Oleotourism: A Comparison of Three Mediterranean Countries

Abstract

The recent trends in the tourism industry, as well as the attention paid by scholars, practitioners, and institutions, show the relevance of natural tourism as a lever for local development (United Nations World Tourism Organization -UNWTO-, 2005). In this scenario, the business of oleotourism, namely, a form of domestic tourism based on activities related to olive oil production, its tasting, and some connected rural experiences such as harvesting, is continuously—albeit slowly—growing in Europe and especially in the Mediterranean area. Scholars agree that oleotourism plays a key role for multiple reasons, due to its relations to local territories, firms, resources, and other forms of tourism, also favoring sustainable development. Due to the interplay with the local context, the authors plan to combine and compare the evidence from three Mediterranean countries offering examples of tourism initiatives based on olive oil, namely, Spain, Italy, and Croatia. The similarities and differences emerging from the comparison will expand the understanding of this phenomenon and lead to the highlighting of key features and choices in favoring its development in the coming years. Therefore, this research, through the analysis of both theoretical and practical evidences and data from the local contexts, aims to identify additional knowledge for scholars, managers, and policy-makers. The results of the analysis allow the authors to conclude that, although each of the three countries is in a different stage of development, they all have elements that seem to be common to this type of tourism. Finally, it is concluded that oleotourism can be characterized as a form of sustainable tourism, given the preservation of local customs and landscapes, the participation of the resident community, or the development of quality and food safety labels.

El oleoturismo como instrumento de diversificación productiva de las cooperativas olivícolas

“…El análisis de la literatura que ha abordado el oleoturismo permite ver que se reconoce el carácter dinamizador que posee esta tipología turística para los territorios en los que se desarrolla (Alonso y Northcote, 2010;Hernández, Folgado y Campón, 2016;Ruiz, 2010;Molina, Quesada y Ruiz, 2011), además de la capacidad potencial que éste tiene para la generación de rentas complementarias para los agricultores con bajos niveles de ingresos (Campón-Cerro, Folgado-Fernández y Hernández-Mogollón, 2017;Molina, Quesada y Ruiz, 2011). De forma paralela, el medio rural en el que se desarrolla ha sido tratado, en mayor o menor medida, por un elevado porcentaje de estos trabajos, ya sea analizando el impacto sobre la población local y su calidad de vida (Campón-Cerro, Folgado-Fernández y Hernández-Mogollón, 2017), el papel de los actores en el desarrollo del oleoturismo en las zonas rurales (Arikan-Saltik y Çeken, 2018;Tregua, D'Auria y Marano-Marcolini, 2018), o promoviendo el oleoturismo como vía de preservación del paisaje olivarero y de desarrollo rural y regional (D'Auria, Marano-Marcolini, Čehić y Tregua, 2020;Millán, Amador y Arjona, 2015;Rodrigues y Sánchez, 2021).…”

Analysis of Oleotourism and Museology: Bibliometric Analysis and Systematic Literature Review

“…Furthermore, studies also emphasise the concern for the environment, with particular reference to olives valued as cultural assets. Measured as a consolidation activity that drives sustainable growth and rational resource allocation, oleotourism is considered a vital factor for the development of Mediterranean countries (Tregua, D'Auria and Marano-Marcolini, 2018;D'Auria et al, 2020). Several authors agreed that oleotourism has a fundamental role for multiple reasons.…”

“…Several authors agreed that oleotourism has a fundamental role for multiple reasons. Their relations with local territories, businesses, resources, and other tourism activities also favour sustainable development (D'Auria et al, 2020). Thus, oleotourism arises and encourages a growing interest among tourists who want to participate in this self-realisation experience.…”

Sustainable Tourism as a Driving Factor for Competitiveness in the Olive Sector

“…Because of this, the authors state that the environmental performance of the olive sector is a differentiating element for competitiveness [15]. In this followup, currently, the competitiveness of the olive growing sector depends substantially on sustainable tourism [13,16] relates to sustainability through a natural resource offering aligned with the needs of the environment and an immersive and innovative experience of this niche market [17]. In addition, the olive oil sector asserts itself as a practice with the ability to respond to consumers' environmental needs, which becomes a valuable opportunity to represent sustainable tourism and differentiate the industry [18].…”