that survey participants recognized a higher level of priority for the pressures coming from the overall external setting involving values, dominant practices, rules and technologies (landscape and regime) over the internal tourism industry dynamics (niche). Results also show that the top five ranked factors are mainly pertaining to weaknesses (excessive bureaucracy and lack of technology and infrastructure) and threats (social acceptability and lack of long-term planning by governments), which can concretely jeopardize the transition towards a greater sustainability in the investigated area. The analysis presented constitutes a valuable model for agenda setting in order to find adequate policy actions to promote the transition.

Status of Waste Management in the East African Cities: Understanding the Drivers of Waste Generation, Collection and Disposal and Their Impacts on Kampala City’s Sustainability

“…Circular economy has an objective of maximizing the value got out of products at each point of their lives as opposed to conventional waste management, which is aimed at minimizing the costs of collection and disposal [16]. In so doing, circular economies turn goods that are at the end of their service lives into resources and thereby minimizing waste [17,18]. As such, it prevents the loss of items that still have value as well as reduces the need and cost of manufacturing new products while reducing waste.…”

“…Additionally, both concepts highlight the importance of adequately incorporating environmental and social aspects within economic progress. The concept of circular economy is gaining increasing importance in solving several sustainability issues [15][16][17] and the development of circular economies has great potential in improving waste management [18] and actually enhancing the move towards sustainability. However, the potential of circular economy in improving management of MSW is unrealized in the East African Community (EAC) and therefore needs more attention in the pursuit for sustainability.…”

Relationships between Renewable Energy Consumption, Social Factors, and Health: A Panel Vector Auto Regression Analysis of a Cluster of 12 EU Countries

“…To this extent, government policies must urgently implement sustainable transportation, waste management strategies [4][5][6][7][8][9], sustainable tourism [10,11], and develop low-carbon economies [8].…”

Methodology for Carbon Footprint Calculation Towards Sustainable Innovation in Intangible Assets

“…Transition towards sustainability with a circular perspective will require a joint effort by all concerned parties, and dialogue among involved stakeholders should be enhanced. This transformation based on circulatory principles should also lead to changes in people's consumption behavior and waste management [4]. Likewise, collaboration among heterogeneous actors (e.g., informal collaborations, strategic alliances, joint ventures, partnerships, R&D consortia, associations, clusters, and networks) facilitates knowledge diffusion and learning to be applied in cross-cutting issues, such as the management of climate change [5].…”