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Tourism as a resource for developing southern Italy
Tourism as a resource for developingsouthern Italy
Since the 1960s when the Ita!ian authorities introduced a policy of industrialization in southern Italy, the tourism industry has been given low priority. By the mid-1970s industrial development could no longer sustain high levels of employment and the tourism industry was suddenly perceived as a means of revitalizing the southern Italian economy. The haphazard development of tourism up till that time meant that in spite of isolated successes the tourism industry as a whole lacked a coherent policy and a continuous communications and supply network. With improved road and air access and investment in infrastructure southern Italy has great tourism potential. Piero Barucci is President of the Scientific Committee of Mercury Ltd (tourism research and consultancy), Via Rombinelli 5, 50123 Firenze, Italy. Emilo Becheri is Director, Scuoia Superiore dei Commercio del Tourismo e dei Servizi, Vi&e Murillo 17, 20149 Milano, Italy. Final version submitted accepted May 1990.
March
1989;
‘P. Savona, ‘Tourism in southern Italy’, paper presented at the Third National Conference on Tourism, Rome, February 1987, Board of Tourism, Rome, 1989. ‘P. Savona and S. Zoppi, ‘The economic structure of southern Italy and conditions for eliminating the gap’, paper presented at the Project South Congress, Sorrento, Italy, 1 December 1987. 3Much unskilled manpower in the areas of central and southern Italy comes from the South, while in the South itself it is people comtng from northern and central Italy, or trained in those areas, who carry out managerial roles. More generally, in all the advanced services there is a situation which has been defined as a functional deficit. See Formez, ‘The advanced sercontinued on p 228
0X1-51 77/90/030227-l
During the 1960s the decision was taken to industrialize southern Italy with the prevailing wish being to restore welfare standards rather than productivity levels. This action enhanced the role of enterprises in a position to produce a high added value. But the tourist industry, divided among the numerous branches of ‘other’ activities, assumed a residual function.’ The redefinition of the industrial development model in the second half of the 1970s caused tourism to begin to be regarded in a less prejudiced tight. When ind~lstriiil economies seemed to be in a crisis of ‘plenty‘ and the level of industrial employment started to fail continuously. and when it seemed evident that it would be difficult to establish new factories and new industrial centres in Italy. it \vas natural to wonder uhat the touristic destiny of the South might be. In the meantime local tourism had grown in a disorganized, almost accidental, way with recourse to less marketable types of accommodation like tourist residences and holiday homes or. forming tourist islands, often with outside intervention, that were analogous to isolated industrial installations with villages and hotels under the control of distant investors.
Evaluation of the current situation Of course the situation varies from region to region and in general terms there are some fine tourist installations, but a continuous network of tourist facilities is lacking. The situation is exacerbated by the strong dependence of the local tourist economy on economies outside southern Italy. Even though there has not yet been a precise evaluation of goods and services purchased by tourists, to make sure that tourist requirements are satisfied, a sufficient number is purchased to reduce the added value and the efficiency of the interaction and grouth of tourist enterprises.’ The problems which confront tourism in southern Italy are clearly shown by the p~~~~~~~of e?T~~l~~t~l~tlt and the ~~I~~~o,~ of tire secrsorrnl factor. Among the relatively more sophisticated forms of suppiy, specialized lnbour and managers are often drawn From other regions of Italy.” Even though the summer season appears to be climatically longer in southern Italy, there is a greater concentration of holidaymakers in the months of July and August than occurs in northern and central Italy. This trend is difficult to change and is explained by the lack of variety in
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Table 1. Nights spent by Italian and foreign tourists in registered tourist accommodation. Regions
1965
1975
1985
1987
Pledmom
45 12 10 2 74 150 37 11 3 14.6 9.3 07 3.0 62 17 0.1 4.4 15 0.4 1.6 2.3 09
35 13 85 08 14.9 36 90 123
30 18 6.3 13 1 13.3 27 7.6 123 85 10 38 a7 55 0.1 47 1.8 02 13 2.6 1.6
2.7 19 63 139 13 3 2.7 7.7 11.8 8.7 1.1 3.3 a.7 5.3 0.1 47 19 0.2 1.1 2.7 1.9
Valle d’Aosta Lombardy Trentlno Upper Adage Veneto Frlull Venetla Julia Llgurla EmlIla Romagna Tuscany Umbrla Marches Latlum Abruzzo Mollse Campama Puglla Baslllcata Calabrla slclly Sardlnla North-centre Italy 9’ South ‘%
Source: ISTAT (data in percentages).
continued from p 227 vice sector in southern Italy’, Researches and studies, No 34, Rome, 1982. 4CentraI Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), Survey of Italian holidays and sports, ISTAT, Rome, 1985; and ISTAT, Statistics of hotel and non-hotel business, ISTAT, Rome, 1980 and subsequent issues. The sample representing survey of holidays taken by Italians takes into account everyone who goes away from their usual residence for more than four days (four overnight stays). The hotel and non-hotel statistics relate to movements of both Italians and foreigners, In both instances southern Italy has a greater concentration of tourist occupancy in the middle months of the year, but much greater in the case of the sample survey. ‘First it is becoming more evident that there is a problem with services, which is clear from a simple comparison of data 22% of the 2000 congress buildings in Italy are located in the South, but only 14% of the professional congress organizations (PCO). It is appropriate to note that, in the case of congresses, commercialization begins even before the physical construction of the building. For this reason, the question of congresses is somewhat symbolic in that there is a race on in the South to complete these structures, just as for the desired high level schools of tourism. health centres, service centres and cultural tourist itineraries. None of these initiatives, isolated from the others, will succeed in starting up an autonomous flow of tourists if suitable conditions and the necessary complementary activities are lacking, considering that external effects also depend on the public nature of many tourist resources. 6AI~~, the lesser inclination of residents to continued on p 229
228
9/o
Total occupancy
a.5 1.o 3.7 86 5.2 0.1 42 15 03 17 21 12
87.1 100.0 12.9
(x 1O3)
180 719
83.7 100.0 16.3 291 383
the tourism product of southern Italy.’ ple. is difficult to start up because activities.i
Conference there are
82.1 100.0 17.9
82.1 100.0 17.9 353 529
350 647
tourism. for esamno complementary
Dynamics of tourist supply and demand A first impression of the state of tourism in southern Italy may be obtained by considering both incremental and qualitative changes in the demand and supply of accommodation. Considering demand as a whole, southern Italy’s quota has risen from 12.9% to 17.9”0 in the last 20 years representing an increase in occupancy of about 72’Y0 in comparison with the 90% rise verified at a national level (Table 1). According to the different data of the sample survey of Italian tourists. the southern proportion of tourism is considerably higher than that of Italy as a whole and has increased significantly in the last 20 years, rising from about 23% in 1965 to 38.5% in 1985 (Table 2). The last 10 years have shown a strong recovery, somewhat contradicted by the only partial recovery revealed by the hotel and non-hotel statistics. but justified by the different iveighting of ‘submerged’ tourism (second homes, open-air tourism, private accommodation. etc) which is considered to a greater extent in the sample survey.’ Another Italian paradox is that the sample survey is more representative than the real statistics. In southern Italy the foreign component, hoivever. is greatly reduced. This is evident from a comparison with the L’eneto region, which alone records foreign occupancy 55% higher than the total of the southern regions in the competing areas of the Mediterranean and in comparison \vith Spain, in particular. where consistent increases have been recorded. hfoving on to the supply side, there is an obvious recov’ery- at the level of hotel accommodation and open-air tourism (campsites and tourist villages). In 1965 the number of hotel beds in southern Italy corresponded to about 13.1% of those available in northern and central Italy. whereas in 1975 this percentage \sas 20% and today is ?3-71%. The
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Table 2. Domestic tourist demand in Italy, according to the ISTAT survey of nights spent. Regions
1965
Piedmont Valle d’Aosta Lombardy Trentmo Upper Adage Veneto Fwli Venetia Julia Liguria Emilia Romagna Tuscany Umbrla Marches Latlum Abruzzi Molise Campania Puglia Basilicata Calabria Sicily Sardinla
Source:
Italy %
ISTAT Regional quotas (%) of destmatlons. according to the survey on holidays taken by Italians.
South % North-centre
Hotels (no) 1965
Regions Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglia Baslllcata Calabria Sicily Sardima South Italy Centre-north South:Centre-north % Regions
Italy
South:Centre-north
TOURISM
%
%
1972
6.9 16 9.4 3.8 8.3 22 114 12 1 85 11 3.6 75 25 0.4 58 56 0.1 34 56 19
1975
51 18 7.0 43 83 23 109 130 95 09 33 67 04 56 52 07 41 59 22
36 14 56 44 68 17 76 114 7.8 08 33 78 3.6 06 7.7 59 07 80 71 42
28
3.9 14 5.2 4.8 6.7 17 84 10 1 8.0 0.8 33 6.9 35 0.6 6.4 8.1 0.5 90 60 46
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
23.0 77.0
25.6 74.4
26.9 73.1
27.6 72.4
33.7 66.3
37.8 62.2
61.2
30.8
1975
1985
Hotel beds (no) 1965 1975
1908
1985
762 100 1 576 573 196 605 879 532
769 87 1 550 592 201 623 852 526
16662 1 455 45 540 12 631 3 464 10 552 25 622 11 520
36 723 2 058 71 146 31 758 4 962 29 092 45012 28 370
4 245 37 126 32 861
5 270 42 645 37 375
5 223 39 995 34 772
5 200 38 190 32 990
127 486 1 076 541 949 055
249 121 1 494 272 1245 151
14 1
15.0
15.8
134
41 3 79 33 5 38 61 40
1988 628 646 072 876 898 420 542 342
43 593 3 531 80 433 39 554 6715 39 084 62 820 44 156
304 424 1 617 748 1 313 324
319 886 1667 169 1 347 283
20.0
23.7
23 2
Beds in camps (no)
18 5 26 16 2 10 11 15
35 3 96 63 2 100 39 29
76 9 138 95 13 259 100 60
80 9 144 95 12 261 101 81
1 963 150 7 120 4712 140 755 1 635 1 637
16395 450 41 954 32 067 627 60 420 15 218 13 055
103 764 661
367 1 445 1 078
750 2 123 1 373
784 2 195 1412
18 112 215 583 197 417
180 186 687 640 507 454
MANAGEMENT
1985
100.0
756 101 1 640 572 242 582 905 472
15.6
1982
41 15 57 32 76 25 93 12.0 a.4 10 32 78 3.0 04 66 67 07 7.1 5.7 35
496 86 1 334 370 243 444 973 299
12.9
1976
50 1.6 62 37 80 2.1 99 13.2 9.1 0.9 3.3 7.4 3.2 04 64 56 08 53 51 0.8
beds in southern Italy.
Campsites (no)
Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglia Basilicata Calabrla Sicily Sardinia South Italy Italy Centrc+north
58 4.3 0.1 2.7 47 2.2
1968
increase during the 1965-8~ period is equal to 139’26 \vhereas for northern and central Italy, which already showed ;I ‘III~~LIE supply in 1965, the percentage increase is 3s”” (Table 3). The incidence of open-air tourism in southern Ital!,. in comparison with northern and central Italy,. rose from 1~.6’% to i1.6% for the number of campsites and from 9.2” o to 52.7% for the number of beds (see Table 3). an increase of 1900”~, against that of 2510; for northern and central Italy. These simple statistics, although based on different starting lcvrls. demonstrate that development is already taking place. The shortfall
continued from p 228 go on holiday, compared with those of northern and central Italy, affects the tourist gap. The average of the average regional percentages for the regions of northern and central Italy were 45.4% in 1982 and 49.4% in 1985. For the regions of southern Italy they were 27.4% and 31.2%.
Table 3. Hotel and campsite accommodation
6.7 1.6 90 44 8.9 2.3 11.3 120 91 1.0 35 72 2.6 0.3
34.0
September
54.6
1990
55.5
92
35.5
39 2 48 62 4 134 29 40
455 932 590 022 644 452 127 949
362 171 1 056 366 694 195 52.2
40 2 52 68 5 136 27 56
851 932 940 337 644 070 474 152
390 140 1 146 301 756 161 51.5
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Table 4. Degree of tourist
Note: ‘The level of potential tourism in the southern regions of Italy has been obtained by considering the number of beds in relation to an index which takes into account both population and surface area.
attraction
in southern
Italy’
1987.
Regions
Total
Total excluding rented houses
Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglla Sasflicata Calabrla Sictly Sardima Centre-north
197 9 47 33 10 79 23 31 121
107 18 60 49 18 136 33 51 107
45 115
127 27 65 89 20 295 32 72 106
Italy
100
100
100
100
63
67
50
88
South
% %
Hotel beds 90 16 68 31 27 55 44
Beds in campsites and tourist villages
compared with the rest of Italy remains. however. and is sho\vn by a simple index which compares the number of beds with the population and size of the territory. This is only a rough indicator; it can be termed the tourism index and it represents a way of calculating an area’s potential to attract tourism. There are, however, many aspects of tourism. and the attractiveness of a tourist site may be unpredictable and difficult to quantify - for example being geographically isolated ma>’ be a relative advantage. When constructing a tourism indrs it is necessary to proceed with caution; eg if one introduces a variable to take account of domestic means of transport but fails to consider geographical location, an improvement in the level of potential tourism is obtained, whereas taking into account other infrastructure, such as the water supply and other service systems, gives a total reduction in the general indes for the South (first column, Table 4) of about 54%. The situation becomes more complicated when taking into account the quality of tourist development which is predominantly centred on open-air tourism and therefore considered as being of a ‘poorer’ and ‘weaker’ nature, especially when considering the motivation behind visits to southern Italy. The first column of Table J shows accommodation in relation to average population and surface area. It shows accommodation in the South to be 63% of that for the whole of Italy and about 9% of that for the regions of northern and central Italy. The validity of the comparison is, however, questionable due to the fact that private rented accommodation has a different weighting in southern Italy than in the other regions. Comparing the data gathered annually by the tourist boards for rented accommodation and the data resulting from the census, it appears that the number of dvvellings available for holidays is about three times as high as is indicated by the tourist boards’ data.’ If one excludes rented accommodation in all the regions (the second column of Table 4) then a significant recovery in the level of potential tourism for the southern regions emerges, with much less difference evident between southern Italy and northern and central Italy. There is a clear correspondence, for large areas, betvveen this result and the level of potential tourism relative to open-air holidays. The data extracted from the figures relating to private accommodation show a greater correspondence than those obtained using other forms of infrastructure, eg transport. This is emphasized by reference to the proportion of the national market which is ‘owned’ - from this it is evident that there is a recovery in ‘submerged’ tourism, as mentioned when
‘Eg in Basilicata the number of houses set aside for holidays is 14 times higher than the number of rented lodgings, and in Puglia 25 times higher.
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earlier, which is not revealed by the official records. What the available data do show, however. is that a greater structural weakness exists in southern Italy, clearly evidenced by the smaller number of hotels and confirmed by the higher percentage utilization of tourist accommodation. Among the group of regions a subgroup can be identified, whose problem is to reach the average level of accommodation of the other southern Italian regions. It is difficult to disentangle data which are neither homogeneous nor easy to interpret and there is a risk of introducing errors associated with generalizing.
Competitors in the tourist market
‘E. Becheri, G. lmbesi and A. Martelli, ‘Tourism development policies’, paper presented at the Third National Conference on Tourism, Rome, 1987, Board of Tourism, Rome, 1989, p 57 onwards. gin a certain sense it could be said that there are two kinds of competition centred on seaside tourism - first competition with other regions of Italy which absorb by far the greater part of automobile traffic; and second competition with other Mediterranean countries as regards tourism based on air travel.
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To obtain a correct definition of the problems of tourist competition among the various Mediterranean regions it is necessary to refer to presentations at the Third National Conference on Tourism (February 1957) where the concept of a psychological definition of one day’s travelling time was introduced in order to identify the areas at the intersection between tourism and transport and, in particular, tourism and air transport.’ It is in th’IS area that the greatest difficulties of the southern Italian regions are found because of the lack of direct flights from central Europe. Furthermore, the countries which originate tourist flows predominate in organizing package tours. In fact the integration of transport and tourism determines two different kinds of competition between countries which fall into two groups - autobahnreisetl (car travel) and flrtgreiserz (air travel). Southern Italy, in contrast to central European countries, forms part of the second group. For this reason Spain, Greece, Tunisia, etc are mainly competing with the southern regions of Italy and only secondarily with Italy as a whole. The northern and central Italian regions in fact The form part of the first group in vvhich Italy is more competitive.’ transport variable is, therefore. a physical and a psychological penalty for the South due to its geographical position and to the higher costs and longer travelling time that this entails. The isolation of southern Italy in tourist terms may also be considered as a particular instance of the more general condition of an out-of-date road network. The case is different for air routes, where it is justifiable to wonder what possible reasons could account for the failure to start up as many flights and circuits as potentially possible. The airlines say that the reason is the lack of economic incentive to start up a significant tourist circuit - taking into account average environmental and accommodation conditions in southern Italy, the existing flow of international tourism is considered quite high already, even though it is mostly concentrated in villages and chains providing ‘all-in’ packages which have little effect on the local economy.
Criteria for tourist development Certain prejudices are often displayed towards southern Italian tourism. The simplest and most effective of these affirms that supply in southern Italy must be based on quality in order to be competitive with other Mediterranean countries - more action should be taken as regards the quality of the product than as regards prices. In reality, the qualitative indices of southern supply as regards tourism often do not seem
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“It is the criterion of transverse linkages in the tourist industry which affirms that the growth of a locality can occur only on condition that, besides a process of feedback and osmosis between the various economic sectors, there is also a reciprocal understanding of the various starting cultures (the latter being a condition more easily carried on in economically advanced areas). “Eg a segment of demand is young tourism - an image almost completely absent in southern Italy in spite of some positive pre-conditionings like the possibility of open-air tourism. From a general point of view, typical demand can be considered as constituted by young Italian families and by the so-called ‘return tourism’ which is by no means a secondary motive in choosing a holiday.
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different from those of other regions of Italy. The problem is really with the level of quality, in the sense that, even tvith the same indices, a supply lvhich seems identical with another may present better or worse formal external and internal conditions (safety. service, cleanliness, professionalism, tourist culture, etc). In essence. the situation regarding local infrastructure seems to be on a par with that of the organization of accommodation. By comparison with competing Mediterranean areas, the level of general infrastructure is actually higher but competitiveness is reduced in the activities referred to as ‘after-accommodation’. While it is true that a high level of iI~~r~structur~ is always associnted with a high degree of economic development. such high levels are not always an ~~utoln~~tic gu~lr~~rltor of development. From this point of vieby, and with specific reference to tourist activities, the contrast betiveen the South and the rest of Italy is justified and the hypothesis is confirmed that economic and social infrastructure adopts a different role depending on the state of regional development. In particular, when the activities of economic infrastructure. eg means of transport, communications and energy , are not functionally linked to the requirements of the local economy, the induced effects are fewer than the potential ones. This means that the supporting infrastructure of tourist development has to be planned from bvithin and that social benefits will be greatly reduced unless the infr~~str~Ict~Ire is integrated with the network of local trading.“’ If it can be stated that tourism in southern Italy has shown a quite creditable growth in ‘real’ terms, the argument changes when it comes to qualitative considerations. Let us take, for esample, a service which cannot be quantified even though it represents the essential opportunity for a functional link between infrastructure and other tourist services ‘the image service’ - implying both a conception of tourist culture and the summation of external promotional activities carried out by the regional authorities and public and private organizations. Also. apart from the safety aspect which. moreover. is of the first importance, the image of southern Italy abroad is imprecise and confused due to the lack of coordination of various initiatives and because an approach which makes reference to the various functional areas is hardly ever adopted. One need only pick up a tourist brochure to become aware of the secondary status which is accorded to southern Italy and the stereotypes used to characterize it - the wonderful sun, the enchanting views and the omnipresent pizza. Cultural aspects, although there are many, are completely subordinated.” The supply sectors in the South are not sufficiently coordinated and lack the autonomous specificity to carry out proper marketing. Cultural and artistic aspects have always been marginal compared with seaside tourism, and references to the special climatic situation which, for example, makes hol~daying in Sicily during the winter an attractive proposition. have gradually disappeared.
From theory to practice The first action which needs to be taken to fill the gaps in tourist services is to improve the image and culture of tourism. This action alone could be effective but would be better supplemented by a series of initiatives directed towards the commercialization of aspects of supply kvhich are
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‘*Eg it is the right moment to rationalize and add to the number of tourist ports, but qualifying the operation in a naturalisticenvironmental sense, eg providing for the construction of small ports catering only for sailing boats (excluding motor boats). About half Italian tourist ports are located in southern Italy, but the relative weighting of this fact drops considerably when considering ports which can offer services of a high standard. 13Because of the structural fragility of the tourist industry determined by political and social conditioning, it is necessary to bear this possible scenario in mind. Due to these conditions, when speaking of tourism in the Mediterranean area it is necessary to reject a provincial point of view and to take into account African and Asian as well as European countries. In reality the countries which border the Mediterranean do not constitute a homogeneous group and may be divided into three groups according to area - those of the western and northern shores (Spain, France, Italy and Greece), those of the eastern shore (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Cyprus,) and those of the southern shore (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt). To understand the size of the problem it is sufficient to know that the gross domestic product of the northern shore is equal to five times that of the other countries. However over-Utopian it seems, if the question of the tourist development of southern Italy is to be stated in the correct terms, it is necessary to refer to this comprehensive picture. It is certain that in the next few years the demographic weighting of the northern countries will fall from the current 50% to 35%, the tourist interchange will increase, and so new problems will crop up as regards economic and social balances with stronger ties between all the countries in the area and a fact rarely considered that, in terms of the 21 st century, tourist competition will be on a global scale.
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already on the market but which are partly hidden in the muddle of the local system. There remains the image of a comprehensive subdimension of activities which magnifies the effect of tourism by comparison with other large economic sectors. Adaptation requires that higher standards be attained in all the various components as well as a qualitative structural shift, which also implies that quantitative changes be made. It is certain, however, that clarity is necessary for all these operations; yet it is sometimes difficult even to understand what is happening due’ to the multiplicity of bodies which deal vvith southern Italy and with its tourism. There is a tendency to pursue megaprojects while everyday problems remain unsolved, and those vvho operate correctly lack precise points of reference on which they may place reliance. On the other hand, the incursions of those who deal with tourism in an impromptu and provisional manner should also be considered. With regard to large-scale operations. and in addition to the conditions relating to needed impact on the environment, greater interregional coordination must be ensured to consider southern Italy as a single area. Respecting these conditions, modern tourist development can really get under way, but the success and the continuation of this development depends on the surrounding connective tissue. So all the initiatives aimed at the re-qualification and re-composition of supply must be in a position to operate contemporaneously, providand also acting as a possible ing for simpler forms of accommodation, topping-up of other income; otherwise there is a risk that some particular installations, on the same level but separated by the environmental context, will represent islands with poor added value. Tourist activity has expanded patchily, with some exemplary cases - now is the moment to link up these installations with a suitable connective network so as to make the supply sufficiently homogeneous. Tourism represents a great opportunity to fill the productivity gaps in southern Italy, but it needs a corresponding adjustment of the external components even though it can manage its own development autonomously. The role of functional relationships (and also of the image) prevails over material ones. In this sense, decisive help may be forthcoming from various existin g centres (in the form of technological innovation), from the financial centres willing to organize and run operations, and from the setting up of managerial centres for tourism. In order to plan the development of southern Italy it is necessary to streamline the times and methods of intervention; instead, one often has the feeling that there is a lack of adequate planning in that projects which will come to fruition tomorrow are created on the basis of the ideas of today, which tomorrow will no longer be valid.” Falling within this conception is the proposal to reserve the South for the development of tourism in competition with the growth of Spanish tourism and, as a corollary to this, there are considerations related to fostering a high-quality tourism or various attempts to emphasize the phenomenon based on the model of the Costa Smeralda. These are already dated conceptions which state the problems in terms of alternatives and competitiveness rather than in terms of complementarity.” The point of reference for a positive proposal is still the aggregate demand as shown when the development of the tourist’s character is appraised. In only a few years the paradigms of reference have become wider and the possible options have increased. Some basic tendencies can be identified:
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*
l
globalization (internationalization) of the holiday increase in motives for, and uses of. tourism.
market;
and
One individual may have more tourist experiences than another, and they all may divide the motives of rest and relaxation between them. In order to satisfy the first motive (rest) one might stay at one or more of the customary resorts. The second motive (relaxation) will produce greater mobility and may sometimes be associated with the first. In this way there will be more complementarity and there will have to be a reconversion towards a fuller spectrum of possibilities for a more compiete segmentation of the market. while the qualitative aspects will no longer be defined unequivocally (the quality of quality). The scenario for the future of tourism in southern Italy poses a great problem because there will be widely differing consequences according to the choices made and the impact which these will have on the local economy. There is the risk of not making the most of the opportunities which arise. The transition, for example. from a .traditional’ and highly differentiated supply to a more modern and homogeneous one could be traumatic, so it is necessary to preserve the positive characteristics which have made the existing development possible, intro~~Llcing some changes of direction to consider the links between acc~~inmodat~on and different kinds of tourism so as to identify the possible solutions. In the re-composition of these elements it is necessary to adapt to the various demands according to a criterion of compatibility, avoiding being influenced by the contrast between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ types of tourism because, at least up to the present. the forms considered less aristocratic - campsites, private lodgings and tourist villages - have had induced effects on local economies which are at least comparable with those forms considered ‘rich’. Finally, there is an aspect which has been undervalued - control of demand etc. Tourist demand is increasingly dominated by those who assemble the various phases (tourist intermediation) and who operate at the places where tourist flows originate rather than.at their destinations. There are already examples of commercialization in private hotel chains and also in campsites and residences. In order to organize supply it is therefore necessary, in the first place, to rationalize the phenomenon of tourist residences and holiday homes to a.greater extent while still maintaining current standards of freedom. Some of the organizations which hide behind a generic conception of promotion should try to organize proper structures for the commercialization of some segments of tourism in southern Italy. It this way the problem, eg of the strongly ‘privatized’ conception of second homes which makes exploitation of the market difficult, would be overcome. These operations may be seen to have a ‘soft’ effect, but in reality they produce hard results because they contribute to that redefinition of image which seems to be the premise for making concrete forms of intervention possible, and thereby represent a cultural fact of great importance. The considerations which have been expounded may be synthesized as the necessity of passing from the old conception of tourism, which characterized development up to the early 19SOs, to a new way of looking at things which must characterize the present and the future.
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Old upprorzcll to tourism
0 l l l l l l l l ,Verv
l l l l l l l l l
tourism as a residual fact; supply indistinct and not professionalized; tourism assisted or controlled: sporadic and partial promotion; single-thread tourism (exclusively seaside); closed circuit; economic fact; separation between quality and quantity; and tourism ‘wild’ and aggressive. nppronch to foitrism tourism in a position to produce development; tailored according to the various segments of demand; autonomously managed tourism (local management with legally binding budget and collective entrepreneurship); deregionalized and organized promotion; multi-stranded tourism (more complex forms of tourism, even if centred around seaside tourism); ‘open-air’ phenomenon; also cultural and social fact; integration of quality and quantity; and respect for the environment.
Future de\~elopment hlany proposals have been made in the planning stage with different objectives ranging from the establishment of a park to the planning of new tourist villages as well as development of the port system. It must be said that in approving the first triennial programme (1987-S9), the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) rejected all the regional proposals on tourism as not being coordinated, intending to distribute the available resources of 1500 x 10” (US billion) lire set aside for organized action number 10 (tourist supply) only after examining the better coordinated regional plans and the proposals made by Insud. In fact. Insud is assigned the specific task of proposing projects. as well as direct responsibility for promotion, assistance and initiatives in the tourism sector. As far as cultural tourist itineraries are concerned, if they had been proposed as a means rather than an end perhaps better results would have been achieved; however, the relevant studies commissioned by the former C~~ssa de1 Mezzogiorrlo (Fund for the Development of Southern Italy) will soon be ready. The activities and studies so far under way confirm the conditions and difficulties examined in this report - from the infrastructural and environmental aspects, to the necessity for a cross-linked supply, leading to greater integration and specific targeting of the various market segments. In this context the adaptation of the supply may be obtained by various procedures, and achievement will depend on the method used, eg an exclusive hotel implementation could lend itself to many criticisms when the limits of this structure on part of the tourist demand become clear. In fact, people live less and less indoors and more and more outside, and a trend exists towards simpler forms of accommodation (holiday villages) and towards places to stay which have associations with the
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QXt (palaces, villas. castles. farms and converted monasteries or convents). Another ambiguity which should be clarified relates to information systems and communication processes. The possibility of running data in real time and organizing an information feedback system is one of the This is an established fact minimum conditions for keepin g up-to-date. which has already involved too mnny ilttelllQtS at competition. Among the agencies appointed to deal with southern Italy. however, there are sometimes superimpositions of competence which prevent, or make extremely difficult, the transition from the planning to the active phase because, her dirt. the development agency is not fully operational and the or~i~nization~~l system of the dep~lrtrnent for southern Italy, whose task is the evaluation and selection of work plans and the coordination of the various operations, is not running lvell. All this aggravates the situation of those southern regions which have a reduced planning capacity. There is also a seneral tendency for this complex multi-agency and multi-initiative situation to esist at a local level. Our various recommendations may perhaps be s\,nthesized in a single proposal to connect and de\.elop the various init-i:ltives. Action needs to be taken regarding the assembly stage of the product and there must be effective and united coordination and commercialization of the whole area, creating a suitable org~~~~iz~ltio~~~ilstructure with the participation of private individ~t~lls and tour operators from the markets where tourist demand originates. Those agencies already concerned with the problem may be incorporated but must be provided with a suitable instrumentation so that they can operate effectively by being well acquainted with all parties concerned. This structure ‘should produce a feeling for the various possible operations but. in the absence even the cultural tourist itineraries are of any such organization. destined to be a complete failure. The analysis has so far been conducted uithin a ‘tourist framework’ but is also founded on a choice of economic policy which. for the regions of southern Italy more than nny\vhere else, iis a natural extension of the policy intensifies the role of service systems (from infr~lstructure to market connections) and this results as an intangible by-product of the filling in of the productivity gap. The basic capital is available to provide a strong potential for development. Contingent upon the current framework of the service systems, the preferred scenario for tourism development envisages a system with a high degree of cross linkage where connections are encouraged. Throughout all this. the second report on Italian tourism must be borne in mind, wherein it is affirmed that the quality of a tourist supply may be measured in terms of the material and intangible integration of the goods and services components. and of the functional relationships which come about between them and with connected branches and sectors.
Conclusions The provisional conclusions of this article concept of what tourism means in Italy shown during recent years. It seems that Italy in terms of tourism, partly because the summer extended well into September
236
TOURISM
cannot be separated from the today and the potential it has 1987 was a favourable year for of the good iveather. In fact, and induced some fortunate
MANAGEMENT
September
1990
Italians to extend their holidays. and brought quite a few foreigners to the more famous resorts in a month in Lvhich less overcro\\ding and a more tolerable average temperature are coupled Lvith reasonable prices. The flow of foreign tourists started to increase again and it is to be hoped that the beneficial results of this will soon be reflected in the positive balance of earnings from tourism. a most important prop in the balance of payments and, consequently, for the stability of the Italian lire. But the net income from tourism expresses the \,alue of all expenditure by foreign tourists in Italy less expenditure by Italians abroad. This means that. even though the number of foreign tourists to Italy is growing, the Italian tourist balance may increase less or ma) even decrease. The balance in fact depends on how much. on average. a foreign tourist spends in Italy and how much. on a\‘erase, Italian tourists spend abroad. Values in foreign currency depend on tbvo things - prices and the exchange rate. If the latter falls it can be said, as has alread!- happened in the past, that more tourists from a certain country come to Italy and that, for the same expenditure in Italian lire, their credit contribution to the Italian balance of payments decreases. In the past. v.hsn trying to produce commonsense explanations for economic matters. it was said that the movements of the exchange rate described the state of an entire economy and not just that of its currency. If all this is true, if follows that the average spending capacity of foreign tourists in Italy is decreasing from year to year. This may be because of Italian tourist prices. Lvhich are relatively hish. or even because a country like Italy, ‘mature’ in terms of tourism. stimulates decreasing enthusiasm as far as a propensity for spending is concerned. Or it may also simply mean that tourist expenditure increasingly tends to go on room, board and transport. and less on the purchase of various kinds of goods and services not strictly necessary for the trip. In other words, people come to Italy with the intention of living at the minimum possible expense, and because certain tourist attractions of great beaut! are to be found in Italy. Venice, Florence and Rome. 10 take the standard examples, cannot be excluded from anyone’s itinerary. Alternatively, people come when they are young, when they ssperience the thrill of a trip abroad for the first time, and then when old. they find themselves repeating nostalgic experiences. But as to the rest, it is other countries that are privileged, equally attractive from the tourist vieivpoint but less traditional and less expensive. Also. e\.en if potential world tourist demand grows, and it is forecast to do so. th? number of countries considered possible tourist destinations is also growing. When it is said that competition for tourism is getting tougher, it is usually only the price aspect Lvhich is considered. This is not exact competition gets keener because it is called into being by new countries which, at least for a few years, reap the advantages of no\.elty. Another fact, too, affects the tourist credit balance. It seems that this year as in past years the number of Italians going abroad, and consequently their average spending, is growing consistently. From the few indications available, it seems that countries with a strongly growing tourist industry, like Greece and Turkey, have this year undergone a peaceful invasion by Italian tourists of all ages. These tourists are considered among the most light-hearted. the most likeable and the easiest to please and have demonstrated a high spending capacity.
TOURISM
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1990
237
Eniergencc from an era of tourist provincialism is causing a steady gowth in Italian demand abroad. but this cannot fail to involve some rethinking in Italy’s policy on tourism. both to adapt the touristreceiving apparatus 1 ‘he entire tourist supply to a market in vvhich competitors are multiplying. and to set up suitable instruments to strengthen the propensity of Italians to prefer internal destinations. This does not imply the introduction (or re-introduction) of protectionist measures. neither does it mean the evocation of loosely. nationalistic motives. It is only fair that Italians too should go vvhere they think best. following a passing fashion or comparing prices vvith the quality of the various services offered. One reason why Italian tourism has lost its competitive edge in recent years is because prices hnv,e been higher than elsewhere. However, when examined in the context of value for money. it becomes apparent that Italian tourist services are not out of line vvith the market. If one then takes account of the wide vnrietb, of utilisntion possibilities afforded by Italy‘s tourist supply. it can be conceded that it is still possible to have a relativ,ely good quality tourist industry in Italy. A wise information policy is required to draw attention to what the country has to offer in terms of tourist attractions and all Italian citizens should know their own artistic. cultural. urban and natural heritage at least to the same extent as they, know foreign ones. There is nothing wrong with going to Greece, and a cruise around the Turkish islands may have great appeal - provided that vve already have a knowledge of all that the Italian archipelago and major islands can provide. It follows that the problem of a rational utilization of southern Italy is a priority question, not only for the economic growth of the area, but for the whole Italian tourist industry ‘vv,hich in this vvay alone can maintain the position which it still occupies in the international sector of tourist demand. Frlture tourism developmetlt Italy has at her disposal a largely untapped capital, and climatic conditions which leave nothing to envy in those of Greece, Spain and Turkey. The future of the Italian tourist industry and of southern Italy. and the pivot of tourist policy. lies in the ability to brine this conviction to maturity. Tourism in southern Italy may also constitute a vvay to differentiate supply as a product to sell on international markets and may become a goal to *rediscover’ rather than discover. All this will be possible once tvvo preliminary questions have been resolved: 0
0
tourists that southern Italy is the prevalent idea amon, 0 international not safe, and that muggings and robberies are daily occurrences. must be eliminated; and southern Italy must not be separated from the rest of Italy and Europe by inefficient transport links, badly-run public services and tourist services of a quality inferior to European standards.
kluch has already been done in this direction but a great deal remains to be done. and must be done without delay. In order to achieve this it is first necessary to abandon the idea of southern Italy as an underdeveloped tourist area. In fact. the development of tourism has already begun and is advancing in a noticeable manner. So the gap is closing. exemplary initiatives investment is growing, and valid and sometimes
238
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
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1990
are being created. This requires several cornerstones: 0 0 0
the implementation
of a policy based on
efficient means of communication; accentuated cross-linkage among the various segments of an adequately qualified supply; and the pursuance of managerial conditions uhich permit the selfmanagement of operations.
There is a risk that these suggestions may not be implemented because they are considered banal or because they concern facts of national economic policy, but as time goes on it becomes increasingly obvious that if something is not done tokvards creating policies for motorways, airports, tourist port and airport charges etc. adequate to the great tourist potential of this area, tourism growth will not be possible. It is necessary for Rome to regard the South, as far as trains and motorways are concerned, in the same way that Paris regards Lice or blontecarlo and, with respect to ports and airports. as Paris regards Corsica. There are already some highly significant points of tourist production in southern Italy, but they are isolated from one another and unrelated to their surroundings. An interconnected policy of tourist supply does not refer only to a physical connection between these points of production, or only to a mechanical link with what surrounds them, but also to a global approach as regards all the sectors of activity Lvhich produce goods or services used by tourists as well as an organized and systematic development ot everything that represents an opportunity to profit from the great capital represented by tourism. It must also be borne in mind that respect for the environment must be observed as regards historic exhibits. folklore. food. art, and everything that contributes to the construction of a tourist package which is characteristic and different from that of any other area. A connection point must be found amon g the various aspects as well as a method of using them in a balanced manner. placing trust in a local enterprise which is adequately set up and stimulated.
TOURISM
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1990
239
Since the 1960s when the Ita!ian authorities introduced a policy of industrialization in southern Italy, the tourism industry has been given low priority. By the mid-1970s industrial development could no longer sustain high levels of employment and the tourism industry was suddenly perceived as a means of revitalizing the southern Italian economy. The haphazard development of tourism up till that time meant that in spite of isolated successes the tourism industry as a whole lacked a coherent policy and a continuous communications and supply network. With improved road and air access and investment in infrastructure southern Italy has great tourism potential. Piero Barucci is President of the Scientific Committee of Mercury Ltd (tourism research and consultancy), Via Rombinelli 5, 50123 Firenze, Italy. Emilo Becheri is Director, Scuoia Superiore dei Commercio del Tourismo e dei Servizi, Vi&e Murillo 17, 20149 Milano, Italy. Final version submitted accepted May 1990.
March
1989;
‘P. Savona, ‘Tourism in southern Italy’, paper presented at the Third National Conference on Tourism, Rome, February 1987, Board of Tourism, Rome, 1989. ‘P. Savona and S. Zoppi, ‘The economic structure of southern Italy and conditions for eliminating the gap’, paper presented at the Project South Congress, Sorrento, Italy, 1 December 1987. 3Much unskilled manpower in the areas of central and southern Italy comes from the South, while in the South itself it is people comtng from northern and central Italy, or trained in those areas, who carry out managerial roles. More generally, in all the advanced services there is a situation which has been defined as a functional deficit. See Formez, ‘The advanced sercontinued on p 228
0X1-51 77/90/030227-l
During the 1960s the decision was taken to industrialize southern Italy with the prevailing wish being to restore welfare standards rather than productivity levels. This action enhanced the role of enterprises in a position to produce a high added value. But the tourist industry, divided among the numerous branches of ‘other’ activities, assumed a residual function.’ The redefinition of the industrial development model in the second half of the 1970s caused tourism to begin to be regarded in a less prejudiced tight. When ind~lstriiil economies seemed to be in a crisis of ‘plenty‘ and the level of industrial employment started to fail continuously. and when it seemed evident that it would be difficult to establish new factories and new industrial centres in Italy. it \vas natural to wonder uhat the touristic destiny of the South might be. In the meantime local tourism had grown in a disorganized, almost accidental, way with recourse to less marketable types of accommodation like tourist residences and holiday homes or. forming tourist islands, often with outside intervention, that were analogous to isolated industrial installations with villages and hotels under the control of distant investors.
Evaluation of the current situation Of course the situation varies from region to region and in general terms there are some fine tourist installations, but a continuous network of tourist facilities is lacking. The situation is exacerbated by the strong dependence of the local tourist economy on economies outside southern Italy. Even though there has not yet been a precise evaluation of goods and services purchased by tourists, to make sure that tourist requirements are satisfied, a sufficient number is purchased to reduce the added value and the efficiency of the interaction and grouth of tourist enterprises.’ The problems which confront tourism in southern Italy are clearly shown by the p~~~~~~~of e?T~~l~~t~l~tlt and the ~~I~~~o,~ of tire secrsorrnl factor. Among the relatively more sophisticated forms of suppiy, specialized lnbour and managers are often drawn From other regions of Italy.” Even though the summer season appears to be climatically longer in southern Italy, there is a greater concentration of holidaymakers in the months of July and August than occurs in northern and central Italy. This trend is difficult to change and is explained by the lack of variety in
3 @ 1990 Butterworth-Heinemann
Ltd
227
Table 1. Nights spent by Italian and foreign tourists in registered tourist accommodation. Regions
1965
1975
1985
1987
Pledmom
45 12 10 2 74 150 37 11 3 14.6 9.3 07 3.0 62 17 0.1 4.4 15 0.4 1.6 2.3 09
35 13 85 08 14.9 36 90 123
30 18 6.3 13 1 13.3 27 7.6 123 85 10 38 a7 55 0.1 47 1.8 02 13 2.6 1.6
2.7 19 63 139 13 3 2.7 7.7 11.8 8.7 1.1 3.3 a.7 5.3 0.1 47 19 0.2 1.1 2.7 1.9
Valle d’Aosta Lombardy Trentlno Upper Adage Veneto Frlull Venetla Julia Llgurla EmlIla Romagna Tuscany Umbrla Marches Latlum Abruzzo Mollse Campama Puglla Baslllcata Calabrla slclly Sardlnla North-centre Italy 9’ South ‘%
Source: ISTAT (data in percentages).
continued from p 227 vice sector in southern Italy’, Researches and studies, No 34, Rome, 1982. 4CentraI Institute of Statistics (ISTAT), Survey of Italian holidays and sports, ISTAT, Rome, 1985; and ISTAT, Statistics of hotel and non-hotel business, ISTAT, Rome, 1980 and subsequent issues. The sample representing survey of holidays taken by Italians takes into account everyone who goes away from their usual residence for more than four days (four overnight stays). The hotel and non-hotel statistics relate to movements of both Italians and foreigners, In both instances southern Italy has a greater concentration of tourist occupancy in the middle months of the year, but much greater in the case of the sample survey. ‘First it is becoming more evident that there is a problem with services, which is clear from a simple comparison of data 22% of the 2000 congress buildings in Italy are located in the South, but only 14% of the professional congress organizations (PCO). It is appropriate to note that, in the case of congresses, commercialization begins even before the physical construction of the building. For this reason, the question of congresses is somewhat symbolic in that there is a race on in the South to complete these structures, just as for the desired high level schools of tourism. health centres, service centres and cultural tourist itineraries. None of these initiatives, isolated from the others, will succeed in starting up an autonomous flow of tourists if suitable conditions and the necessary complementary activities are lacking, considering that external effects also depend on the public nature of many tourist resources. 6AI~~, the lesser inclination of residents to continued on p 229
228
9/o
Total occupancy
a.5 1.o 3.7 86 5.2 0.1 42 15 03 17 21 12
87.1 100.0 12.9
(x 1O3)
180 719
83.7 100.0 16.3 291 383
the tourism product of southern Italy.’ ple. is difficult to start up because activities.i
Conference there are
82.1 100.0 17.9
82.1 100.0 17.9 353 529
350 647
tourism. for esamno complementary
Dynamics of tourist supply and demand A first impression of the state of tourism in southern Italy may be obtained by considering both incremental and qualitative changes in the demand and supply of accommodation. Considering demand as a whole, southern Italy’s quota has risen from 12.9% to 17.9”0 in the last 20 years representing an increase in occupancy of about 72’Y0 in comparison with the 90% rise verified at a national level (Table 1). According to the different data of the sample survey of Italian tourists. the southern proportion of tourism is considerably higher than that of Italy as a whole and has increased significantly in the last 20 years, rising from about 23% in 1965 to 38.5% in 1985 (Table 2). The last 10 years have shown a strong recovery, somewhat contradicted by the only partial recovery revealed by the hotel and non-hotel statistics. but justified by the different iveighting of ‘submerged’ tourism (second homes, open-air tourism, private accommodation. etc) which is considered to a greater extent in the sample survey.’ Another Italian paradox is that the sample survey is more representative than the real statistics. In southern Italy the foreign component, hoivever. is greatly reduced. This is evident from a comparison with the L’eneto region, which alone records foreign occupancy 55% higher than the total of the southern regions in the competing areas of the Mediterranean and in comparison \vith Spain, in particular. where consistent increases have been recorded. hfoving on to the supply side, there is an obvious recov’ery- at the level of hotel accommodation and open-air tourism (campsites and tourist villages). In 1965 the number of hotel beds in southern Italy corresponded to about 13.1% of those available in northern and central Italy. whereas in 1975 this percentage \sas 20% and today is ?3-71%. The
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
September
1990
Table 2. Domestic tourist demand in Italy, according to the ISTAT survey of nights spent. Regions
1965
Piedmont Valle d’Aosta Lombardy Trentmo Upper Adage Veneto Fwli Venetia Julia Liguria Emilia Romagna Tuscany Umbrla Marches Latlum Abruzzi Molise Campania Puglia Basilicata Calabria Sicily Sardinla
Source:
Italy %
ISTAT Regional quotas (%) of destmatlons. according to the survey on holidays taken by Italians.
South % North-centre
Hotels (no) 1965
Regions Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglia Baslllcata Calabria Sicily Sardima South Italy Centre-north South:Centre-north % Regions
Italy
South:Centre-north
TOURISM
%
%
1972
6.9 16 9.4 3.8 8.3 22 114 12 1 85 11 3.6 75 25 0.4 58 56 0.1 34 56 19
1975
51 18 7.0 43 83 23 109 130 95 09 33 67 04 56 52 07 41 59 22
36 14 56 44 68 17 76 114 7.8 08 33 78 3.6 06 7.7 59 07 80 71 42
28
3.9 14 5.2 4.8 6.7 17 84 10 1 8.0 0.8 33 6.9 35 0.6 6.4 8.1 0.5 90 60 46
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
100.0
23.0 77.0
25.6 74.4
26.9 73.1
27.6 72.4
33.7 66.3
37.8 62.2
61.2
30.8
1975
1985
Hotel beds (no) 1965 1975
1908
1985
762 100 1 576 573 196 605 879 532
769 87 1 550 592 201 623 852 526
16662 1 455 45 540 12 631 3 464 10 552 25 622 11 520
36 723 2 058 71 146 31 758 4 962 29 092 45012 28 370
4 245 37 126 32 861
5 270 42 645 37 375
5 223 39 995 34 772
5 200 38 190 32 990
127 486 1 076 541 949 055
249 121 1 494 272 1245 151
14 1
15.0
15.8
134
41 3 79 33 5 38 61 40
1988 628 646 072 876 898 420 542 342
43 593 3 531 80 433 39 554 6715 39 084 62 820 44 156
304 424 1 617 748 1 313 324
319 886 1667 169 1 347 283
20.0
23.7
23 2
Beds in camps (no)
18 5 26 16 2 10 11 15
35 3 96 63 2 100 39 29
76 9 138 95 13 259 100 60
80 9 144 95 12 261 101 81
1 963 150 7 120 4712 140 755 1 635 1 637
16395 450 41 954 32 067 627 60 420 15 218 13 055
103 764 661
367 1 445 1 078
750 2 123 1 373
784 2 195 1412
18 112 215 583 197 417
180 186 687 640 507 454
MANAGEMENT
1985
100.0
756 101 1 640 572 242 582 905 472
15.6
1982
41 15 57 32 76 25 93 12.0 a.4 10 32 78 3.0 04 66 67 07 7.1 5.7 35
496 86 1 334 370 243 444 973 299
12.9
1976
50 1.6 62 37 80 2.1 99 13.2 9.1 0.9 3.3 7.4 3.2 04 64 56 08 53 51 0.8
beds in southern Italy.
Campsites (no)
Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglia Basilicata Calabrla Sicily Sardinia South Italy Italy Centrc+north
58 4.3 0.1 2.7 47 2.2
1968
increase during the 1965-8~ period is equal to 139’26 \vhereas for northern and central Italy, which already showed ;I ‘III~~LIE supply in 1965, the percentage increase is 3s”” (Table 3). The incidence of open-air tourism in southern Ital!,. in comparison with northern and central Italy,. rose from 1~.6’% to i1.6% for the number of campsites and from 9.2” o to 52.7% for the number of beds (see Table 3). an increase of 1900”~, against that of 2510; for northern and central Italy. These simple statistics, although based on different starting lcvrls. demonstrate that development is already taking place. The shortfall
continued from p 228 go on holiday, compared with those of northern and central Italy, affects the tourist gap. The average of the average regional percentages for the regions of northern and central Italy were 45.4% in 1982 and 49.4% in 1985. For the regions of southern Italy they were 27.4% and 31.2%.
Table 3. Hotel and campsite accommodation
6.7 1.6 90 44 8.9 2.3 11.3 120 91 1.0 35 72 2.6 0.3
34.0
September
54.6
1990
55.5
92
35.5
39 2 48 62 4 134 29 40
455 932 590 022 644 452 127 949
362 171 1 056 366 694 195 52.2
40 2 52 68 5 136 27 56
851 932 940 337 644 070 474 152
390 140 1 146 301 756 161 51.5
229
Table 4. Degree of tourist
Note: ‘The level of potential tourism in the southern regions of Italy has been obtained by considering the number of beds in relation to an index which takes into account both population and surface area.
attraction
in southern
Italy’
1987.
Regions
Total
Total excluding rented houses
Abruzzo Molise Campania Puglla Sasflicata Calabrla Sictly Sardima Centre-north
197 9 47 33 10 79 23 31 121
107 18 60 49 18 136 33 51 107
45 115
127 27 65 89 20 295 32 72 106
Italy
100
100
100
100
63
67
50
88
South
% %
Hotel beds 90 16 68 31 27 55 44
Beds in campsites and tourist villages
compared with the rest of Italy remains. however. and is sho\vn by a simple index which compares the number of beds with the population and size of the territory. This is only a rough indicator; it can be termed the tourism index and it represents a way of calculating an area’s potential to attract tourism. There are, however, many aspects of tourism. and the attractiveness of a tourist site may be unpredictable and difficult to quantify - for example being geographically isolated ma>’ be a relative advantage. When constructing a tourism indrs it is necessary to proceed with caution; eg if one introduces a variable to take account of domestic means of transport but fails to consider geographical location, an improvement in the level of potential tourism is obtained, whereas taking into account other infrastructure, such as the water supply and other service systems, gives a total reduction in the general indes for the South (first column, Table 4) of about 54%. The situation becomes more complicated when taking into account the quality of tourist development which is predominantly centred on open-air tourism and therefore considered as being of a ‘poorer’ and ‘weaker’ nature, especially when considering the motivation behind visits to southern Italy. The first column of Table J shows accommodation in relation to average population and surface area. It shows accommodation in the South to be 63% of that for the whole of Italy and about 9% of that for the regions of northern and central Italy. The validity of the comparison is, however, questionable due to the fact that private rented accommodation has a different weighting in southern Italy than in the other regions. Comparing the data gathered annually by the tourist boards for rented accommodation and the data resulting from the census, it appears that the number of dvvellings available for holidays is about three times as high as is indicated by the tourist boards’ data.’ If one excludes rented accommodation in all the regions (the second column of Table 4) then a significant recovery in the level of potential tourism for the southern regions emerges, with much less difference evident between southern Italy and northern and central Italy. There is a clear correspondence, for large areas, betvveen this result and the level of potential tourism relative to open-air holidays. The data extracted from the figures relating to private accommodation show a greater correspondence than those obtained using other forms of infrastructure, eg transport. This is emphasized by reference to the proportion of the national market which is ‘owned’ - from this it is evident that there is a recovery in ‘submerged’ tourism, as mentioned when
‘Eg in Basilicata the number of houses set aside for holidays is 14 times higher than the number of rented lodgings, and in Puglia 25 times higher.
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TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
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1990
earlier, which is not revealed by the official records. What the available data do show, however. is that a greater structural weakness exists in southern Italy, clearly evidenced by the smaller number of hotels and confirmed by the higher percentage utilization of tourist accommodation. Among the group of regions a subgroup can be identified, whose problem is to reach the average level of accommodation of the other southern Italian regions. It is difficult to disentangle data which are neither homogeneous nor easy to interpret and there is a risk of introducing errors associated with generalizing.
Competitors in the tourist market
‘E. Becheri, G. lmbesi and A. Martelli, ‘Tourism development policies’, paper presented at the Third National Conference on Tourism, Rome, 1987, Board of Tourism, Rome, 1989, p 57 onwards. gin a certain sense it could be said that there are two kinds of competition centred on seaside tourism - first competition with other regions of Italy which absorb by far the greater part of automobile traffic; and second competition with other Mediterranean countries as regards tourism based on air travel.
TOURISM
MANAGEMENT
To obtain a correct definition of the problems of tourist competition among the various Mediterranean regions it is necessary to refer to presentations at the Third National Conference on Tourism (February 1957) where the concept of a psychological definition of one day’s travelling time was introduced in order to identify the areas at the intersection between tourism and transport and, in particular, tourism and air transport.’ It is in th’IS area that the greatest difficulties of the southern Italian regions are found because of the lack of direct flights from central Europe. Furthermore, the countries which originate tourist flows predominate in organizing package tours. In fact the integration of transport and tourism determines two different kinds of competition between countries which fall into two groups - autobahnreisetl (car travel) and flrtgreiserz (air travel). Southern Italy, in contrast to central European countries, forms part of the second group. For this reason Spain, Greece, Tunisia, etc are mainly competing with the southern regions of Italy and only secondarily with Italy as a whole. The northern and central Italian regions in fact The form part of the first group in vvhich Italy is more competitive.’ transport variable is, therefore. a physical and a psychological penalty for the South due to its geographical position and to the higher costs and longer travelling time that this entails. The isolation of southern Italy in tourist terms may also be considered as a particular instance of the more general condition of an out-of-date road network. The case is different for air routes, where it is justifiable to wonder what possible reasons could account for the failure to start up as many flights and circuits as potentially possible. The airlines say that the reason is the lack of economic incentive to start up a significant tourist circuit - taking into account average environmental and accommodation conditions in southern Italy, the existing flow of international tourism is considered quite high already, even though it is mostly concentrated in villages and chains providing ‘all-in’ packages which have little effect on the local economy.
Criteria for tourist development Certain prejudices are often displayed towards southern Italian tourism. The simplest and most effective of these affirms that supply in southern Italy must be based on quality in order to be competitive with other Mediterranean countries - more action should be taken as regards the quality of the product than as regards prices. In reality, the qualitative indices of southern supply as regards tourism often do not seem
September
1990
231
“It is the criterion of transverse linkages in the tourist industry which affirms that the growth of a locality can occur only on condition that, besides a process of feedback and osmosis between the various economic sectors, there is also a reciprocal understanding of the various starting cultures (the latter being a condition more easily carried on in economically advanced areas). “Eg a segment of demand is young tourism - an image almost completely absent in southern Italy in spite of some positive pre-conditionings like the possibility of open-air tourism. From a general point of view, typical demand can be considered as constituted by young Italian families and by the so-called ‘return tourism’ which is by no means a secondary motive in choosing a holiday.
232
different from those of other regions of Italy. The problem is really with the level of quality, in the sense that, even tvith the same indices, a supply lvhich seems identical with another may present better or worse formal external and internal conditions (safety. service, cleanliness, professionalism, tourist culture, etc). In essence. the situation regarding local infrastructure seems to be on a par with that of the organization of accommodation. By comparison with competing Mediterranean areas, the level of general infrastructure is actually higher but competitiveness is reduced in the activities referred to as ‘after-accommodation’. While it is true that a high level of iI~~r~structur~ is always associnted with a high degree of economic development. such high levels are not always an ~~utoln~~tic gu~lr~~rltor of development. From this point of vieby, and with specific reference to tourist activities, the contrast betiveen the South and the rest of Italy is justified and the hypothesis is confirmed that economic and social infrastructure adopts a different role depending on the state of regional development. In particular, when the activities of economic infrastructure. eg means of transport, communications and energy , are not functionally linked to the requirements of the local economy, the induced effects are fewer than the potential ones. This means that the supporting infrastructure of tourist development has to be planned from bvithin and that social benefits will be greatly reduced unless the infr~~str~Ict~Ire is integrated with the network of local trading.“’ If it can be stated that tourism in southern Italy has shown a quite creditable growth in ‘real’ terms, the argument changes when it comes to qualitative considerations. Let us take, for esample, a service which cannot be quantified even though it represents the essential opportunity for a functional link between infrastructure and other tourist services ‘the image service’ - implying both a conception of tourist culture and the summation of external promotional activities carried out by the regional authorities and public and private organizations. Also. apart from the safety aspect which. moreover. is of the first importance, the image of southern Italy abroad is imprecise and confused due to the lack of coordination of various initiatives and because an approach which makes reference to the various functional areas is hardly ever adopted. One need only pick up a tourist brochure to become aware of the secondary status which is accorded to southern Italy and the stereotypes used to characterize it - the wonderful sun, the enchanting views and the omnipresent pizza. Cultural aspects, although there are many, are completely subordinated.” The supply sectors in the South are not sufficiently coordinated and lack the autonomous specificity to carry out proper marketing. Cultural and artistic aspects have always been marginal compared with seaside tourism, and references to the special climatic situation which, for example, makes hol~daying in Sicily during the winter an attractive proposition. have gradually disappeared.
From theory to practice The first action which needs to be taken to fill the gaps in tourist services is to improve the image and culture of tourism. This action alone could be effective but would be better supplemented by a series of initiatives directed towards the commercialization of aspects of supply kvhich are
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‘*Eg it is the right moment to rationalize and add to the number of tourist ports, but qualifying the operation in a naturalisticenvironmental sense, eg providing for the construction of small ports catering only for sailing boats (excluding motor boats). About half Italian tourist ports are located in southern Italy, but the relative weighting of this fact drops considerably when considering ports which can offer services of a high standard. 13Because of the structural fragility of the tourist industry determined by political and social conditioning, it is necessary to bear this possible scenario in mind. Due to these conditions, when speaking of tourism in the Mediterranean area it is necessary to reject a provincial point of view and to take into account African and Asian as well as European countries. In reality the countries which border the Mediterranean do not constitute a homogeneous group and may be divided into three groups according to area - those of the western and northern shores (Spain, France, Italy and Greece), those of the eastern shore (Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan and Cyprus,) and those of the southern shore (Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Egypt). To understand the size of the problem it is sufficient to know that the gross domestic product of the northern shore is equal to five times that of the other countries. However over-Utopian it seems, if the question of the tourist development of southern Italy is to be stated in the correct terms, it is necessary to refer to this comprehensive picture. It is certain that in the next few years the demographic weighting of the northern countries will fall from the current 50% to 35%, the tourist interchange will increase, and so new problems will crop up as regards economic and social balances with stronger ties between all the countries in the area and a fact rarely considered that, in terms of the 21 st century, tourist competition will be on a global scale.
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already on the market but which are partly hidden in the muddle of the local system. There remains the image of a comprehensive subdimension of activities which magnifies the effect of tourism by comparison with other large economic sectors. Adaptation requires that higher standards be attained in all the various components as well as a qualitative structural shift, which also implies that quantitative changes be made. It is certain, however, that clarity is necessary for all these operations; yet it is sometimes difficult even to understand what is happening due’ to the multiplicity of bodies which deal vvith southern Italy and with its tourism. There is a tendency to pursue megaprojects while everyday problems remain unsolved, and those vvho operate correctly lack precise points of reference on which they may place reliance. On the other hand, the incursions of those who deal with tourism in an impromptu and provisional manner should also be considered. With regard to large-scale operations. and in addition to the conditions relating to needed impact on the environment, greater interregional coordination must be ensured to consider southern Italy as a single area. Respecting these conditions, modern tourist development can really get under way, but the success and the continuation of this development depends on the surrounding connective tissue. So all the initiatives aimed at the re-qualification and re-composition of supply must be in a position to operate contemporaneously, providand also acting as a possible ing for simpler forms of accommodation, topping-up of other income; otherwise there is a risk that some particular installations, on the same level but separated by the environmental context, will represent islands with poor added value. Tourist activity has expanded patchily, with some exemplary cases - now is the moment to link up these installations with a suitable connective network so as to make the supply sufficiently homogeneous. Tourism represents a great opportunity to fill the productivity gaps in southern Italy, but it needs a corresponding adjustment of the external components even though it can manage its own development autonomously. The role of functional relationships (and also of the image) prevails over material ones. In this sense, decisive help may be forthcoming from various existin g centres (in the form of technological innovation), from the financial centres willing to organize and run operations, and from the setting up of managerial centres for tourism. In order to plan the development of southern Italy it is necessary to streamline the times and methods of intervention; instead, one often has the feeling that there is a lack of adequate planning in that projects which will come to fruition tomorrow are created on the basis of the ideas of today, which tomorrow will no longer be valid.” Falling within this conception is the proposal to reserve the South for the development of tourism in competition with the growth of Spanish tourism and, as a corollary to this, there are considerations related to fostering a high-quality tourism or various attempts to emphasize the phenomenon based on the model of the Costa Smeralda. These are already dated conceptions which state the problems in terms of alternatives and competitiveness rather than in terms of complementarity.” The point of reference for a positive proposal is still the aggregate demand as shown when the development of the tourist’s character is appraised. In only a few years the paradigms of reference have become wider and the possible options have increased. Some basic tendencies can be identified:
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*
l
globalization (internationalization) of the holiday increase in motives for, and uses of. tourism.
market;
and
One individual may have more tourist experiences than another, and they all may divide the motives of rest and relaxation between them. In order to satisfy the first motive (rest) one might stay at one or more of the customary resorts. The second motive (relaxation) will produce greater mobility and may sometimes be associated with the first. In this way there will be more complementarity and there will have to be a reconversion towards a fuller spectrum of possibilities for a more compiete segmentation of the market. while the qualitative aspects will no longer be defined unequivocally (the quality of quality). The scenario for the future of tourism in southern Italy poses a great problem because there will be widely differing consequences according to the choices made and the impact which these will have on the local economy. There is the risk of not making the most of the opportunities which arise. The transition, for example. from a .traditional’ and highly differentiated supply to a more modern and homogeneous one could be traumatic, so it is necessary to preserve the positive characteristics which have made the existing development possible, intro~~Llcing some changes of direction to consider the links between acc~~inmodat~on and different kinds of tourism so as to identify the possible solutions. In the re-composition of these elements it is necessary to adapt to the various demands according to a criterion of compatibility, avoiding being influenced by the contrast between ‘rich’ and ‘poor’ types of tourism because, at least up to the present. the forms considered less aristocratic - campsites, private lodgings and tourist villages - have had induced effects on local economies which are at least comparable with those forms considered ‘rich’. Finally, there is an aspect which has been undervalued - control of demand etc. Tourist demand is increasingly dominated by those who assemble the various phases (tourist intermediation) and who operate at the places where tourist flows originate rather than.at their destinations. There are already examples of commercialization in private hotel chains and also in campsites and residences. In order to organize supply it is therefore necessary, in the first place, to rationalize the phenomenon of tourist residences and holiday homes to a.greater extent while still maintaining current standards of freedom. Some of the organizations which hide behind a generic conception of promotion should try to organize proper structures for the commercialization of some segments of tourism in southern Italy. It this way the problem, eg of the strongly ‘privatized’ conception of second homes which makes exploitation of the market difficult, would be overcome. These operations may be seen to have a ‘soft’ effect, but in reality they produce hard results because they contribute to that redefinition of image which seems to be the premise for making concrete forms of intervention possible, and thereby represent a cultural fact of great importance. The considerations which have been expounded may be synthesized as the necessity of passing from the old conception of tourism, which characterized development up to the early 19SOs, to a new way of looking at things which must characterize the present and the future.
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Old upprorzcll to tourism
0 l l l l l l l l ,Verv
l l l l l l l l l
tourism as a residual fact; supply indistinct and not professionalized; tourism assisted or controlled: sporadic and partial promotion; single-thread tourism (exclusively seaside); closed circuit; economic fact; separation between quality and quantity; and tourism ‘wild’ and aggressive. nppronch to foitrism tourism in a position to produce development; tailored according to the various segments of demand; autonomously managed tourism (local management with legally binding budget and collective entrepreneurship); deregionalized and organized promotion; multi-stranded tourism (more complex forms of tourism, even if centred around seaside tourism); ‘open-air’ phenomenon; also cultural and social fact; integration of quality and quantity; and respect for the environment.
Future de\~elopment hlany proposals have been made in the planning stage with different objectives ranging from the establishment of a park to the planning of new tourist villages as well as development of the port system. It must be said that in approving the first triennial programme (1987-S9), the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Economic Planning (CIPE) rejected all the regional proposals on tourism as not being coordinated, intending to distribute the available resources of 1500 x 10” (US billion) lire set aside for organized action number 10 (tourist supply) only after examining the better coordinated regional plans and the proposals made by Insud. In fact. Insud is assigned the specific task of proposing projects. as well as direct responsibility for promotion, assistance and initiatives in the tourism sector. As far as cultural tourist itineraries are concerned, if they had been proposed as a means rather than an end perhaps better results would have been achieved; however, the relevant studies commissioned by the former C~~ssa de1 Mezzogiorrlo (Fund for the Development of Southern Italy) will soon be ready. The activities and studies so far under way confirm the conditions and difficulties examined in this report - from the infrastructural and environmental aspects, to the necessity for a cross-linked supply, leading to greater integration and specific targeting of the various market segments. In this context the adaptation of the supply may be obtained by various procedures, and achievement will depend on the method used, eg an exclusive hotel implementation could lend itself to many criticisms when the limits of this structure on part of the tourist demand become clear. In fact, people live less and less indoors and more and more outside, and a trend exists towards simpler forms of accommodation (holiday villages) and towards places to stay which have associations with the
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QXt (palaces, villas. castles. farms and converted monasteries or convents). Another ambiguity which should be clarified relates to information systems and communication processes. The possibility of running data in real time and organizing an information feedback system is one of the This is an established fact minimum conditions for keepin g up-to-date. which has already involved too mnny ilttelllQtS at competition. Among the agencies appointed to deal with southern Italy. however, there are sometimes superimpositions of competence which prevent, or make extremely difficult, the transition from the planning to the active phase because, her dirt. the development agency is not fully operational and the or~i~nization~~l system of the dep~lrtrnent for southern Italy, whose task is the evaluation and selection of work plans and the coordination of the various operations, is not running lvell. All this aggravates the situation of those southern regions which have a reduced planning capacity. There is also a seneral tendency for this complex multi-agency and multi-initiative situation to esist at a local level. Our various recommendations may perhaps be s\,nthesized in a single proposal to connect and de\.elop the various init-i:ltives. Action needs to be taken regarding the assembly stage of the product and there must be effective and united coordination and commercialization of the whole area, creating a suitable org~~~~iz~ltio~~~ilstructure with the participation of private individ~t~lls and tour operators from the markets where tourist demand originates. Those agencies already concerned with the problem may be incorporated but must be provided with a suitable instrumentation so that they can operate effectively by being well acquainted with all parties concerned. This structure ‘should produce a feeling for the various possible operations but. in the absence even the cultural tourist itineraries are of any such organization. destined to be a complete failure. The analysis has so far been conducted uithin a ‘tourist framework’ but is also founded on a choice of economic policy which. for the regions of southern Italy more than nny\vhere else, iis a natural extension of the policy intensifies the role of service systems (from infr~lstructure to market connections) and this results as an intangible by-product of the filling in of the productivity gap. The basic capital is available to provide a strong potential for development. Contingent upon the current framework of the service systems, the preferred scenario for tourism development envisages a system with a high degree of cross linkage where connections are encouraged. Throughout all this. the second report on Italian tourism must be borne in mind, wherein it is affirmed that the quality of a tourist supply may be measured in terms of the material and intangible integration of the goods and services components. and of the functional relationships which come about between them and with connected branches and sectors.
Conclusions The provisional conclusions of this article concept of what tourism means in Italy shown during recent years. It seems that Italy in terms of tourism, partly because the summer extended well into September
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cannot be separated from the today and the potential it has 1987 was a favourable year for of the good iveather. In fact, and induced some fortunate
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Italians to extend their holidays. and brought quite a few foreigners to the more famous resorts in a month in Lvhich less overcro\\ding and a more tolerable average temperature are coupled Lvith reasonable prices. The flow of foreign tourists started to increase again and it is to be hoped that the beneficial results of this will soon be reflected in the positive balance of earnings from tourism. a most important prop in the balance of payments and, consequently, for the stability of the Italian lire. But the net income from tourism expresses the \,alue of all expenditure by foreign tourists in Italy less expenditure by Italians abroad. This means that. even though the number of foreign tourists to Italy is growing, the Italian tourist balance may increase less or ma) even decrease. The balance in fact depends on how much. on average. a foreign tourist spends in Italy and how much. on a\‘erase, Italian tourists spend abroad. Values in foreign currency depend on tbvo things - prices and the exchange rate. If the latter falls it can be said, as has alread!- happened in the past, that more tourists from a certain country come to Italy and that, for the same expenditure in Italian lire, their credit contribution to the Italian balance of payments decreases. In the past. v.hsn trying to produce commonsense explanations for economic matters. it was said that the movements of the exchange rate described the state of an entire economy and not just that of its currency. If all this is true, if follows that the average spending capacity of foreign tourists in Italy is decreasing from year to year. This may be because of Italian tourist prices. Lvhich are relatively hish. or even because a country like Italy, ‘mature’ in terms of tourism. stimulates decreasing enthusiasm as far as a propensity for spending is concerned. Or it may also simply mean that tourist expenditure increasingly tends to go on room, board and transport. and less on the purchase of various kinds of goods and services not strictly necessary for the trip. In other words, people come to Italy with the intention of living at the minimum possible expense, and because certain tourist attractions of great beaut! are to be found in Italy. Venice, Florence and Rome. 10 take the standard examples, cannot be excluded from anyone’s itinerary. Alternatively, people come when they are young, when they ssperience the thrill of a trip abroad for the first time, and then when old. they find themselves repeating nostalgic experiences. But as to the rest, it is other countries that are privileged, equally attractive from the tourist vieivpoint but less traditional and less expensive. Also. e\.en if potential world tourist demand grows, and it is forecast to do so. th? number of countries considered possible tourist destinations is also growing. When it is said that competition for tourism is getting tougher, it is usually only the price aspect Lvhich is considered. This is not exact competition gets keener because it is called into being by new countries which, at least for a few years, reap the advantages of no\.elty. Another fact, too, affects the tourist credit balance. It seems that this year as in past years the number of Italians going abroad, and consequently their average spending, is growing consistently. From the few indications available, it seems that countries with a strongly growing tourist industry, like Greece and Turkey, have this year undergone a peaceful invasion by Italian tourists of all ages. These tourists are considered among the most light-hearted. the most likeable and the easiest to please and have demonstrated a high spending capacity.
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Eniergencc from an era of tourist provincialism is causing a steady gowth in Italian demand abroad. but this cannot fail to involve some rethinking in Italy’s policy on tourism. both to adapt the touristreceiving apparatus 1 ‘he entire tourist supply to a market in vvhich competitors are multiplying. and to set up suitable instruments to strengthen the propensity of Italians to prefer internal destinations. This does not imply the introduction (or re-introduction) of protectionist measures. neither does it mean the evocation of loosely. nationalistic motives. It is only fair that Italians too should go vvhere they think best. following a passing fashion or comparing prices vvith the quality of the various services offered. One reason why Italian tourism has lost its competitive edge in recent years is because prices hnv,e been higher than elsewhere. However, when examined in the context of value for money. it becomes apparent that Italian tourist services are not out of line vvith the market. If one then takes account of the wide vnrietb, of utilisntion possibilities afforded by Italy‘s tourist supply. it can be conceded that it is still possible to have a relativ,ely good quality tourist industry in Italy. A wise information policy is required to draw attention to what the country has to offer in terms of tourist attractions and all Italian citizens should know their own artistic. cultural. urban and natural heritage at least to the same extent as they, know foreign ones. There is nothing wrong with going to Greece, and a cruise around the Turkish islands may have great appeal - provided that vve already have a knowledge of all that the Italian archipelago and major islands can provide. It follows that the problem of a rational utilization of southern Italy is a priority question, not only for the economic growth of the area, but for the whole Italian tourist industry ‘vv,hich in this vvay alone can maintain the position which it still occupies in the international sector of tourist demand. Frlture tourism developmetlt Italy has at her disposal a largely untapped capital, and climatic conditions which leave nothing to envy in those of Greece, Spain and Turkey. The future of the Italian tourist industry and of southern Italy. and the pivot of tourist policy. lies in the ability to brine this conviction to maturity. Tourism in southern Italy may also constitute a vvay to differentiate supply as a product to sell on international markets and may become a goal to *rediscover’ rather than discover. All this will be possible once tvvo preliminary questions have been resolved: 0
0
tourists that southern Italy is the prevalent idea amon, 0 international not safe, and that muggings and robberies are daily occurrences. must be eliminated; and southern Italy must not be separated from the rest of Italy and Europe by inefficient transport links, badly-run public services and tourist services of a quality inferior to European standards.
kluch has already been done in this direction but a great deal remains to be done. and must be done without delay. In order to achieve this it is first necessary to abandon the idea of southern Italy as an underdeveloped tourist area. In fact. the development of tourism has already begun and is advancing in a noticeable manner. So the gap is closing. exemplary initiatives investment is growing, and valid and sometimes
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are being created. This requires several cornerstones: 0 0 0
the implementation
of a policy based on
efficient means of communication; accentuated cross-linkage among the various segments of an adequately qualified supply; and the pursuance of managerial conditions uhich permit the selfmanagement of operations.
There is a risk that these suggestions may not be implemented because they are considered banal or because they concern facts of national economic policy, but as time goes on it becomes increasingly obvious that if something is not done tokvards creating policies for motorways, airports, tourist port and airport charges etc. adequate to the great tourist potential of this area, tourism growth will not be possible. It is necessary for Rome to regard the South, as far as trains and motorways are concerned, in the same way that Paris regards Lice or blontecarlo and, with respect to ports and airports. as Paris regards Corsica. There are already some highly significant points of tourist production in southern Italy, but they are isolated from one another and unrelated to their surroundings. An interconnected policy of tourist supply does not refer only to a physical connection between these points of production, or only to a mechanical link with what surrounds them, but also to a global approach as regards all the sectors of activity Lvhich produce goods or services used by tourists as well as an organized and systematic development ot everything that represents an opportunity to profit from the great capital represented by tourism. It must also be borne in mind that respect for the environment must be observed as regards historic exhibits. folklore. food. art, and everything that contributes to the construction of a tourist package which is characteristic and different from that of any other area. A connection point must be found amon g the various aspects as well as a method of using them in a balanced manner. placing trust in a local enterprise which is adequately set up and stimulated.
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