TOURISM GEOGRAPHY

The Geography of Tourism course is one of the related and supplementary courses of the degree course in International Trade and Tourism.
First and foremost, the course aims to illustrate how tourism can transform to become environmentally and socially sustainable. It also offers knowledge and theoretical tools useful for interpreting the geographical dimension of tourism phenomena, discussing some of the ways in which places are shaped by tourism.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
1.1 Introduce the notion of transformative tourism
1.2 Discuss a number of concrete examples of best practices adopted and adoptable to make tourism a sustainable practice
1.3 Acquire the key notions for a critical approach to the interpretation of geographies shaped by tourism

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:

2.1 Understand the environmental and social impact of tourism
2.2 Use the key concepts and best practices of sustainable tourism
2.3 Recognise the dynamics of tourism development (past or current) and be able to identify the social, cultural and environmental issues associated with them

3. Judgement skills
3.1 Assess, on a case-by-case basis, the factors, economic, environmental and socio-cultural that contribute to the sustainability (or unsustainability) of tourism at different scales

4. Communication skills:
4.1 Explain acquired knowledge in writing in a logical, coherent and concise manner
4.2. Acquire the key terms of the concepts used in the geography of tourism of the Anglo-American international academic debate and best practices of sustainable tourism

Having passed and registered the grade of Political Economy.

Introduction to the environmental and socio-cultural impact of tourism
What is Transformational Tourism
Hotels as complex hubs in the tourism supply chain
Transforming travel experiences: sustainable and accessible holidays and tours
Sustainability of tourism destinations
Socio-cultural relations and experiences in tourism
The notion of tourist gaze
The 'invented' places of tourism
The thematisation of the urban landscape
The past is a foreign land: the concept of heritage and tourism

Some chapters drawn from:
Smith, J., 2017. Transforming travel: Realising the potential of sustainable tourism. Cabi.
Williams, S. and Lew, A.A., 2014. Tourism geography: Critical understandings of place, space and experience. Routledge.

articles such as, e.g.:
Gössling, S., Fichert, F. and Forsyth, P., 2017. Subsidies in aviation. Sustainability, 9(8), p.1295.

For attending and non-attending students: open books exam: essay to be taken at home in approximately 10-15 days on one of the topics covered in class. The details of the exam will be explained in class and uploaded to the Moodle space.

Lectures with facilitation of class discussion of the topics and concepts covered
Active participation in class with questions, comments, suggestions is encouraged.

Italian

All materials for attending and nonattending students are uploaded on the course's Moodle page

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Climate change and energy" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development