Tourism Development in Inner Mountain Areas—The Local Stakeholders’ Point of View through a Mixed Method Approach

Stefano Duglio, Alessandro Bonadonna, Marilisa Letey, Giovanni Peira, Laura Zavattaro and Giampiero Lombardi
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Stefano Duglio: Department of Management, University of Torino, 218bis, Corso Unione Sovietica, IT10134 Torino, Italy
Alessandro Bonadonna: Department of Management, University of Torino, 218bis, Corso Unione Sovietica, IT10134 Torino, Italy
Marilisa Letey: Department of Management, University of Torino, 218bis, Corso Unione Sovietica, IT10134 Torino, Italy
Giovanni Peira: Department of Management, University of Torino, 218bis, Corso Unione Sovietica, IT10134 Torino, Italy
Laura Zavattaro: Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, 2, Largo Paolo Braccini, IT10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy
Giampiero Lombardi: Department of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, University of Torino, 2, Largo Paolo Braccini, IT10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 21, 1-19

Abstract: Tourism in inner areas, especially in the mountains, is a complex phenomenon due to the different tourist’s needs and to the specific local features that vary considerably from one destination to another. Consequently, a unique tourism development strategy cannot be defined and adopted anywhere. When considering tourism-based territorial development in mountain areas, it is crucial to take the vision of local stakeholders into consideration. To drive different and/or unexpressed opinions towards shared tools, this study analyses the local stakeholder’s point of view using a mixed method consisting of a Delphi method followed by a Group Nominal Technique. The research was performed in Soana Valley, a small mountain community in the Northwestern Italian Alps. It involved 17 local stakeholders divided into three main groups—local administrators (n = 3), hospitality operators (9) and retailers (5). Results show how operators converge on three common aspects—local food product offering, territorial promotion and collaboration among operators, on which the community should focus to build a territorial integrated tourism offering.

Keywords: mountain tourism; Delphi method; sustainability; Group Nominal Technique; territorial development; local community; Alps (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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