Agritourism and Sustainability: What We Can Learn from a Systematic Literature Review

Salvatore Ammirato,Antonio Violi,Bruno Antonio Pansera,Cinzia Raso,Alberto Michele Felicetti

doi:10.3390/su12229575

Abstract

Scholars from different perspectives agree that agritourism can be the right tool to balance the needs of tourists with those of rural communities, offering real opportunities for economic and social development, while mitigating undesirable impacts on the environment. This paper aims to provide a holistic outlook of the different perspectives under which scientific literature deals with the topic of agritourism as a means to support the sustainable development of rural areas. To reach this aim, we performed a systematic review of the scientific literature in order to point out the linkages between agritourism and sustainability. We analyzed papers through a text mining solution based on the Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA) technique to point out the main topics around which the scientific literature on agritourism and sustainability has grown. Topics are further categorized in themes by means of an agglomerative hierarchical clustering procedure. Results are further analyzed to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the current streams of the literature.

Highlights

Since the second half of the last century, a series of social, economic, and environmental changes have considerably altered the planetary balances, generating events such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biological diversity [1]
This work aims to provide a holistic outlook of the different perspectives under which scientific literature deals with the topic of agritourism as a means to support the sustainable development of rural areas
We provided a holistic outlook of the different perspectives under which scholars deal with the joint topics of agritourism and sustainability

Summary

Introduction

Since the second half of the last century, a series of social, economic, and environmental changes have considerably altered the planetary balances, generating events such as climate change, pollution, and loss of biological diversity [1]. A “new trajectory for development” is emerging, highlighting from the one side, the limits, and contradictions of the traditional development paradigm, from the other side, the need to transition to sustainable development strategies able to balance economic growth with cultural and natural resource conservation [4]. Fundamentals of such strategies are the three pillars of sustainability (economic, social, and environmental), which are best known as the Triple Bottom Line (TBL) [5]. Building on the principle of “leaving no one behind”, in September 2015, the General Assembly of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development that includes 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) emphasizing a holistic approach to achieving sustainable development for all [6]

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