AIMS AND LEARNING OUTCOMES

At the end of the course the student will be able to:

• summarise the basic elements of the contemporary tourism phenomenon;
• understand the territorial dynamics that generate the tourist offer;
• understand the motivations that encourage tourists to travel;
• analysing the development processes of the various forms of tourism;
• analyse the ways in which tourism is organised and developed in different regions of the planet, with particular reference to the Italian context;
• analyse some aspects related to the communication strategies implemented by tourist resorts to promote their heritage;
• identify the factors that determine the impact of tourism on the environment, the landscape and on social, economic and territorial processes.

TEACHING METHODS

The teaching will be organised alternating between frontal and participative teaching.
Frontal teaching will be aimed at identifying and understanding basic knowledge; participatory teaching will be based on problem-based strategies aimed at stimulating the ability to analyse some problems related to contemporary tourism.

The materials used during the lessons will be uploaded in the Web classroom together with other materials (reports, links to databases, etc.) aimed at clarifying the quantitative aspects of the phenomena studied.

For students with DSA certifications or specific disabilities, compensatory or dispensatory measures are ensured, while taking care of the acquisition of the skills and knowledge required for teaching.

In case it should not be possible to hold the lessons in person for health reasons, they will be delivered remotely using the University's TEAMS and/or AulaWeb platforms.

SYLLABUS/CONTENT

The module will cover the following topics

• outlines of the history of tourism: from the Grand Tour to the present day;
• the figures of contemporary tourism: arrivals, presences, flows and catchment areas;
• tourism and economic geography: supply and demand, movement and transport, employment;
• tourists and tourism in the contemporary world: types of tourism, tourist motivations, the figure of the new tourist; 
• tourism and experience: the authenticity of tourist places;
• the impacts of tourism: the space visited and the space consumed; the measurement of impacts; the protection of natural heritage and its tourist promotion;
• tourism and geographical storytelling: communication of tourist locations, narratives of places, images as tools for promoting the landscape.

RECOMMENDED READING/BIBLIOGRAPHY

For attending students:

- Teaching material (scientific articles, videos and slides) uploaded by the lecturer on AulaWeb.
- Critical reading of a text to be chosen from:

• Rabbiosi C. (2018), Il territorio messo in scena: turismo, consumi, luoghi, Mimesis, Milano-Udine.
• Zanolin G. (2022), Geografia dei parchi nazionali italiani, Carocci, Roma.

- To support the lectures, we recommend reading the following text (optional):

• Gavinelli D., Zanolin G. (2019), Geografia del Turismo Contemporaneo. Pratiche, narrazioni, luoghi, Carocci, Roma.

For NON-attending students:

- In-depth study of one of the following texts: 

• Bagnoli L. (2018), Manuale di geografia del turismo, Utet, Torino-Novara.
• dell'Agnese E. (2018), Bon voyage. Per una geografia critica del turismo, Utet, Novara.
• Gavinelli D., Zanolin G. (2019), Geografia del Turismo Contemporaneo. Pratiche, narrazioni, luoghi, Carocci, Roma.

- Critical reading of two texts to be chosen from:

• Albanese V. (2020), Place, cyberplace e le nuove geografie della comunicazione. Come cambiano i territori per effetto delle narrazioni online, Bononia University Press, Bologna.
• Del Bò C. (2017), Etica del turismo. Responsabilità, sostenibilità, equità, Carocci, Roma.
• Rabbiosi C. (2018), Il territorio messo in scena: turismo, consumi, luoghi, Mimesis, Milano-Udine.
• Zanolin G. (2022), Geografia dei parchi nazionali italiani, Carocci, Roma.

Students with DSA certification or specific disabilities are invited to contact the lecturer before the exam.