LOCAL DEVELOPMENT AND SUSTAINABLE TOURISM

This course is part of the basic training activities of the Master's Degree Course in Intercultural Development of Tourism Systems. This module and the one taught by Prof. Stefano Soriani form a single 12 cfu course, with common objectives and teaching methods. The aim of the teaching is to transmit theoretical knowledge in order to develop the ability to analyse and interpret tourist destinations, grasping their environmental and historical-cultural potential. It also aims to illustrate how tourism can be transformed to become environmentally and socially sustainable.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1 Acquire the key notions for a critical approach to the interpretation of geographies shaped by tourism
1.2 Understand the notion of transformative/sustainable tourism through a series of concrete examples
1.2 Understand best practices that can be adopted to make tourism a sustainable practice

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding

2.1 Analyse contemporary tourism destinations
2.2 Understand the environmental and social impact of tourism
2.2 Using the key concepts and best practices of sustainable tourism
2.3 Recognise the dynamics of tourism development (past or current) and be able to identify the social, cultural and environmental issues related to them

3. Judgement skills
3.1 Assess the factors, economic, environmental and socio-cultural that contribute to the sustainability (or unsustainability) of tourism at different scales

4. Communication skills:
4.1 Explain acquired knowledge in writing in a logical, coherent and concise manner
4.2. Acquire the key terms of the concepts used in the geography of tourism of the Anglo-American international academic debate and best practices of sustainable tourism

Being able to read texts in English

Costs and benefits: the local economic landscape of tourism
Tourism sustainability and environmental change
Socio-cultural relations and experiences in tourism
Cultural constructions and invented places
Theming the urban landscape
The past is a foreign country: heritage as tourism
Consumption, identity and speciality tourism
Nature, risk and geographic exploration in tourism
Hotels as complex hubs in the tourism supply chain
Transforming travel experiences: sustainable and accessible holidays and tours
Transforming tourism into a sustainable practice.

Some chapters drawn from:
Williams, S. and Lew, A.A., 2014. Tourism geography: Critical understandings of place, space and experience. Routledge.
Smith, J., 2017. Transforming travel: Realising the potential of sustainable tourism. Cabi.

Written examination of approximately 60 minutes: 5 open questions requiring a brief but comprehensive answer. Each answer is worth 6 points.

Front lectures . Active participation in class with questions, comments, suggestions is encouraged.

Italian

All materials necessary for passing the exam (for both attending and non-attending students) are uploaded on the course's Moodle page

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development