Emilia-Romagna Tourism from the Mayor’s Point of View: Global Trends and Local Resources

The influence of globalization on Emilia-Romagna seem to act in two ways. First, this Italian region is severely threatened by new competitors, which offer a similar tourist product at a lower price. Second, many recent trends imply the birth of new resources and opportunities, because local peculiarities can be revaluated and proposed on the global market. So, a tourist destination is no more a place which offers “sun and sea”; more and more, territory is becoming a key-factor in tourist strategy, and many destinations can find their own place in the global market. In order to be competitive today, promotion of a place is more and more important. Public institutions play a primary role in this process; in fact, local and national administrations are required to sustain and promote a region. At the same time, collaboration in place marketing is required; tourism today is articulated in many products and many requests, and the promotion of a region has to be accurately planned. Moreover, a singular destination is losing importance, while the concept of “tourist region” is constantly growing. Emilia-Romagna has always been known through its most famous destinations, like Rimini, Cervia or Riccione. Such destinations are less and less “charming” in a global tourist market; they should be located in a wider context, that means to say that the image of “tourist area” is more effective than “tourist destination”. The aim of this contribution is to show how local tourist policy has changed over the last years. In particular, the attention will be focused on township administrations. Mayors have been involved in the research, in order to understand how they perceive such changes in tourist trends. A particular attention will be given to the connection between tourism and the region where it takes place. The data are taken from 66 interviews to mayors and tourism assessors of the following Emilia-Romagna provinces: Ferrara, Forlì-Cesena, Ravenna, and Rimini. Many interesting points emerged. First, Emilia-Romagna is characterized with several new destinations; in this way, tourist offer is constantly growing and articulating. Several destinations are trying to promote their peculiar heritage and resources, with a deep connection with the territory they belong. At the same time, cooperation with surroundings administrations is more and more common; such trend is clear not only in the well-established tourist destinations, but also in the new ones. However, some old characteristics and problems of “Emilia-Romagna model” persist; there is a gap not only between coast and hinterland areas, but also between the northern and the southern coast. With regard to the mayors, different attitudes emerge about the importance of township cooperation, the role of public institutions in promoting tourist development, and the importance of local resources a tourist marketing strategy.