by Giovanni De Falco, director for the scientific activities at IRES Campania, Institute of Economic and Social Researches, INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MANAGEMENT AND TOURISM.

Abstract

This article offers a view about the changes of the tourism policies- conceived as a big touristic system- in the mediterranean area and in Italy from the nineties to our days. Four transformations, in terms of contents and objectives, change the relations between the Northern and Southern European Countries with the mediterranean area. For this reason, is necessary to hold in due consideration, in this sector, a displacement of economic factors not only for the Euro-mediterranean area but for the realization of new trends referred to the Arab-mediterranean zone.

In Campania, coherently with the development of a big touristic system, we observe the attempt to plan an integrated project for realizing a local touristic system. Organically, this system reorganizes the destination of the regional and national resources, defining new perspectives of development.

About a quarter of the world tourism is concentrated in the Mediterranean area, but this area is losing trade shares attacked by a planetary competition. From the beginning of the nineties, when about the 27% of world tourism arrived for holidays or work in Mediterranean countries, in 2001 we arrived at  about 21%. Maybe this isn’t an important data because in these years the absolute number of tourist is improving in an extraordinary way. But we have to be careful and analyze the situation according to the different criticalities.Competition, represented by the emergent destinations, becomes more combative and uses a very aggressive marketing. Mediterranean is not the only holiday place like 30 or 40 years ago.

The bathing tourism is in a maturity phase;  in other words the demand is not characterized by the couple sun-sea. We have a redistribution of the destinations  and a depth modification of the tourists motivations and behaviours. Each person when becomes tourist chooses a holiday place not only for the primary attractions: hotel, tanning, relax. The choice is transversal, caused by different options. The possibility of discovering the cultural tissue, the historical artistic and monumental heritage, the traditions, the typical wine- gastronomical products, the local flavours, the events.  This plurality of options contributes to the success for a tourist destination.  Mediterranean potentialities are extraordinary. The resources of this area  represent a unicum which no has comparison with other parts of the world. If we look at the tourist Mediterranean trade we notice in reality that the 80% of tourist movement is positioned on the North side. The most important places are Spain, Italy, followed by France, Greece and, finally, by the countries of the Arabic Coast in the South side.

Tourist development of the Mediterranean area is connected by a lot of problems:

1. The absence of a global vision of the Mediterranean region. We are unable, for example, to comparison the “numbers”. Every expert uses different parameters and in this way is impossible to sum the datas. We have to establish methodologies and common tools of research.
2. There is a big problem: the supportability of tourist development. Tourism, conceived like a means of cultural integration, able to permit the reciprocal knowledge, the valorization and the understanding of the differences, not only linguistic, but cultural, religious, of valuees and life- style.

The tourism is a means  of globalization, with the culture of standardization, and homologation. When we talk of hotels and services standards we have a quality improvement, but when standard means homogeneity of behaviours, elimination of characteristics and traditions all becomes the same. This is a problem of supportability not environmental but social. Tourism is employment, (to create work with tourism costs six times less than in the industry) economic development, wealth.

We have to apply sample of supportable development, which not means only care about earth, water and air pollution, but respect to the different social samples, of behaviours, of traditions and flavours.

In the past, someone supposed the construction of a “Mediterranean board of tourism coordination and promotion”. This idea wasn’t realized, but it’s possible to constitute a starting line for some critical evaluation.

The causes of this project failure depend on the ideological differences, on the contraposition between the countries and on the religious and ideological differences. The imagine of a Mediterranean area is difficult to conceive like a macroarea of reference, and when it occurs we have always a problematic approach of defensive type, like happens in the case of the environmental problems.

The constitution of the European Union and the realization of its politics absorbes the debate and the energies of all the countries, and, like a consequence, it creates a negative paradigm referred to tourism, which caused a more weak perception of Meditterranean identity. We have forgotten that Mediterranean represents a complex but unique historical cultural entity, divided in the differents regional diversities. In the specific case we have forgotten that Italy is, in tourist terms, an essential Mediterranean country, with a reference and leadership role. At this role look, like an essential point of reference, the South side countries.

The problem of to be mediterranean was ignored because won a political-administrative logic that had, like a principal referrence entity each single country, and because the European area was opposed to the Mediterranean area

The change of behaviour was the constitution of the “Committee of the regions” at the EU in 1994. Since that time started a process of evaluation about the role of the regions and of a Mediterranean area identity discovery through the valorization of the local identities.

The tourist activities represent the principal world industry and the most dinamic industry with a medium annual growth rate of about 4%, foressen until the year 2020 (only tourism presents these growth perspectives).

The prevision done by the Wourl Tourism Organization in the 2000, valued that 668 millions of international arrivals in the 1999 will become more of 1600 millions in the year 2020. The rate, in terms of incomes, will be superior (for Campania, actually, is about 2000 milliard of Euro). Obviously, this growth will not be realized in an homogeneous way but it will be different in terms of quantity and quality with some areas and some products which will develop more and others which will slow down its growth rate. We will have some trend crisis but, complexively, in Europe and Mediterranean, the growth will be positive. Passed the recent period of crisis (years nineties) the tourism is again a driving activity.

About the problems of public order, a significative case is the egyptian. After the terroristic attack in Luxor in 1998 the tourist presences reduced but in the years 1999 and 2000, with the creation of other conditions, increased. For example, after the 11^th september we registered a strong flexions (above all in other Middle Eastern countries).

We mustn’t forgot that Europe is characterized by mature typologies of tourism and with a slow rythm of growth, but the Mediterranean evidences high rates of development, but with reduced world trade shares. In comparison the European area is the world leader with the 59% of the international arrivals and the 52% of the incomes, but the Mediterranean share on the world total  is the 29% of the arrivals and the 25% of incomes.

The difference between the two areas is given by the synthesis which opposes Europe, like plurality of tourisms, with a strong business presences, to the Mediterranean like an holiday place. In other words, we have to comprise which role has the conception of Mediterranean, in the choice of visiting an italian city or to go in Egypt to have a nice time on the river Nile.

The answer is not simple,  but, in general, it seems that the strength of the single products and the destinations-products won respect to that macroarea, but this represents an environmental paradigm and a reference scenario. The contraposition between developed countries and developing countries is the principal way of reading respect to the belonging.

During the nineties the belonging to the Mediterranean area and the necessity of common politics started to stand out, moving, in particular, to the demands of environmental character. Parallely, started the contraposition between Central European countries and Mediterranean countries. This line stands out in the European Union too, in particular with the creation of the “Committe of the Regions” (1994). In the tourist field starts to consider the area not only like a destination (incoming) but like an origin too (outgoing).

The Euro-Mediterranean collaboration (partnership) aims to the strenghten of a political stability, of the democracy, and to the creation of a Mediterranean free exchange zone in the year 2010, to the development of an economic-social cooperation, to the promotion and reciprocal knowledge, to the cultural and human exchange between peoples. The project aims to the social-economic development and considers as a priority the partnership. In this sense we can affirm that EU starts a politic of cooperation focalized on the Mediterranean. The European projects have a lot of difficulties, and some river South side representatives affirm that we need to talk about “Arabmed” not only “Euromed”.

The action directed to this area are developed and we have new components: during the Euromeditteranean conference about the supportable cities” in Sevilla (1999) it was proposed a “Declaration” about the necessity for the EU to consider the ecological, economic and social cities specificities and to support the cooperation activities, the euromediterranean  partnership and the program of technical assistance for the defence of the environment (Metap).

In Marseille (2000) had place the fourth “Euromediterranean Conference” with all the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers and Algeria, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Malta,  Tunisia, Palestine Authority and Turkey. The principal problems were partnership and security with particular interest for the terrorism themes, emigration and human exchanges. On the plan of the economic activities it was debated the financing cooperation theme according to a semplification and acceleration of the processes. It was confirmed the will of creating a zone of free exchange between the community territory and  the mediterranean partners, in order to the ratification of associative agreements with the EU.

The attention to the Meditteranean led to the creation of some associations directed to, like in the case of the Unimed, Meditteranean University, and the Mediterranean Universities Community  (Cum) conceived like an Universities wide area, with a prior interest in the field of cultural heritage, in particular through the transference of the Know-how in the training sector (masters).

In october 2000 in Genova, in the “Sommet des villes de la Mediterranée”, had place a meeting with 22 rectors of 8 countries Universities ( France, Spain, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt, Lebanon and Italy) in the sphere of the programme Tethys which created the Euromeditteranean University. The principal objective is the development of common training at distance programmes.

In the meditteranean area emerged some common lines, but some incompatibilities too, because of the trend problems and the differents peoples cultures.

For evaluating these aspects we have to start from some considerations of concrete character and from the factual logic, considering the big difference between the North side countries and the South side countries. For example, Egypt, although its good imagine, has the same hotels number of the Rimini area, but with a mayor beds number.

Although the strong development of the last years, for example in Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Turkey, many potentialities are unexpressed.

The tourism deserves a big consideration for its importance in the global economy. The growth rythms of this sector are so quick and significative getting hard the comparison between other economic activities. The tourism will continue growing in the next 20 years.  The demonstration is the big interest of the multinational financing companies, which change their activities, dedicating a big attention to the tourism.

The tourism is an essential component of our country development process with a strong importance in the labour world with 2 millions of employed, and a partecipation to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of 6,5-7%. Although the importance of these numbers in Italy, maybe we don’t take a good care to this section.

Only after a lot of years in Italy we have a specific law about tourism, the n.135 of year 2001. The text provides the essential rules for the regolamentation of tourist enterprises. The rule will be completed with others rules issued by the State and the Regions, for defining all the tourist sector.

The law principles are inspired by the recognition of tourist enterprises strategic role for italian economy, with positive effects for the employment (in this sense the recent labour reform is good for tourism, because tend to emerge the new forms of labour, specific for the sector), the wishes of realizing the federalism, giving to the territorial authorities a prior role (Regions, Provinces, Communes) and the necessity to get near the italian tourist discipline to the european. Between the strategic points, like proposal of economic sector subjects reform there is the deductibility of the VAT (Value Added Tax) and the significative increase of the resources for Italy imagine in the world promotion.

The law receives innovator elements, which originated by the constitutional reform:

-       the introduction of the federalism concept with the limitation of the State competences related to the promotion of the tourist offer to the abroad and the conservation of the general principles for all the enterprises that operate on the national territory, while other competences will be transferred to the Regions, Provinces, Communes;

-       the institution of the National Tourism Conference, which will promote a debate on these themes;

-       the redaction of a “Rights Document” which tourist could use in the relation with the enterprises;

-       the grant of facilitation for the citizens with economic and physical problems;

-       the individuation of local tourist systems: territory considered unique for the environmental, cultural, gastronomic, craftmade characteristics;

-       the creation of a financing fund for the tourist offer: a permanent fund for the concession of facilities to the sector enterprises;

-       the definition of the concept of “tourist enterprise” for the State whole territory;

-       the semplification of the administrative procedures for opening and transference of the receptive structures;

-       the abrogation of the precedent law.

The article 5 of the national law about tourism (135/2001) introduces the definition of “local tourist systems” with the relative dispositions about the “local productive systems”. The “local tourist systems” are the homogeneous or integrated tourist context, which comprises the territorial ambits belonging to differents regions, characterized by the integrated offer of the cultural heritage, environmental, tourist heritage, comprising the typical agricultural and craftmade products, or by the presence of the single or associated tourist enterprises. The tool of principal promotion is the concerting between public authorities and private authorities, in associated form too. The “local tourist systems” purposes are, in particular:

-       to develop activities and processes of aggregation and integration between the tourist enterprises;

-       to realize intersectorial and infrastructural interventions for the qualification or re-qualification of the tourist offer;

-       to promote the web marketing of the tourist projects.

The “local tourist systems” are the principal receiver of the national and regional resources respect to the aim of a territory integrated development. The logic of this system is systemic, of integrated offer, respect to a different view, made by small scale enterprises which work in an individual way. It’s evident too that the identification of the local tourist systems could  be geographic only in the field of the tourist area homogeneity. The systemic logic could lead to individuate transversal areas between the regions connected to the ideas of others European countries (Spain, France, England), for identifing the “local tourist systems” we need to individuate:

-       the existance of important factors of attraction, linked to the local productions;

-       the consistency of the tourist offer and its strengthening of characteristics/necessities;

-       the existance of explicit and defined enterprises aggregations and of public-private type with clear area projects;

-       the start of knowledge forms for the Territorial Public Authorities.

Referring to the demand, we have to say that this sector occurs only for individuating the suitable typologies of intervention: could exist areas with big potentialities, in terms of resources, absolutely or less overworked in terms of receptivity, where couldn’t be good for the site attractive to strengthen the offer; in other localities, can be essential the intervention of changing the flows and offer re-qualification. Is a series of configurations linked to the “district” logic with the objective of creating or developing skills and competences of system which permit a better utilization of the local resources. The strategic development projects of “local tourist systems”, must be conceived with an absolute coherence with the guide lines fixed by the strategic plans, realized at regional level, in way to create a good interventions coordination for the tourist sector.

The Conference State-Regions decided the plan for the distribution of 200 millions of euro at some conditions: to work for modificating the parameters of division for the next year.

Some Italian regions, specifically Lazio, Campania and Sicilia, debated the choice of reference parameters, which penalizes some areas of the country. According to the parameters, initially individuated, the regions with the mayor destination of funds were Trentino, Veneto, Lombardia and Toscana, followed at distance by others regions. Campania was the South leader with a strong detaching to other regions. In each case this problem has been gone over through a care indication of the parameters for the funds distribution. In a short time, a new regional coordination will start for debating about the new criteria and arrive at a common logic, more complete and shared. Subsequently, will be issued a decree which will indicate the provided funds for each region related to the financing for the italian tourist offer (art.6 law 135/2001).

On the basis of that, the region could issue the announcement of competition, destinated to the tourist operators, for strengthening the tourist offer and with the aim to create local system of tourist offer.

At central level is important to fix the guide line of the strategies, providing inspiring principles to the Region, in way that they decide in order to a viewpoint of local development, contributing to the increase of the tourist flows to Italy, to strengthen the tourist receptive structures and to the qualification of the same. Taking again the theme of the integrated projects, the Region Campania provided, in the tourist sector, to individuate the territory areas with mayor difficulties and opportunities of intervention, distinguishing the national and regional Parks, the capital of province cities, the cultural itinerarities, the cultural attractions, the tradings, the tourist systems. For the “National and Regional Parks” are provided the Regional Operative Programme, the programme contract, and others regional laws. The parks are the following:

-       Vesuvio National Park;

-       Cilento and Vallo di Diano National Park;

-       Partenio Regional Park;

-       Matese Regional Park;

-       Roccamonfina Regional Park- mouth Garigliano;

-       Taburno Regional Park- Camposauro;

-       Monti Picentini Regional Park;

-       Campi Flegrei Regional Park;

-       Monti Lattari Regional Park.

A series of aimed interventions, are provided in all the capital of province cities too. We have, too, the indication of “cultural itineraries” which deserve a particular tourist valorization: Ancient Capua, Litorale Domitio, Valle dell’Ofanto, Regione Tratturo, Monti Trebulani-Matese, Ancient Volceij, Valle dell’Alto-Clanis.

Near the itineraries, have been individuated some areas which deserve a particular valorization of the system logic and represent essential “cultural attractions” for the Campania tourism: Campi Flegrei, Certosa di Padula, Paestum and Velia, Reggia di Caserta, archaelogical cities of Pompei and Ercolano, the Vesuvio Archaelogical System and the big attraction Napoli (museums, Ancient Centre, environment, Structures, etc.). The most important sectors for tourism, considered threadings, are the “thermal” and the “tourist harbour”.

The objective is to promote an integrated and harmonic development of these threadings, which involve the different typologies of actors, a re-qualification and a modernization of structures and services, considering the increasing international competition. Another project typology is related to the “tourist systems”. Actually are two: the “Piana del Sele” and “Padre Pio” (religious tourism), areas with strong tourist development , referred to part of the trade, but important for tourism development and regional economy, and for the social and ethic significance of others intervents.  The Region is starting, with the collaboration of Provincial Administrations, the Integrated Territorial Projects wine-gastronomic, with the proposal of not only to develop the inner areas of the Region, and to valorize  the local typical productions. All this interventions are linked to the general plan of the interventions, promoted by the Region, with the objective of to arrive at a systemic tourism development, through integrated interventions for the demand and the offer. Respect to this, the intention is to render tourism the “motor” for the transformation of the potential regional resources (naturalistic, historical-artistic-cultural, productive), in real resources, perceived by the tourist, avoiding the distribution of the regional contributions according to no strategical and not much rational  logics.

In the ambit of the regional programme for the Campania internationalization, the Regional Board approved a resolution which provided the realization of promotional activities for the Campania system in Japan with the partecipation to manifestations, to international fair for give continuity to the programme of diffusion and development of the Campania product on Japanese trades, and to increase the relationship between Campania and Japan. It’s foreseen the organization of a workshop with Japanese operators in Napoli in the second part of the 2003 and  the realization of a partnership for the promotion of regional franchising.

The appreciation for the regional productions is increasing on Japanese trades, above all in the sector of clothes, shoes, gastronomic and tourist. The correspondence between quality of regional production to the japanese demand is confirmed by the precedent actions, between these: the presentation of the display about Pompei, organized by the japanese government in Osaka and Kagoshima, the visit in Campania of specialized fashion journalists, the partecipation by regional enterprises to the itinerant display “Moda Italia”, the recent visit of japanese tour operators and journalists in Campania and the “Fam Trip” (socialization trip) which had a big success.

These activities represent moments of exceptional valorization not only for the entrepreneurial competences because it means a movement for the tourism sector linked to a place typical product, transforming it in a tourist attraction.

The recent prevision of the Unioncamere Observatory about tourism are optimistic about the trend of the sector, which take part for the 6% in the national economy. In Campania the sector produces wealth for over 2000 millions of euro. The rationalization of the tourist structures and the increasing of the resource quality: projects, operations, will give positive results in a sector which, in this region, falls on the 9-10% of the GDP.