No. 3 (2018)

The present essay shows us a philosophical and anthropological analysis of the journey, through the reading of different thinkers: two ancient ones, Homer and Plato, and two contemporaries, Nietzsche and Lévi-Strauss.
The analysis conducted leads us to elaborate - and at the same time to confirm - some anthropological assumptions regarding the theme of travel. Journey represents a fundamental moment in the life of man as it satisfies the need - to his nature - to go beyond the limit of the known world, and to explore new lands. For this reason tourism is essential to allow the individual to respond to the need to travel, and it allows also to do it in a safe way.

The effectiveness of a Governance Model of Local Tourism Systems is strongly linked to the setting of appropriate organization processes regulating the active participation of private and public stakeholders in all phases of the strategic development process. The present work highlights the importance of collective participation for the realization of local development in harmony with the needs of all stakeholders. In particular, the general content of the integrated project is declined and a hypothesis of tourism development not necessarily linked to a specific territory is examined: the Tourist Metadistrict. The management model for the implementation of integrated tourism development actions is then identified; it is represented by a Municipal Office established ex art. 30 of Legislative Decree 267/2000 or by another Body with the necessary professional skills to coordinate the actions foreseen by the project, possibly integrated also with the contribution of the private subjects that make up the Partnership.

Pending the definition of the regulatory path aimed at delineating its characteristics, limits and opportunities, enotourism is one of the most interesting phenomena of the Italian tourism scene. With over 14 million annual visits, including excursions and overnight stays, and an annual turnover of about 2.5 billion euro, enotourism is a great opportunity for the holiday industry of the Belpaese, known in the world for good eating and good drinking. The Made in Italy food and wine is a business card that can give our country an unparalleled competitive advantage compared to the most direct competitors as well as the increasingly fierce new destinations that, in recent decades, have gnawed significant market shares.

Wine in tourism has gained importance in recent years. From being just an inconsequential holiday necessity, it has become a distinct sector in tourism as well as a motivator to travel. Thus, studying travellers’ attitudes towards wine experiences has a practical importance to the tourism industry, especially in Italy, where wine production has always represented an attraction itself. This paper aims at gaining a deeper understanding of the role of wine and wine experiences in Italian travellers’ decisions by extending culinary theory. For the purpose of the paper, a Computer-Assisted Web Interview survey on a representative sample of 1,001 Italian travellers was carried out. Findings shows that wine experiences such as wine events and visits to wineries appeal to all tourists, but often in combination with other food activities. This means that Italian travellers seek not only one type of experiences, but a wide variety of. Additionally, wine and food offering tend to influence also travellers’ decision before the departure, not just in site. When choosing the destination, they are concerned with the quality of local wine and food products and sustainability of the offerings.

Religious tourism is one of the first forms of tourism. It can take very different forms, ranging from pilgrimage, to walking, to religious gatherings, to simply visiting places of worship. Religious tourism emphasizes that religious motivation is the fundamental element for this form of tourism. In the modern sense, religious tourism raises various problems from a social, organizational, economic and environmental point of view, not only for destination, but also for tourist demand. As other forms of tourism, it should be evaluated in a profile closely linked to environmental, social sustainability, without neglecting the economic one. The objective of this article is to give a sustainable connotation to religious tourism, observing this form of tourism from a modern perspective, with the themes and challenges that bind it to modern tourism. Another important topic raised by the text concerns professionalism and training, in particular with regard to not only tourist-architectural and historical skills, but also from the point of view of religious and spiritual accompaniment necessary during this type of tourist experience.