Widespread tourist hospitality and social commitment: an italian responsible tourist destination

The paper is presenting the results of an empirical research that shows how responsible tourism development in rural areas can be promoted, in coherence with local specificities, integrating initiatives in artisan and agriculture sectors combined with social commitment. Tourists have the opportunity to support, with their choices, a wider development process that exceeds the individual dimension of their actions. In a small village of Southern Italy, Riace, has been introduced an original experience of a truly bottom up promotion of local sustainable development. This process has combined the social engagement of local actors towards immigrants and refugees with tourism, artisan and agricultural activities. Riace has been integrated in responsible tourism destinations. The paper is discussing the concept of responsible tourism, with reference to the Cape Town Declaration (2002), that requires operators, hoteliers, governments, local people and tourists to take responsibility to make tourism more sustainable. Several forms of tourism are promoted under this label: in fact “behaviour can be more or less responsible and what is responsible in a particular place depends upon environment and culture” (Goodwin, 2007). In Italy, in 1998, was created the Italian Association of Responsible Tourism (AITR) that now is composed by more than 60 associations, NGOs and cooperatives. They have adopted a definition of responsible tourism as a tourism implemented according to social and economical justice principles, that fully respect local culture and environment. Responsibility became a quality of a new type of tourism, based on the ethical dimension of travel. The case study shows how a tourist offer in rural area can be characterized by a social sustainable dimension. A local Association has promoted a project, named “Riace Village”, seeking both the enhancement of local culture and environment and offering hospitality to refugees. These latter activities have been supported through the connection with different networks of NGOs, associations and groups, operating especially in Italy and France, that have helped the local association to promote also a widespread tourist hospitality in the historic centre. The development of networks with other actors engaged in the solidarity economy has been fundamental to promote the Riace destination.