FACTORS OF DEVELOPMENT OF COMPETITIVENESS: THE CASE OF ORGANIC-AGRITOURISM

Many farmers, in addition to normal farming activities, have already turned to agritourism as a source of additional farm income and opportunities. There are numerous benefits to be gained from the development of agritourism: it may strengthen local economy, create job opportunities and develop and promote training and certification programs to introduce young people to agriculture and the environment. Agritourism helps preserve rural lifestyles and landscape and offers the opportunity to provide "sustainable" tourism. Organic agriculture is due to demand for healthy foods with a high quality standard and limited use of chemical substances. Organic agriculture is closely connected to agritourism and tourism. The purpose of this paper is to identify and examine those factors that have helped rural communities to successfully develop agritourism, in particular organic-agritourism, and to discuss its entrepreneurship opportunities. Several focus groups were conducted with local business people and leaders regarding an applicative case of Southern Italy.agritourism, organic agriculture, competitiveness, Agribusiness, Community/Rural/Urban Development,

Heritage and wine as tourist attractions in rural areas

In recent times, the search for a new relationship with nature, of quality and safety of foodstuffs and in particular the need for “identity”, of characterizing places as bearers of values and traditions have led an increasing number of people to see rural areas as places of values, resources, culture and products to discover and enjoy. Agriculture has taken on a multifunctional role and link with tourism is required to protect and exploit its “historical” resources (heritage) as a tool of interconnection between local products, countryside, traditions, cultural values but also to place emphasis of the territory and communicate it. The aim of paper is the role assumed today by firms regarding both the primary activity and other services, in particular those that express and support rural tourism. The objective is to assess the relationship between the company image, the entrepreneurial behavior built according to values, “typical” signs, historical resources of the rural world and the spin-offs on the territory. The research will be carried out by making specific reference to Calabria, a representative region of the Mediterranean area. Here, case-studies will be considered in sample areas where tourism and agriculture are integrated, with specific reference to vineyards and wine-making firms, is part of specific rural development strategies and initiatives. Therefore, we intend to highlight the important role of heritage and heritage marketing in order to privilege the competitive advantage that it can have for the company. The finding suggest the utility for rural tourism development: the heritage, which is often well preserved in rural areas is a valuable resource to integrate with management providing useful help as a vehicle for economic benefits also for a territory.heritage marketing, wine tourism, case study, Agribusiness, Agricultural and Food Policy, Community/Rural/Urban Development, Food Consumption/Nutrition/Food Safety, Labor and Human Capital,

ICT and Typical Products: An Analysis of Italian Farms

The paper discusses the final results of research into the use and impact of ICT on a sample of firms in the Calabria region of southern Italy processing typical food products (salami, citrus fruits, oil, cheese) certified as PDO or PGI. The specific sample was chosen for two reasons: on the one hand to assess the compatibility of ICT in firms where production follows historic and territorial traditions, and on the other to test the hypothesis that the use of ICT in firms processing food products of certified quality should ideally present a greater, more significant impact. The results let us know some characteristics concerning with the introduction and usage of new technology in the examined farms.computer use, typical Italian products, intensity of innovation, agricultural software use, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies, Q12, Q16, O33,

A view on culinary tourism - case study of Catania, Italy

Travel to culinary destination has surged in the past few decades. Culinary tourism is increasingly important for world travelers, and Italy is at the top in Europe owing to many aspects related to an experiential type of tourism that people really like. The paper aims to give insight especially into the relevance of Italian food. It also presents the case study of the city Catania, Sicily. Sicily is one of the most important Italian regions due to its landscape, nature and beauty, and is characterized by quality and richness in local cuisine. Culinary tourism is an opportunity to revive and diversify tourism, promote local economic development, develop new uses of materials in the primary sector and to strengthen the image of Italian food. Results include the identification of key aspects relevant to tourists who set out on a culinary tour, because the gastronomic heritage of the Sicily is recognized as a valuable tourist product and an opportunity to discover the diversity of local and regional culture

Authentic and Fake Italian Food Products in the World

Counterfeiting is a growing and increasingly dangerous phenomenon. There has recently been an enormous growth in the illegal market for designer goods with a 'name' or trademark (counterfeit goods), as well as goods made without paying for the intellectual property rights (pirated goods). Quite apart from having economic consequences, counterfeited and pirated articles threaten the health and safety of EU citizens, their jobs, Community competitiveness, trade, and investment in research and innovation. The agrofood italian production , famous all over the world for their qualitative characteristics, it reenters among the products that are imitated. The imitation of such products certainly risks to damage the Italian productions, above all in comparison to the parameters of the quality and the food safety, both instruments of marketing used by the Italian producers in the international markets. The purpose of the paper is develop a collective understanding of the extent of the food (agro-food) counterfeit problem. The carrying out of the study foresees, initially, to consider the volumes of counterfeit commodities to world level and the politics harvest in action from the various countries to oppose this phenomenon. Subsequently the agrofood productions will be analyzed, and particularly those Italian, object of imitation trying to quantify their characteristcs and to measure its effects on the economic systems.counterfeit, Italian food production, Agribusiness,

Places and Religious Bands: Explorations in spiritual tourism

The musical aspect of religious tourism is currently amongst the less investigated themes. A first survey suggests that although it does not appear to be the main motivation for religious travel, it is a valued component of the experience. The aim of this study is to explore how sounds operate to forge social and spiritual identifications on the principles of Lefebvre’s rhythm analysis (2004). This paper contributes to the emerging field of experiential tourism research by confirming that religious experiences are not only interior but also involve sensory experiences. It follows that tourists’ sensory experiences should be a key component of any comprehensive tourist satisfaction assessment. In an empirical case study in cities of Southern Italy we explored the phenomenon of religious bands. This is part of an ongoing study that employs music, religion and tourism as a platform, situating music as a basis for advocating engagement with spirituality and religion tourism

Fearless Women Travellers: Religion and More

The term ‘pilgrim’ is derived from the notion of pilgrimage. Historically a pilgrim was as a person who walked to a shrine or holy place out of religious motivation. Also, the experience of pilgrimage embodies the pilgrim’s desire to seek or manifest his or her identity and value as a person. Using gender as a lens, women in all cultures, sometimes even without the ability to read or write, have found ways to travel in spiritual ways of knowing. The testimonies of women travellers go back a long way in the centuries; there are many who have challenged the risks and social conventions of their times to satisfy their most disparate needs for knowledge and experience. The oldest surviving female testimony comes from the traveller Egeria who in the 4th century set out from Galicia to the Mediterranean to reach the Holy Land, using the Bible as a guide. Later, in the late ninth century, Gudrid Thorbjarnardottir travelled from Iceland to multiple destinations including Rome on a pilgrimage. Often, however, the religious motivation of women travellers was also a search for their own interiority as in the case of Alexandra David-Néel (1868–1969). The article discusses women’s lives as a religious traveller to explain that the choice of travel destination can be seen as a manifestation of spiritual awareness of the notion of life’s journey (religious or not) and can be a means of expressing one’s personal or social identity, or a search for or reaffirmation of one’s identity

Saint Nicola’s Feast in Bari: Before and After COVID-19. A Short Reflection

This research note has three primary goals. First, it seeks to analyse the field of religious tourism in terms of the impact of the health emergency caused by Covid-19. Second, it offers knowledge of religious tourism in Bari with its San Nicola patron feast that reflects key areas of academic insight into the religion–tourism nexus. Third, it synthesises perceptions of devotees, locals, tourism professionals and spiritual guides using the method of photography as a research technique. As a result of this reflection, the paper will show that faith and the inner experiences of the pilgrims will remain while religious tourism will change post Covid-19

From Food to Religion: Two Case Studies in the South of Italy

This research aims to understand the connection between food and religious events and how they have become a focus of new tourist routes in the ‘year of the restart’, a time period marked by the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. The combination of religion and food seems to be successful in attracting tourists in the new scenarios created by the pandemic. The research aims to examine the potential for combining religious tourism with local food to enhance the attractiveness and competitiveness of destinations, using two case studies from Saint Aghata in Catania and Saint Nicholas in Bari, Italy. The findings of the study suggest that food is an important aspect of religious events, it plays a role in the expression of cultural identity, and the support of local economies. This study adds to the existing literature on food and religious events, and it offers insights into the complex relationship between food, faith, and tourism

Globalization vs. Local. The Role of Street Food in the Urban Food System

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