THE IMPLEMENTATION OF GIS TOOLS FOR PLANNING THE DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TOURISM ALONG THE NETWORK OF OLD SHEEP-TRACKS

Abstract

Rural tourism is progressively growing in several areas of the World, thanks to its characteristics to noticeably combine naturalistic, cultural and eno-gastronomic opportunities. In this framework, many old agricultural buildings have been successfully converted into new accommodations, typical restaurants or educational farms. Tourism activities related to these rural structures are currently expanding, so incentivizing the arrival of more tourists and valorizing the rural land. One of the elements of the rural landscape that could be improved to further spreading, is the network of old sheep-tracks. Indeed, these paths can be exploited for cultural and nature hiking activities since, in addition to often crossing rural areas, they are perfect places to immerse the tourist in the nature and surrounding landscape. The present study considers the Basilicata Region (Southern Italy) and its important network of old sheep-tracks, which have been included into a GIS database, specifically implemented to exploit these paths for touristic purposes. Thanks to this GIS tool - that allowed the creation of a complex georeferenced database, by entering all data related to elements of tourist and cultural interest - it has been therefore possible to plan suitable tourist routes, even aimed at the sustainable valorization of the rural landscape.