Pollino
National Park
(Lucanian side)
Several meetings were organized during the preliminary stage with
the institutional and economical stakeholders in the area, in order
to outline the possible contexts of local development. These meetings
oriented our activity towards the research-intervention in the sector
of green tourism. As a matter
of fact, the interviews with the local testimonials highlighted
the presence of consolidated and successful
experiences in this sector which can be imitated and
the presence of a good number of young people interested in this
kind of activity; evidence of this is the relatively high number
of "green" cooperatives in the Lucanian side of the Park.
Description
of
the intervention
An initiative that helped the synergical relationships between these
local stakeholders was strongly desirable. As a consequence, the
objectives of the training interventions aimed at creating a more
aware perception of the opportunities
offered by the area, at promoting a diversification
of the tourist offer and at creating a network between the economical
stakeholders which enhances the resources of the area in an integrated
manner and the quality of the services offered.
From the methodological point of view, the process was structured
into various stages, starting from getting over the atavistic distrust
between the various cooperatives, for their previous relationships
were characterized by a low level of mutual trust and collaboration
and by a limited attitude to be part of a system. In an area where
the market of tourism is so weak and fragmentary that it allowed
just the survival of the cooperatives, the others are seen as a
danger or a threat. Sharing expectations
and interests, agreeing on the
objectives and contents have been the qualifying activities of the
training process that lead to remarkable improvements in their socialization.
A second problem which was not less clear than the above-mentioned
problem came from the cultural isolation, determined by the lack
of reference models and by situation of isolation. The meeting with
important economical experiences of green tourism in the regions
of Emilia Romagna and Tuscany appeared useful
to acquire a higher awareness of the potentialities offered by a
given area, to develop a deeper understanding
of "green tourism" phenomenon and to draw up some comparisons with
the various levels of organization and structure of a company’s
management.
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Results
The marketing plan was useful to raise the knowledge of demand and
offer existing in the area, to identify the points of strength,
the strategies and the new production capabilities, but mostly to
create the conditions for stable
and long-lasting relationships,
an essential condition for an effective connection in a network
between the entrepreneurs. This allowed the final
perfection of the tourist offer programs which will lead
to the participation into some projects. A new association of cooperatives
called "Verdi Sinegie" was being
established at the end of this experience.
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