2012
Thursday
March
01

University of Perugia & Cittaslow International: the value of slowness for the tourism of the future

The modern world is seeking urgent solutions to problems that appear to always accompany development that is now diffused worldwide. Thanks to new socio-economic perspectives and to modern technological opportunities in every sector, in many countries we risk alienating centuries of history and cultural stratification, eroding the value of places in favour of a frantic and ephemeral idea of modernity. More than any other economic activity, tourism is more directly connected to the local, the social and environmental character of the territory and the cultural and natural heritage. Slow tourism can develop in those territories where there is a culture of excellence, maintaining a living community, where development strategies depend on the particular vocations of the territory and augment collaboration amongst the practitioners. This with a view to promoting not so much a tourist product, rather the endogenous development of the territory from a perspective of quality and sustainability. The conference is therefore an opportunity to study those models that make possible a different concept of living, producing and consuming, based not on continuous growth measured quantitatively but on the qualities of the territory. We seek models for the diffusion of urban paradigms and territorial alternatives, more inclusive and less corporate, that reinforce the sense of belonging, increasing the integration of the local society. In this context Cittaslow is an example of an urban social movement, but also a model of local governance, that represents the desire of certain towns to pursue progress and innovation and to create networks of local and social interests around the theme of quality of life, as opposed to classic economic, environmental and territorial choices no longer accepted as the unique path towards wellbeing.

OBJECTIVE

The conference will seek to reflect and raise awareness on the themes of quality, slowness, sustainability and local identity as factors that could give a competitive edgeto tourist development of less famous destinations. Attention will be given to a new vision of urban economic development in which quality of life, which attracts both residents and tourists, is proposed as a 360° local development strategy that contributes to greater equity and stability within the community. Quality and identity allow the creation of new relationships extending beyond the community, towards models of local development and tourism that require slowness and authenticity. Slowness leads to different lifestyles and patterns of production and consumption as well as a new idea of wellbeing, all of which affirm a new humanism for a fairer society, promoting sustainable local and tourist development strategies. The phenomenon of slow tourism aims to exalt sense of place and identity and allows the tourist to criticise implicitly other more industrial and standardised tourist opportunities offered by the market. The conference will seek to investigate best practices already applied or in the process of being applied in the territories of Cittaslow towns and other bodies that articulate slow tourism: experience tourism, railway tourism, social tourism, sporting tourism, cultural tourism, enogastronomic tourism, etc.

OPERATION

The conference will include four themed sessions coordinated by Italian and foreign university professors. Experts will present methodological contributions and results of research activity related to the underlying theme.

CALL FOR PAPERS

 

Italian and foreign experts and researchers are invited to attend the conference and present a contribution in Italian or English, in the course of one of the four sessions that constitute the work of the conference:

Cultural identity and tourism

Local community and tourism

Best practices for sustainable tourism

Slow tourism: opportunities for local development

To this end they are invited to send to email addressesviviana.calzati@progetti.unipg.it paola.desalvo@unipg.it the attached form, completed in all its parts:

name of the speaker(s)

institution to which the speaker(s) belong(s)

postal and email addresses, telephone number

topic of the contribution

session that they expect to attend

 

Participants are requested to send to the same addresses an abstract of the proposed contribution (max. 2,500 characters including spaces) and to send by 12 May 2012a receipt for payment of the registration fee (see below).

The complete text of the contribution should be sent by 30 April 2012. It should be 30,000 to 45,000 characters long and should be prepared in one of the two official languages (Italian and English) of the conference in format RTF (Rich Text Format). Please follow the guidelines for quotations and bibliography on the site:http://tim.thorpeallen.net/Courses/Reference/Citations.html

 

A registration fee of €100 is expected for participation at the conference. The fee should be sent by 12 May 2012 by bank transfer with the following details:

Reference: UNIPG-CITTASLOW CONFERENCE 2012- CDR: A.ACEN.FECO.PRES.CITTASLOW

IBAN: IT 70 J 022222222008 03043 000029407189 

Bank:  UNICREDIT S.p.A. – Agenzia Perugia Universit

 

Fees paid from 13 May 2012 onwards by bank transfer, and fees paid at the conference itself, will be subject to an extra charge of €25.

 

These are the next deadlines:

30 April 2012: abstract text

12 May 2012: receipt for payment of the registration fee

30 May 2012: complete text of the contribution

 

For any communications or requests for information:

Viviana Calzati, tel. +39.075.5855271, e-mail: viviana.calzati@progetti.unipg.it

Paola de Salvo, tel. +39.075.5855428, e-mail: paola.desalvo@unipg.it

Pier Giorgio Oliveti, Cittaslow Int’l HQ, tel. +39.0763.341818, fax +39.0763.394455

direttore@cittaslow.net