Marketing Policies to Increase the Sustainability of Oleotourism Experiences in Italy

Today in many tourism segments sustainability is a prerequisite for competitive success as well as for the prevention of negative reactions by the host community. It is a basic element also in oleotourism, a form of gastronomy tourism that offers travel experiences linked to olive oil, nature, local culture and identity, health and wellbeing. Local enterprises and various public entities all play an important role in fostering sustainable development in this market segment. They can plan and implement different marketing-mix tools with the objective of facilitating the adoption of responsible behaviours and measures by all the stakeholders and parties involved in tourism development. In this conceptual paper, cases and examples of practices of this type adopted in Italian oleotourism are presented. The purpose is to help identify best practices and design future valid marketing management models aimed at increasing the awareness of and attention to sustainability.