Tourism, enhancement and attractiveness of Italian small villages. Support measures and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan

Tourism, even before being an economic fact, is a human and social phenomenon. In recent decades, it has profoundly changed and is taking new trends. The studies on the subject emphasize how tourists are increasingly moved by the search for engaging experiences, by the desire to know culture, traditions and authenticity of places and by greater attention to sustainability and wellbeing. This scenario has led, even in the Italian context, to a renewal of tourist offer models increasingly in the direction of sustainability and adaptation to the new trends of demand and the quality of hospitality. In this frame, Italian villages and small centers’ reality take on a central value. Small village tourism, initially defined as "minor tourism", has acquired increasing importance in recent years, establishing itself as a specific tourist product. From this point of view, small villages can be an extraordinary opportunity for Italy, since they are places capable of generating alternative growth models which focus on communities and territories, on identity, resources and local “skills. In this framework, the study looks at the Italian small centres and fragile areas panorama, and focuses on the recent support measures launched and the National Recovery and Resilience Plan's actions for the enhancement and attractiveness of small villages, in order to identify the effects produced and the prospects of development for these contexts. The paper investigates the positive experiences through a survey of the actions and projects tourismbased, focusing on slow tourism practices implemented at the local level. Based on virtuous examples, the study identifies paths and possible models for the enhancement of territories and the regeneration of places.