The social perception of the residential tourism as model of dominant tourist development

The traditional vision of tourism development models does not take due account of the fact that tourism can grow and develop naturally within a regional social structure where tourists come first to entrepreneurs, and where the economy generated by the natural growth of tourism will exceed that of “colonial tourism”: this is what we can observe in the many areas and / or tourist destinations of the world where the social phenomenon of so-called residential tourism (tourism of private homes for holiday) has been widely spread. However, on the basis of the available literature, the impression is that local communities are often incapable of fully understanding the phenomenon, even if it is the dominant tourist development model, perhaps because conceptual reading tools adopted are those of conventional tourism, typically hetero-directed, planned and standardized, and not more properly those relating to a particularly widespread type of tourism, based on self-management, spontaneity and on the general absence of adequate programming. This work aims to highlight the social perception of the phenomenon of residential tourism by the host communities, in particular that of very influential stakeholders: public administrators. The goal is to acquire knowledge that helps the conscious and sustainable governance of the phenomenon under discussion.