Tourism transition in peripheral rural areas: Theories, issues and strategies

This article examines the relationship between “rural peripherality” and “tourism transition” to describe the ongoing transformations within the tourist supply in rural areas, highlighting the importance these concepts are acquiring in both the theoretical debate and the formation of policies. Based on the classification of peripheral areas provided by the Italian Strategy for Inner Areas, the authors have undertaken a detailed statistical analysis at the municipality level, considering tourism as an important driver of socio-economical change. A model of governance based on “transition management” is put forward as a practical tool to guide these processes. A case study conducted through participatory action-research offered the opportunity to overcome existing governance practices and experiment with more adaptive methods to manage the transition.