Study and Monitoring of Itinerant Tourism along the Francigena Route, by Camera Trapping System

Tourism along the Via Francigena is a growing phenomenon. It is important to develop a direct survey of path’s users (pilgrims, tourists travel, day-trippers, etc.) able to define user’s profiles, phenomenon extent, and its evolution over time. This in order to develop possible actions to promote the socio-economic impact on rural areas concerned. With this research, we propose the creation of a monitoring network based on camera trapping system to estimate the number of tourists in a simple and expeditious way. Recently, the camera trapping, as well as the faunal field, is finding wide use even in population surveys. An innovative application field is the one in the tourist sector, becoming the basis of statistical and planning analysis. To carry out a survey of the pilgrims/tourists, we applied this type of sampling method. It is an interesting method since it allows to obtain data about type and number of users. The application of camera trapping along the Francigena allows to obtain several information about users profiles, such as sex, age, average lengths of pilgrimages, type of journey (by foot, by horseback or by bike), in a continuous time period distributed in the tourist months of the 2014

New solutions for horse shelters to connect to the equestrian paths

A rational and modern network of riding trails involves the building of specific structures for the horses according to the new needs of equestrian tourists. These shelters require appropriate technical models that today cannot be found easily in the Italian or foreign literature. Over the years this gap has led to the development of the practice “do it yourself”, following old techniques of construction, not able to meet the new demands of the market of horse tourism. This research has highlighted two different solutions that can meet the needs of tourists riding today, in accordance with the laws about the construction and the health part. These structures have been designed observing the principles of low impact, low cost, easy installation, complete reuse. Two kinds of structures have been planned. Temporary stay horse shelter: building to put in resting places of interest along the path (historic villages, monasteries, etc.), where it is possible to arrange the horses for a few hours and allow to the riders to make a careful visit of places of interest. Overnight stay horse shelter: structure to put in particular points where horses and riders can spend the night. A new type of horse barn with annexed feed storage and saddle room. The structure is dynamic, due to the possibility to change quickly the position of the horses (max 8 places)