Cittàslow. The Emilia-Romagna case

This chapter focuses on Cittaslow association, in order to see the importance of tourism in the choice of joining as well as the eventual impact on this sector. In the first part, the author considers some recent trends of global tourism and their effects on local development and hospitality policies. The second part focuses on Cittaslow in Italy and a preliminary investigation of certified cities in Emilia-Romagna; their territorial distribution, the importance of tourism for joining, and their measures to meet the requirements in hospitality policies. The third part examines the case of Santarcangelo di Romagna and the effects of Cittaslow membership on local tourism; the relation seems to be weak even if tourism has increased over the last years.