Back to the second summit index

Accueil

Back to the speakers' list
Back to the program

 

Sustainable tourist industry growth in the Province of Turin

Silvana ACCOSSATO - Councillor for Tourism and Sport of the Province of Turin, Italy

 

    

Ladies and Gentlemen,

The aim of this paper of mine is to provide you with a picture of what the Province is doing to favour tourism and how such measures are part of broader sustainability policies

THE REFERENCE FRAMEWORK

The Province of Turin is in a strategic geographical position :

  • the province incorporates a large part of the western Alps, with huge areas where the environment is protected (including the first Italian National Park) and one of Europe's largest ski-ing areas ;
  • it is rich in hilly tracts dotted with small and beautiful lakes ; 
  • it has a fertile plain with a top-quality and renowned farming industry and products.  

The provincial capital is a major European historic city, once the capital of the Duchy and Kingdom of Savoy and of united Italy. It possesses some of the most beautiful baroque buildings in Europe.

These historical-geographic features outline what are the province's major tourist resources :

  • the countryside
  • the winter sports resorts
  • the history and culture of the capital and of the numerous nearby towns
  • food and wine
  • sport and tourism.

PROGRAMMATIC DOCUMENTS AND SUSTAINABLE GROWTH

General government policies for the Province of Turin (1999-2004)

The general government policies in favour of the Province of Turin (1999-2004) are significantly entitled : "A Province that invests in the quality of individuals, the territory and the environment to overcome the challenge of sustainable growth"
The main aims of the programme can be summed up as follows :   

  • to implement a policy focused on the sustainable exploitation of widespread tourist resources, in conjunction with "traditional - older" models to be revived ;
  • to support the diversification of the industry in a logic of "Tourism for Everyone" - for all consumers (senior citizens, schools, the disabled, etc.) and operators (favouring especially new professions for the purpose, inter alia, of integrating income) ;
  • to favour the integration of different sectors by better exploiting environmental, cultural, historical, agricultural and craftwork resources, with the aim of upgrading activities from start to finish ; 
  • to take quality as a key success factor: a) the quality of the services provided (from voluntary branding to ISO9000 certification), b) environmental quality (from initiatives - voluntary branding, such as ecological hotels, to ISO 14000 or EMAS certification, etc.,).

Tourist industry development policies for the Province of Turin 

The Province of Turin continues to pursue tourist industry development goals with specific reference to its own institutional role and the general programmatic aims the Provincial Authorities have set themselves.

With reference to the general programmatic goals already pinpointed by the Provincial Authorities, tourist development policies assign priority to :

  • the exploitation of environmental assets for tourist purposes ;
  • the exploitation of cultural assets for tourist purposes ;  
  • the successful promotion of sustainable types of tourism ;
  • the exploitation of sports resources for tourist purposes, so as to present the provincial area as a "large gymnasium" for both residents and visitors. 

With reference to its institutional role, the Province intends strengthening the support given to local Bodies, associations and local operators, especially by helping these to develop and implement complex and innovative tourist projects of an exemplary nature or which are of interest beyond the local sphere, in the awareness that tourism represents a strategic economic industry for the re-conversion and diversification of production in our province.

More than general lines of action, the types of measures taken by the provincial authorities are of a specific nature. This decision was taken because of the need to make Provincial intervention as operative as possible and, at the same time, in view of the fact that provincial jurisdiction over tourist matters is sectorial.
The Province thus opted for very specific measures, in part already defined in terms of planning, that could be implemented in a relatively short time, considering, inter alia, that the two events which will call for the utmost effort in terms of efficiency and quality are fast approaching: the Jubilee of 2000 and the nomination for the winter Olympics in 2006.

Measures for the development of tourism in the Province of Turin were keyed to achieving a number of primary objectives, including in particular :

  • The relaunching of summer mountain holidays. Both for the traditional winter seasons and for the health resorts that represent such a large portion of provincial holiday products and are a part and parcel of Provincial identity. The unfavourable situation and the somewhat dimmed image of this sector have made the need for fresh impulse vital, in terms of the upgrading and the diversification of existing products, by fostering the growing market interest for mountain action sports, on the one hand, and for activities tied to the environment on the other.
  • Growth of popular tourism. The purpose of valorising popular attractions, located outside specialised tourist sectors (high mountains) and the provincial capital, is multifold. In the first place it satisfies the growing demand for new, less-conventional and little-exploited attractions. Secondly, it favours the growing trend of local economic operators for the diversification and channelling of activities towards "soft" tourism. Finally, it represents a positive way of interpreting the expanding need for a sustainable use of environmental and territorial resources, avoiding the re-presentation of intensive-tourism models and suggesting the joint use of resources (by residents and visitors).

"Agenda XXI" of the Province of Turin

The "Plan of action proposal for environment sustainability of the Province of Turin" for the implementation of "Agenda XXI" contains a series of indications that strengthen and specify the political will to ensure the Province of Turin becomes in actual fact a "sustainable Province", starting and consistent with the tourist policy document mentioned above and the area coordination Plan.

The general lines of action laid down by the "Plan of action proposal for environment sustainability of the Province of Turin" are as follows :

  • To promote a type of tourist development in the area that is compatible with the "carrying capacity" of the provincial environment and which eases off the current environmental pressure of the industry.
  • To protect and exploit environmental and cultural resources and assets through good and sustainable tourist practices.

More specifically, the idea is to adopt solutions that : are targeted on achieving more uniform distribution of tourism over time and space, intervening directly on supply (by promoting and extending quality and range of products, monitoring prices,…) and demand (information and education with respect to economic and environmental benefits) ;

  • ensure a non-detrimental use of the environmental resources (by adopting goals and standards of protection in the more exposed areas and Environmental Impact Evaluation procedures for higher-impact infrastructures,…) ;  
  • optimise the use of area and infrastructural resources (by promoting multiple use of such resources and favouring the renovation and use of the accommodation structures that already exist (holiday homes) ;  
  • promote "light" tourism (nature walking, biking, canoeing, farm tourism, gastronomic tourism for the protection of local products, non-hotel accommodation, etc.) and place nature, cultural and sports tourism "on the Web" ;  
  • upgrade and innovate accommodation and catering facilities and the behaviour of visitors in terms of the environment (by promoting environment quality branding, environmentally innovative building technologies, environment management systems and ecological codes of behaviour) ;  
  • prompt or encourage tourist operators to make economic investments in the active protection, restoration and re-qualification of environmental assets and resources. 

THE MEASURES

Putting the above-mentioned strategies into operation means implementing a series of specific measures defined on the basis of the policies contained in the programmatic documents considered in the reference framework.
By way of example, the following projects are cited :

  • valorisation of the network of small art cities, linked to the city of Turin and of the particularly rich and interesting historical pageant events
  • valorisation of food and wine and typical local products (wine, farm produce, theme festivals, wine routes,…)
  • setting up a network of over 300 km of cycling tracks and tourist packages specially conceived for this type of tourist and their promotion, besides upgrading the networks of hill and mountain paths
  • support and promotion of popular forms of accommodation : farm tourism, B & B (new to Piedmont), plans for the transformation of holiday homes into timeshare accommodation
  • implementation of an EMAS environment certification project involving a series of winter holiday resorts, future venues for the 2006 Winter Olympics.
    All this within a strong tourist hospitality and information system covering the entire area through local tourist Agencies managed by state-private consortiums of which the Province is part.    

THE "TURIN 2006" WINTER OLYMPIC GAMES

During the course of 1999, Turin and its mountains - an area covering most of the province - were designated to host the Winter Olympic Games of 2006, a token of the excellent quality of the provincial environment and sports facilities.

Besides taking part directly in the Olympic Organising Committee, with the aim of adequately sustaining the entire provincial area and "managing" the repercussions - positive and open to risk -of the Olympic Games, the Province of Turin has decided to implement a special project called "Provincia 2006", split into a series of initiatives that can be programmed by the Province of Turin for managing the Olympic Games and their immediate and future repercussions :

  • Cooperation in setting up the Strategic Environment Evaluation procedure, aimed at determining the sustainability of the Plans and Programmes tied to the 2006 Olympics, consistently with current Community policies. It must be emphasised that it is the first time this instrument has been used in Italy.
  • Establishment of a committee for coordinating operations together with local communities, called "Comitato Provincia 2006", with the aim of extending the benefits of the Olympic Games to the entire provincial area. This organisation will provide constant backing to the Games Organising Committee (TOROC) and its activities, including through participation in the consultative Meeting of the TOROC, and will play a propositional and realisational role as global promoter of the area "outside" the Olympics ;
  • Cooperation with the Municipality of Turin for the realisation of the project called "I Ragazzi del 2006" involving youngsters aged between 18 and 25 in 2006 (current membership 16,000), who will be taking part in an Olympic volunteer training project ;  
  • Creation of a project called "Paesaggio 2006" for upgrading the countryside surrounding the localities where the Olympic Games will be staged.  

It must also be emphasised that, among the documents making up the candidature Dossier for the Olympic Games, of which the Province of Turin was one of the compilers, is the so-called "Green Card", a real Plan of environmental action in favour of "sustainable Games", having the lowest possible environmental impact in the short and long term. This document represents an explicit obligation which the Province of Turin has undertaken to fulfil, along with the other partners.

Finally, it should also be remembered that   

THE PROVINCE OF TURIN HAS BEEN DESIGNATED BY THE UNO AS ENVIRONMENT CAPITAL FOR WED 2001.

The Province of Turin will be capital of the events due to be staged for the World Environment Day 2001. The initiative takes place on 5 June every year in a locality indicated by the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme), the "environmental voice of the United Nations". 

I hope the above information will prove useful to you and perhaps prompt you to find out more about our province, all too often and quite wrongly associated with heavy industry and the history of Italian car manufacturing.
Not that we disavow our past history, quite the opposite, but our efforts as administrators are now directed towards strong diversification and, within this framework, tourism, but above all sustainable tourism, is a card we shall play with conviction right down to the last.

 

haut de page