Adriano Ciani

Evaluation of Agritourism Activity in Italy: Facility Based or Local Culture Based?

This paper identifies which diversified activities influence the price level of agritourism and how they do so. A hypothesis that contrasts two types of activity (facility based and local culture based) is examined. First, from a conceptual perspective, the authors note that agritourism based on local cultural resources can internalize positive externalities, which are uniquely nurtured local cultural resources, into income – unlike facility based activity that has no connection with local cultural resources. Second, the results of estimations from a price determinant ordered logit model demonstrate that owning a swimming pool is the most common and influential factor in enhancing the price level, while regional diversity is observed in local cultural resource based activities such as restaurants, World Heritage Sites and DOC wines. These findings indicate that hardware based evolution is more effective in the short term than evolution based on software. Nevertheless, this hardware based evolution of agritourism is founded implicitly on an assumption of continuously growing demand and sufficient financial capability for the fixed investment. When growth in demand becomes stagnant, facility installation can be a heavy burden on operators. Consequently, for the sustainable development of agritourism, it will be necessary to harness the locality so as to create a balance between facility based services and local culture based services.

The demand trend of Italian agritourism

The demand side for agritourism in Italy has not been fully investigated despite the relatively high number of studies of the supply side. Thus, this paper statistically examined the trends in the demand side for agritourism in Italy in comparison with tourism demand in general, such as that for hotels. Data were obtained from ‘Annuario Statistico Italiano’, edited and issued by ISTAT (Istituto Nazionale di Statistica). Data from 1997 were compared with those from 2006. We examined the regional characteristics and trends in the composition of domestic and inbound tourists in relation to agritourism. The results are as follows. (1) Agritourism experienced rapid growth in the number of beds available and of those tourists who stayed overnight during the last decade, while the operation rate of agritourism is much lower than that of tourism in general. (2) Region-wise, the central region accounts for a large portion of agritourism demand and the southern region had the largest growth rate, while more than half of tourism demand in general went to the north in the case of hotel demand. (3) The market for agritourism domestic demand accounted for more than half of the total agritourism demand. The remaining demand was filled by inbound tourists from European countries. Among inbound European tourists, tourists from Scandinavia, UK and Germany increased sharply and therefore these inbound tourists are driving the growth of agritourism in this country. Even if we consider the particular reasons for low barriers to travel in Europe, such as the availability of land routes, a common currency with no risk presented by exchange rates, etc., these findings clearly indicate that it is essential for the development of agritourism to count not only on domestic, but also inbound tourists to raise the operation rate.

The Sustainable Development of Trasimeno Lake

Lake Trasimeno, Perugia, is the largest lake in peninsular Italy, with surface characteristics of 128 km2, the fourth among Italian lakes after Lake Como. This extension is accompanied by a shallow (average 4.3 m, maximum 6 m), so that the lake of Trasimeno is one of the laminar. The Trasimeno Lake is a natural lake with shallow water and flat, bordered by fine beaches. Its basin covers an area of natural feeding of 306 km2, of which 124 km2 occupied by the surface of the lake, its overall average volume of about 586 Mm3. The area was inhabited since prehistoric times, as evidenced by the findings that are now preserved in the National Archaeological Museum. In 217 bc on the shores of the lake took place the battle of Lake Trasimeno, which saw the Carthaginian Hannibal forces defeated the Roman legions of the Consul Gaius Flaminius. Recently, Lake Trasimeno is entered into a new water crisis, perhaps greater than that of the 1950s: the current maximum depth is 4.30 m, but between 2007 and 2008 it fell by 78 cm. Since 2006, the Trasimeno is part of the international Living Lakes, a worldwide network of 52 lakes UN awards for its commitment to sustainable development of the main lakes, wetlands, and other freshwater basins of the world. Within the project called “environmental manifesto” was awarded a quality mark to guarantee and protection of tourists and residents by the companies for compliance with standards and management systems that ensure quality services environment. An interesting example of sustainable development is to build a shed for the “photographic safari drive by ambush.” Within the environmental certification projects involving accommodation and government, Local Agenda 21 stands out, a process that promotes sustainable development in its most qualified. From the point of view of the appeal of tourist flows in the lake area for a long time now, it has developed particularly oriented models of respectful accommodation of natural features of the area offering a kind of holiday activities ranging from cross-cultural tourism to the environment. The management of the water level of Lake Trasimeno is very delicate and very risky because in some years it has reached the minimum acceptable level of aquatic flora and fauna. In Polvese Island, the largest extension of a structure of the Provincial Administration Journal dating back to 1,100, school visits, seminars, and conferences to promote the sustainable development strategy can be done. The site throughout the project to equip a small fleet of seagoing service of lake boats that only go with rechargeable batteries from the local systems of solar energy. In order to enable adequate monitoring and efficiently the Provincial Administration since 1985 with a modern system batch of data collection and analysis are the basis of current management and the strategic importance of the lake. It’s the complexity of the case and articulated, albeit in a dynamic equilibrium, management increasingly inspired by the principles of sustainability, making it a case study of relevant interest that we hope think may enjoy experts and ordinary citizens who have care about the future of the entire world in its entirety, essential diversity.

The Charter of Todi and the Strategy of Education for a Sustainable Management and Promotion of Territory

The issue of territorial governance and the promotion of integrated and sustainable land use are currently at the center of international debate. This focuses on strategies for the protection, conservation and enhancement of the different areas around the world, the relationship between urban and rural areas, the challenge of renewable energy, green economy and the eradication of poverty. These objectives and issues therefore need to be put into practice by local, national and international professionals who, from the perspective of “think globally, act locally”, have distinctly modernized “know-how” and the “ability to act”. With these targets, an International Summer School entitled Sustainable Management and Promotion and Territory-SIS SMPT was set up, which has already seen and realized Editions I and II in 2011 and 2012 in Todi(Italy). The participants at the International Summer School—SIS-SMPT have decided to draw up a final document that, in honor of the City of Todi, location of the SIS-SMPT, recognized as the City more Sustainable in the World, was named the Todi Charter. The Charter indicates in the keyword “TRADI-OVATION” intended as an acronym for “Territory, Rural Areas, through Development, Innovation, Organization, Valorization, user friendly Technology, ICT sharing, Online Networking” the main theme around which this innovative process can be structured to give effective credibility. The Charter of TODI could be an attractive example of modality to capture the curiosity of the student to be involved in study, research and training with reference to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Strategy all around the world.

Promoting Education for Sustainable Development at the University of Prishtina, Kosovo

Kosovo Education for Sustainable Development—KESD is a local NGO which is one of the first organizations dealing with matters of education for sustainable development in Kosovo. The purpose of KESD is to help Kosovo in sustainable development in all aspects including education. KESD has played a major role not only in increasing citizens’ awareness about Education for Sustainable Development, but has also influenced the Faculty of Education at the University of Kosovo. Bearing in mind that the Faculty of Education is the only institution that prepares future teachers; it is a great way to influence in general, with ESD through professional development, future teachers about the role and importance of the education for sustainable development and the use of the teaching methodologies that support ESD. In this paper we will present current situations about ESD, our country, achievements, challenges and obstacles, KESD’s contribution in raising awareness of Kosovo citizens for ESD, in order to understand their role in developing ESD. The methodology used in this paper is a case study methodology. Through different activities which are mainly organized on a voluntary basis, KESD has been able to promote Education for Sustainable Development through various projects from preschool education to University level. However one of the greatest achievements is involvement of a course which is called Education for Sustainable Development and which will be part of elective courses taught at the Faculty of Education of the University of Prishtina. It is the first time that the Faculty of Education has organized a course like this which is very important for the future generations, particularly the future teachers. Through the education of students, KESD aims to increase the role and the importance of the sustainable education to new generations in our country and beyond. Increasing the awareness means more attention will be given to teaching methodologies, and teaching contents, climatic change, economic development, and protection of the environment inside of the Framework of reference of Sustainable Development Goals—SDG’s 2015–2030 and Green Economy.

The Experience of Training of Experts in Sustainable Development at the University of Perugia

This paper presents the experience of the doctorate in “Rural Sustainable Development, land and environment” of the Faculty of Agriculture at the University of Perugia (Italy). The entire period of activity of the doctorate, founded in the academic year 2000/2001, including the ongoing cycles, covers a time span of 15 years with 10 cycles completed. Its principal aim was the training of researchers and managers with good skills to address the integration and sustainability of interventions within rural and environmental systems. All the doctoral students who have completed the course until now, six months after the acquisition of the Ph.D., had an employment contract or a job. At the present time 17 % of them are uin permanent employment at Italian Universities, 29 % have a fixed-term contract at the Italian University, 27 % are in Public-authority, 10 % are in Private authority and 17 % are Professional Agronomists. After the last reform of the Italian University, the doctorate has been incorporated into the new doctorate “Energy and Sustainable Development” of the Biomass Research Centre. This will be a single training course in which all major issues related to sustainable development will be handled: engineering, energy, environment, land-use planning, economy and medicine.

TERRITORIAL MANAGEMENT CONTRACTS: A MODEL FOR A GLOBAL MANAGEMENT OF THE TERRITORY

Bottom-up solutions for managing the territory have been increase their importance in the last years. Local communities want to be involved in the management of the territory to avoid problems and to promote economic and social activities. Several different forms of participatory contracts have been developed during the last decades. However, a framework to enforce each single solution are required. The Territorial Management Contracts (TMCs) would like to give a contribute in such a direction. The contribute briefly illustrates the Territorial Management Contracts, to open a debate on them. Keywords: bottom-up approach, contract, inner development, territory, Territorial Management Contracts. Article DOI: http://doi.org/10.15544/RD.2015.068