Abstract
The study describes the planning strategy for a tourist itinerary in rural areas located in South-Eastern Sicily which aimed at promoting cultural rural heritage and diversifying the tourist offer. The planning of the tourist itinerary occurred within an appropriate heritage interpretation strategy as a working method which could facilitate the understanding and social use of the heritage sites located along the itinerary. The tourist itinerary combined significant territory potential such as traditional rural buildings and enogastronomy. It included a starting point; which is a heritage site and an already well known “tourist attraction”, and several other tourist resources selected on the basis of the information derived from the analysis of the profile of the average visitor to the area. An interpretation center, which was located at the heritage site, and several interpretation media placed at each stopping point included in the itinerary supported the tourists during their trip. By promoting traditional rural buildings and enogastronomy, the tourist itinerary represents a significant opportunity for rural diversification and, therefore, can contribute to achieving sustainable socio-economic development of rural areas.
Highlights
The tourism sector promises to generate employment, improve infrastructure for the community, help to restore vitality to weak rural economies, increase the profitability of the most underdeveloped regions, improve the standard of living of the local population and encourage citizens to protect and enhance natural and cultural assets [1,2].In particular, the development of rural tourism offers multiple solutions to problems facing rural areas by creating new jobs and multi-activities that can result in an increase in income
The overall objective of the present study is to propose a heritage interpretation-based itinerary (HII) able to influence tourists who visit a famous rural heritage site, to extend their stay in the related neighbouring rural area and, as a consequence, consume tourist products
The Castle is located about 20 km from Ragusa city and a little farther from Ibla, the old city which was built on the ancient urban centers of Ragusa and attracts millions of visitors from around the world as a sublime example of Sicilian Baroque; less than 15 km from the coast of Ragusa; about 10 km from Kamarina Museum; about 10 km from a farm associated with the wine road “Cerasuolo di Vittoria dal Barocco al Liberty”; about 15 km from a farm in the Irminio valley, associated with the consortium “Monti Iblei” which was established for the protection of extra virgin olive oil
Summary
The tourism sector promises to generate employment, improve infrastructure for the community, help to restore vitality to weak rural economies, increase the profitability of the most underdeveloped regions, improve the standard of living of the local population and encourage citizens to protect and enhance natural and cultural assets [1,2].In particular, the development of rural tourism offers multiple solutions to problems facing rural areas by creating new jobs and multi-activities that can result in an increase in income. The tourism sector promises to generate employment, improve infrastructure for the community, help to restore vitality to weak rural economies, increase the profitability of the most underdeveloped regions, improve the standard of living of the local population and encourage citizens to protect and enhance natural and cultural assets [1,2]. From the point of view of environmental protection, rural tourism can contribute to improving the quality of the natural habitat, built environment and infrastructure. According to Meyer [1], tourist itineraries are seen as good opportunities for the development of tourism in marginal areas that possess natural or cultural resources and can be defined and associated to each other by the presence of local products whose quality and reputation are essentially due to natural factors and human traditions of the geographical environment of origin [5]. Some studies on planning itineraries in different environmental fields are carried out with particular attention to the overall strategies of economic planning and to the involvement of stakeholders [6]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
