Chapter 2: Tourism in Peripheral Areas National Strategy for Italian Regions

This chapter discusses the development of tourism in peripheral areas, prompted by the “National Strategy for Inner Areas” developed by the Italian National Government. The strategy, backed by policymakers, business owners, local communities, and environmental nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), aims to stop demographic decline by boosting sustainable tourism practices. A case study of Valle D'aosta examines the problems and their solution in the implementation of the strategy. It discusses how to make strategy implementation less complex and whether sustainable tourism is possible in such areas – whether it is an oxymoron, or whether it is a utopia that is worth pursuing.