Linda Osti

Leisure boat tourism : residents' attitudes towards nautical tourism development

Purpose This paper aims to analyse how leisure boat tourism impacts are perceived by local communities in coastal areas. For this purpose, a review of the literature on nautical and leisure boat tourism, together with residents’ attitudes, is presented. On that basis, authors consider economic, socio-cultural and environmental impacts, together with general development and future policies of nautical tourism, and cluster the coastal community according to their attitudes towards leisure boat tourism. Design/methodology/approach Primary data are collected among residents of coastal municipalities in the north part of the Adriatic Sea. Within the theoretical framework of social representation, a cluster analysis is performed on 233 valid questionnaires, collected during winter 2013. Findings Interviewed residents believe that leisure boating has a long tradition and has offered improvements to the municipalities as tourism destinations. They consider leisure boat tourism as a catalyst for tourism development and international tourists’ attraction. The cluster analysis reveals the existence of three homogeneous groups of residents labelled as supporters (51 per cent), cautious (29 per cent) and sceptics (20 per cent). Practical implications Practical implications are derived for destination managers and destination management organizations (DMOs) in addressing internal marketing and larger advertisement of the positive impacts leisure boat tourism has over the local community. Originality/value The paper enriches the discussion on residents’ perceptions on nautical tourism and specifically on leisure boat tourism in coastal areas. Limitations are linked to the exploratory nature of the research paper, the sample and the geographical connotation of the study area. Further research will enlarge the data collection to a wider number of coastal communities and integrate results with qualitative analysis.

Plantation homes and Veneto villas in the United States and Europe: Between tradition and financial opportunities

Abstract The region of Veneto in Northern Italy is rich in luxury villas and historic houses, as is the southern United States, where the luxury villas and historic houses take the form of plantation homes. Under the common, original connection of architectural style, this paper will review issues concerning ownership, public availability of the site and funding sources for the historic homes in these two regions. The final results can be summarized by the responses to an open-ended question of the survey: “Which is the main problem in running a cultural heritage site?” Undoubtedly, the clear answer has been “maintenance.” Availability of funds, levels of cooperation with governmental agencies and difficulties of conveying to the public the cultural and heritage values of the sites were some of the other issues of concern cited by both sets of owners.