Percorsi di Turismo verde e sostenibile. L’esperienza dell’Ambito Territoriale “Terre di Siena”

Tourism is a phenomenon closely linked to environmental and territorial resources. If on the one hand, it requires natural resources, on the other, at the same time, it consumes them, consequently, a greater intensification of the phenomenon reduces the quality and availability of the same ones. Starting from these considerations, awareness matures that even tourism can no longer ignore the conditions and principles that should guide its practices, and institutions increase their commitment to the implementation of strategies capable of fostering a transition to sustainable, responsible, and intelligent tourism. In this perspective, the paper focuses on tourism development strategies aimed at the protection, rediscovery and enhancement of places, memories and local knowledge. Based on some concrete experiences, the study focuses on the action plans and practices implemented in these contexts. These cases express a change of vision and an approach aimed to promote "other" tourism and alternative paths which, in addition to encourage sustainable development, also gain relevance concerning to the experimentation of innovative practices and new governance models.