The territories of tourism: a reflection about the experience of the Tourist Districts (Local Tourism Systems) in Sicily

Abstract

The tourist district is an important instrument for the territorial governance of regional tourism. The district is a type of local system that is characterised by its multidimensionality, as well as the spatial contiguity of the operators belonging to it. The territory is a space transformed by social interactions and production relations: it is therefore the indispensable reference for measuring the impact of tourism. A bottom-up approach in the process of identifying districts is therefore vital. It is desirable to manage this process correctly, in what is called a "card-approach" approach. This study is a preliminary analysis derived from the direct experience of the recently formed tourist districts in Sicily