Designing Cultural Tourism Experiences as a Self-reinforcing System

Many reflections on local development emerging from the international literature have highlighted the importance of cultural heritage, in terms of both its material and immaterial components, as a regional factor of attraction which is central to processes and policies designed to promote tourism. This especially concerns the latest generation of cultural tourism, on which there now exists an extensive bibliography (see Richards, 2011). This tourism offers the visitor experiences and sensory emotions and tends to be modeled on the needs and dreams of every single individual who seeks to establish meaningful participatory interaction with the artistic expression, cultural heritage and distinctive products of the host region (handicraft, food, etc.). It is a form of tourism that makes it possible to savor the atmosphere of the places being visited, to enjoy an experience, to come into contact with the creative flow of the living culture and to establish a relationship of empathy with the local community, learning about their traditions and customs. It is a tourism that enables the visitor to have a cultural and social experience and to get involved in authentic, genuine and emotional activities, but it also requires particular care on the part of the host region for its cultural heritage. This in turn entails paying attention to the past, including monuments, works of art, and the landscapes of yesterday and today, as well as a series of values, traditions and principles that the community recognizes as its heritage…