| Abstract: |
The crisis triggered by COVID-19 has resulted in an appreciation of proximity
tourism as a key factor for people’s well-being and for the economic
resilience of Italy’s peripheral areas. In general, the success of proximity
tourism might depend on: the relationships that tourists establish with a
plurality of stakeholders; the degree of development and accessibility of the
areas, especially when considering the tourism attractiveness of rural and
natural areas; the contribution of culturally sustainable proximity tourism to
narrow territorial and economic disparities on a local, provincial or regional
scale. Against this background, the research explores the potential of the
Province of Latina for culturally sustainable proximity tourism that considers
the metropolitan city of Rome as its place of origin. In particular, the
research answers the following questions: what are the most attractive
destinations for proximity tourism from the Metropolitan City of Rome to the
Province of Latina? What territorial factors can positively or negatively
influence local tourism attractiveness? What benefits do local communities
obtain from the development of proximity tourism from the Metropolitan City of
Rome? To elaborate an answer, a multidimensional analysis is developed
focusing on the construction and measurement of a composite index integrating
four domains: tourist attractiveness, tourist development, economic
development and territorial development. Using the data published by ISTAT at
the municipal scale, integrated with other data collected through desk
research, a score for the composite indicator is calculated for each
municipality from the measurement of a set of elementary indicators. Based on
the results obtained, policy recommendations are formulated that may
contribute to identifying the role of proximity tourism in the Province of
Latina as part of a culturally sustainable local development process. |