Fisheries-related tourism is developing in several European coastal regions as a product that, by linking fisheries to tourism, can be an answer both to the need to develop innovative tourism products and to the priority to find new sources of income for profitable and more sustainable fisheries. The paper discusses the main findings of a research project carried out by the authors about the potentials of pescatourism along Venetian coasts in Italy. It focusses on the opportunities coming from pesca-tourism in terms of additional income for fishermen, economic benefits on the destination due to new tourists' spending, improvement in the quality of life and awareness about ecosystems' fragility and sustainable development. In particular, the paper shows pesca-tourism potential for the area in the medium-long term, provided that a win-win cooperation is established among local stakeholders, tourism operators and fishermen. According to the findings, fisheries-related tourism represents a way of differentiating tourism products, by promoting a broader territorial experience with a positive economic return on various public and private players, together with a more sustainable approach towards tourism and fisheries development.

Over the last two decades, the awareness about landscape as a common good and the definition of tourism as a relevant driver of territorial development have both increased contributions to contemporary reflections on places and mobilities. From a scientific point of view, the need for structured contributions on the “landscape–tourism” nexus has been stressed. In fact, tourism and landscape studies are fed by many disciplines, often returning sectorial articles, sometimes lacking in organicity. Considering recent literary reviews carried out through bibliometric and content analyses, the present paper intends to map different ways of defining and understanding this complex interrelation as it emerges from the main research areas. From geographical contributions to managerial perspectives addressing destination planning and development, and from sociological non-representational to actor network theories applied to tourism, among others, the nexus is faced by approaches and concepts that are both specific and recurrent. Expressions such as “tourist landscape”, “tourism landscape”, “touristscape” with their different meanings orient this literary investigation informing a tentative conceptual framework where interrelated spatial, social, and symbolic dimensions emerge with a key definitional role. The general aim was to possibly enrich the reflection on this relationship, providing new definitional contributions and conceptual frameworks able to coherently influence both theory and practice.

This paper aims to demonstrate the role of networks of historic houses as a possible strategic asset for territorial and tourism development, both for the diversification and innovation of the offer of mature destinations as well as for the development of minor ones. In particular, a specific case study will be presented, namely the system of over 4,000 Venetian Villas located in Northern Italy (specifically in the Veneto Region) around which an increasingly organized tourist offer is taking shape, based on experiential proposals that see the Villas as a base for the discovery of the landscape and the typical features of the surrounding area. This case has been studied in terms of the prevailing business conducted within the Venetian Villas and the reference market and has been related to other good practices in Italy and in Europe. The study has made it possible to highlight that the success of the development of a system of historic houses, besides the value of the residences from a network perspective, lies in the harmonious integration with the other local resources, e.g. the wine product in the case of the Venetian Villas, in order to achieve immersive experiences which are rich in meaning for tourists and create widespread effects in the area. The study has recognized that, given the specific tourism demand interested in this attraction and considering that such dwellings are generally inserted in a prestigious landscape, the only reasonable path to follow is sustainable development with the aim to safeguard authenticity.

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Over the last decade, Cultural Routes (CR) of the Council of Europe (CoE) have flourished as an interesting example of cultural tourism, proposing thematic a mix of natural and cultural heritage and facilitating outdoor ways to experience sustainable tourism practices. The European programme states the importance of partnering among private and public stakeholders in defining and managing the Route as a sustainable tourism product; in fact, most of the studies on CR examine their state of development and future strategies, starting from these partnerships and their ability to reach this goal. Recently, some scholars have been investigating CR capability in creating new models of participation in heritage with shifting interest in different players, i.e. local communities and tourists turning from passive recipients to engaged actors. The paper aims to further investigate the specific role of these actors in CR tourism processes and resulting social impacts. It represents a preliminary investigation originating from the findings of a pilot study commissioned in 2016 by the European Institute of Cultural Routes (EICR), aimed at developing a measurement and quality control tool to ensure sustainability of CR, starting from a group of seven selected CR. In particular, this study investigates those findings, focusing mainly on the contribution of communities and tourists in tourism processes. Additional surveys and semistructured interviews with CR managers have been conducted to better identify forms of participation in decisions, product design, and tourism practices. Considerations about engagement effectiveness in relation to typology of actors, interactions, and specific phases of the management process, as well as observed social benefits, are among the key findings.