Exploring the Potential of Social Farmers’ Networking as a Leverage for Inclusive Tourism

Annapia Ferrara (), Concetta Ferrara, Sabrina Tomasi, Gigliola Paviotti, Giovanna Bertella and Alessio Cavicchi
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Annapia Ferrara: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto, 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Concetta Ferrara: Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, P.le Bertelli, 1, 62100 Macerata, Italy
Sabrina Tomasi: Department of Agriculture, Food and Environment, University of Pisa, Via del Borghetto, 80, 56124 Pisa, Italy
Gigliola Paviotti: Department of Education, Cultural Heritage and Tourism, University of Macerata, P.le Bertelli, 1, 62100 Macerata, Italy
Giovanna Bertella: School of Business Economics, UiT-The Arctic University of Norway, NO-9037 Tromsø, Norway

Sustainability, 2023, vol. 15, issue 7, 1-22

Abstract: Social entrepreneurship plays a key role in making tourism an inclusive activity. Literature on the topic is increasing but needs to pay more attention to collaboration, which is crucial for social enterprises. To overcome this gap, the present study focuses on the impact that social entrepreneurs’ drivers and barriers towards collaboration might have on providing decent work in rural tourism. The research considers the case of social farming, which has important implications for developing inclusive tourism. By applying the coding technique to twelve in-depth interviews with social entrepreneurs in the Marche region (Italy), the research reveals different themes and sub-themes influencing the four pillars of decent work identified by the International Labour Organization. Results show that the drivers towards collaboration positively impact new employment opportunities and social security for social entrepreneurs and the most fragile people targeted by their services. Instead, the lack of resources for social businesses and the low embeddedness are the main dimensions hindering the provision of well-being through tourism. This study provides managerial and policy implications to sustain inclusive tourism activities in social farming. It concludes with the main limitations and possible directions for future research.

Keywords: decent work; inclusive tourism; social farming; social enterprise; networking (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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