The participatory process of community tourism in Oscata for the enhancement of Alta Irpinia. - Tourism is one of the most disruptive phenomena on a global scale, both as concerns intensity in terms of the flows of people it moves and for the economic, social and environmental transformations it brings. The exploitation of territorial resources and the effects tourism produces can at times result irreversible on the environmental system of reference. This element has often been underestimated by the tourism industry remaining unable to prevent the negative consequences of mass tourism which, on the one hand, damages resources and, on the other, corrodes the socio-territorial fabric. Consequently, a rethinking of the processes of development in the sector is necessary from the perspective of sustainability through local community participation.
The paper, based on the experience of Oscata, a rural village situated in Alta Irpinia, aims to reflect on alternative forms of tourism such as community tourism which welcomes visitors offering them hospitality underpinned by emotional and culturally interesting involvement thus triggering integration and participation in the local community's routine activities and mainstream social events.

Climate Crisis and Tourism in the Maira and Vermenagna Valleys (Piedmont Alps). – This study examines the transformations driven by climate change in the alpine context, focussing on the Maira and Vermenagna Valleys in the Piedmont Alps, two areas marked by environmental vulnerability and significant exposure to ongoing climatic and socio-economic pressures. The research explores how rising temperatures and decreasing snowfall are significantly reshaping the local tourism supply, requiring a reorganisation of the sector.
Combining in-depth interviews with local stakeholders and quantitative analysis of tourism and climate data, the study reveals a growing awareness of the phenomenon and its socioeconomic impacts. The climate crisis has exposed the unsustainability of traditional ski-based tourism, prompting a shift toward more resilient models such as experiential, outdoor, and cul-tural tourism.
While the Maira Valley shows greater adaptability thanks to an already di-versified offer, the Vermenagna Valley, historically reliant on alpine skiing, struggles to transition. The findings highlight the urgent need for locally coordinated strategies that integrate sustainability, cultural identity, and innovation.

The new opportunities offered by immersive and inclusive technologies to represent and rediscover the complex relationship between human communities and water resources. – In order to know, represent and interpret the complex relationship between water landscapes and human communities the new technologies (immersive cartography, three-dimensional web, augmented reality, 3D environments) represent extraordinary and functional tools both for research and for territorial information and promotion actions in terms of tourism. Evidence of this is the project “Tourist Itineraries to Discover the Waters of Italy”, conceived and promoted by the GECOAGRI LANDITALY Interuniversity Research Group Association and financed by ACEA, aimed at promoting a process of water resource enhancement in the dimension of environmental, economic and social sustainability. The authors through some exemplifications and using a methodology of operational analysis, characterized by new syntaxes, reconstruct with the help of augmented reality and immersive technologies, as well as the canonical geocartographic and documentary sources, the material and immaterial dimension of the water resource in the Conca reatina, Umbilicus Italiae, where the sociocultural dynamics underlying the relationship between water and population, narrate experiences of vulnerability and development, participation and conflict, protection and threat. Through 10 ten interactive and implementable totem-stations, it is possible to embark on an inclusive and participatory journey that allows people to explore even inaccessible places. Not only video and audio, historical and thematic cartographies, photos and three-dimensional images, but also drone shots from which to observe from above what nature and culture have achieved and, if necessary, to land in particular places reconstructed through augmented reality that allows one to observe them as they were and as they are today, making clear the processes of transformation of which signs and sedimentations remain in the landscape palimpsest.

Comparative Experiences of Equestrian Sports Events in the Metropolitan Area of Rome. – Sports events offer an opportunity for regeneration, visibility, and international repositioning for the hosting territories as they can lead to the creation of cultural districts, displaying the territory’s self-representation and specialization. While these events require significant organizational and financial commitments, they also present strategic opportunities with various effects, such as economic diversification and cultural enrichment. This study examines the territorial impacts of two equestrian sports events in the Rome metropolitan area: the 2022 World Equestrian Games and the Piazza di Siena horse show. Despite
performing the same sport discipline, these events have different economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as varying dynamics related to managing territorial conflicts. The reflection aims to analyse how to reconcile the goals of tourism-economic development and environmental protection in areas with significant natural value, by identifying programmatic actions and best practices.

Territorial management and promotion of the tourism offer: a study on the city of Benevento. – This paper explores tourism management in the Sannio region, focusing on Benevento. It highlights the importance of integrating the region’s natural, cultural, and gastronomic resources into a cohesive tourism offer. Through surveys and interviews with visitors, the study identifies key strengths, such as the region’s unique identity and attractions, but also highlights challenges like limited accessibility and inadequate infrastructure. Wellness, nature-based, and cultural tourism are identified as high-potential growth segments. The paper recommends strategic, integrated management, including infrastructure improvements, targeted marketing, and collaborative governance to enhance tourism developTerritorial management, Proximity tourism, Tourism, Territo-rial competitivenessment and competitiveness.

Urban green spaces as proximity tourism destinations: the potential of the Maredolce - La Favara complex between care practices and heritage enhancement. – Proximity tourism allows residents to experience familiar places in new ways and to perceive otherness in an elsewhere that does not imply distance. In urban settings, green spaces offer an evocative appeal that can be emphasized when combined with interest in the presence of heritage emergencies. Therefore, it is possible to reflect on the potential of green areas in urban settings and the implications for tourism and sustainability challenges. Green spaces in cities generate crucial connections that strengthen communities while contributing to local development. This article aims to analyze the role of heritage communities in the care and enhancement of urban green spaces as destinations with the aim of promoting critical tools useful for more equitable and sustainable planning of green space enhancement strategies for tourism. This research explores the case of the Maredolce - La Favara complex (Palermo) with a qualitative methodology that included participant observation and field survey. The green space is subject to processes of care put in place for decades by a group of inhabitants who work for the enhancement and involvement of the area in the representation and governance policies of the city. The processes and dynamics related to the context under study are analyzed to highlight how heritage walks, as effective practices of proximity tourism, can contribute to sustainable urban development that enhances local in-stances of signification and affective belonging to places.

Indici climatici e turismo di prossimità invernale nell’ambiente montano: una revisione della letteratura. – Come ben noto, il turismo di prossimità guadagna terreno come trend emergente nell’era post-pandemica, con un numero crescente di persone che scelgono destinazioni a breve distanza dalle aree urbane. In questa dinamica, le zone montane e alpine diventano luoghi privilegiati per coloro che cercano un rifugio dalla città, spingendo gli addetti ai lavori a valutare con attenzione l’impatto di tali flussi sul tessuto economico e ambientale locale.
Al contempo, il cambiamento climatico presenta nuove sfide per il turismo montano, in particolare quello invernale, influenzando negativamente l’af-fidabilità delle stagioni e la disponibilità delle risorse naturali. Queste mu-tazioni richiedono una risposta strategica da parte delle destinazioni mon-tane, che devono riconsiderare e adattare le proprie offerte turistiche alle nuove condizioni climatiche.
Risalta, in questo contesto, l’importanza di strumenti di misurazione come l’Holiday Climate Index (HCI) e il Climate Index for Tourism (CIT) uti-lizzati per valutare la propensione climatica al turismo di una certa località. Questi indici tengono conto di variabili quali temperatura, precipitazioni e vento per determinare la periodicità ideale delle visite turistiche, orien-tando di conseguenza i flussi di prossimità.
È altresì noto come per i ricercatori, i tecnici ed i “policy-makers”, che si occupano della resilienza delle destinazioni montane nel nuovo scenario climatico globale, sia essenziale un rigoroso inquadramento bibliografico.
Questo articolo intende, quindi, catalizzare l’attenzione dei climatologi e degli esperti di turismo sostenibile sulle necessità di una rassegna della let-teratura che sia quanto più accurata e approfondita e che indaghi l’interconnessione tra clima, indici di prossimità turistica e strategie future per l’economia montana. Si pone l’obiettivo di offrire una fotografia chiara degli strumenti disponibili, dei casi di studio rilevanti e delle opportunità che attendono il settore nel breve e medio periodo. Questa ricerca eviden-zierà, infine, le principali aree di ricerca da sviluppare, gettando le basi per
politiche turistiche lungimiranti che assecondino l’evoluzione delle neces-sità turistiche e la tutela degli ecosistemi montani.

Transhumance in Cilento region: between resistance and new social practices. – The article discusses the significance of transhumance beyond its traditional territories, exploring new social and residential models due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Transhumance practices offer opportunities to rethink territorial centrality, but tourism could lead to both potential and risks of commodification. The Cilento region serves as a case study, where trans-humance has historical roots, but tourism has reshaped the economy. Initiatives to revitalize transhumance and its symbolism are emerging. The study reflects on their role in promoting social values, yet cautions about their complex relationship with tourism in the long run.

Local community involvement, sustainability and tourism. – In contemporary societies a central aspect of observation is that of marginality, which characterizes various social groups. The topic thus occupies a prominent role within economic, social and geographic research and continues to be the subject of constant investigations aimed at exploring its various connotations.
The majority of the EU population has chosen to live in urban areas, and from this urbanization come effects that extend beyond city boundaries, such as on tourism.
The contribution therefore aims to offer reflection on a best practice, that of the city of Nantes, in which the participation of the local community in the benefits derived from tourism offers an example of a number of elements of project management, such as the construction of the network of local actors, governance of the territory, product creation, and marketing, which assume strategic relevance for the success of a tourism offer, from which citizens are co-participants.

Thermal and SPA tourism in Italy: evolution, impacts and future perspectives. – Thermalism is a complex and articulated sector that in Italy over the years has changed its positioning. This study aims to identify the SPA tourism evolution and its contribution to the development of local economies, as well as how it can generates and increase a value proposition for the local sys-tems in the post pandemic. The data confirm the assumption of the importance of the SPA tourism in the sustainable development of the local economies that have specific resources. Furthermore, this contribution aims to state the objectives, which need to be achieved to reinvest, and regenerate territories devoted to SPA tourism in order to benefit from the possibility of reconstructing new models as a unique opportunity offered by the pandemic for this tourism sector, which represents an important resource in social and economic terms.

For a model of governance of Cultural Routes: Territorial Business Systems. The case study of the Via Francigena between Monti Prenestini ed Ernici. – Cultural routes and way are gradually assuming a leading role in territorial planning policies because on the one hand they are capable of responding to the criteria of environmental, social and economic sustainability and, on the other, of favoring an expansion of the tourist offer with a strong connotation identity. The study aims to support the hypothesis that a geographical approach by aggregates can represent the indispensable premise for the development of a governance model which, through the itinerary and the way, guarantees the implementation of actions aimed at enhancing and managing extended coherent territorial areas.

Covid-19 and Tourism. Sardinia: opportunities and tourist development perspectives. – The global emergency due to the spread of Covid-19 has resulted in restrictive measures for the movement of goods and people and in the stop of large production sectors, including tourism. The crisis that has affected the tourism industry worldwide also has negative consequences in regions such as Sardinia, already suffering from structural problems, among which there are seasonality and the prevailing incidence of the seaside model. In the Italian regional scenario, the island is among the least affected by the spread of the virus and, in view of a remodeling of its offer system starting from the implementation of organizational and governance structures and the strengthening of other identity tourism products capable of integrating different territories and sectors, could exploit this element to reposition itself as a smart and safe destination.

Tourism Load Capacity as a Planning Tool in an Initiative of Rural Community Tourism. The Case of La Posada Rural La Amistad, Isla De Chira, Gulf of Nicoya, Costa Rica. – In Costa Rica, tourism is one of the first economic activities. At national level many tourism initiatives have emerged and specifically rural community tourism. As a way to strengthen the tourism offer, these initiatives must adopt several planning measures to control the effects derived from visitation, such as studies of tourism load capacity (CCT). La Posada Rural la Amistad, located on Isla de Chira in the Gulf of Nicoya, is one of those initiatives, managed by the community organization “Las Damas de Chira”. It offers accommodation, food and a protected area with a variety of attractions with tourism potential. To take advantage of this potential and in accordance with the Tourism Sustainability Standard of the Costa Rican Institute of Tourism (ICT), the organization, with the support of academics from the Tourism Studies Program of the National University, has applied different planning tools, including CCT studies, which refer to the maximum number of people who can visit a space at the same time, without physical and socioeconomic impacts. For this purpose it was necessary to take into account the basic tools to assess and control the effects derived from visitation to the protected area of the inn and strengthen tourism activity in terms of quality and sustainability. This article presents the methodology, results and analysis of the implementation of the CCT study in this protected area, applying the methodology proposed by Dr. Miguel Cifuentes in 1999.

The Segmentation of Tourist Demand in Museum: The Case Study of the Museum of San Gennaro’s Treasure – This Article, in its first part, analyzes the tourist demand of the cultural heritage, preparing an overview of the most visited museums than less by tourism.

From this initial confrontation, the article runs through the elaboration of the reasons for which the most visited museums are always among the best known in the world, while lesser known ones have difficulties in attracting visitors. For this purpose, it describes the case study of the Museum of the San Gennaro’s Treasure, which although it has still a small number of visitors compared to major international museums, has had a significant growth in visitors in recent years. It shows, therefore, that only when the differentiated preferences of tourists encounter a tourist offer that meets their needs, cultural heritage can be fully tapped thanks largely to the role of the local population, which is the strategic instrument for sustainable exploitation of cultural heritage. In the last part, the article outlines the new possibilities for management of cultural heritage in order to the needs of both tourists and local community, thanks to an unconventional interpretation of the relationship between cultural heritage and types of tourists, referring to some influential variables on consumer buying behavior.