Small Villages, Minor Sites and Sustainable Tourism Mobility

Although still significantly marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, recent seasons have revealed a growing trend in tourist arrivals and presences in small towns and lesser-known locations, immersed in nature and far from the standard itineraries, as they are considered places where one can enjoy typical products, recreational opportunities and wider spaces. This framework has therefore triggered important transformations in smaller towns and rural areas which have therefore increasingly become the subject of Italian government interventions (Tourism Strategic Plan 2017-2022 and 2023-2027, National Recovery and Resilience Plan). The Italian Regions present a very complex situation in terms of tourism. While on the one hand the smaller centers are increasingly becoming tourist destinations, on the other hand the difficulties in terms of their accessibility are equally tangible. This is especially true for the inner areas, but also for sites of particular historical-cultural interest. The theme of mobility therefore becomes central in sustainable tourism development programs. Given the conformation of the Italian territory, largely made up of small centers, integrated mobility (Local public transport integrated with slow and green transport) can represent a solution in particular for the marginal and inner areas more difficult to reach. In this perspective, the paper examines the strategies on tourism mobility, accessibility and intermodality developed under the previous tourism development planning (2017-2022) and the actions envisaged in the current Strategic Tourism Development Plan (STP 2023-2027). The objective is to identify possible models of sustainable mobility that can foster the tourism development of Italian villages and minor sites.