Parametric Definition of Slow Tourism Itineraries for Experiencing Seasonal Landscapes. Application of Sentinel-2 Imagery to the Rural Paddy-Rice Landscape in Northern Italy

Abstract

Slow tourism is a growing phenomenon in Italy; it is assuming a key role in the definition of new strategies for sustainable tourism for the enhancement of landscape and cultural heritage, but also as a driver for the revitalization of marginalized and inner areas of the country. In this framework, the aesthetical phenomena related to seasonal landscape changes (e.g., autumn coloring foliage, spring blooming, controlled paddy-rice fields flooding) that occur in specific environments are emerging as new tourist destinations and are of major interest for the experiential tourism sector. This research shows a GIS-based method to draw up parametric slow tourism itineraries, which are defined according to seasonal landscape changes, by exploiting the high frequency of Sentinel-2 data acquisition. The algorithm defines parametric itineraries within the network of existing local roads by detecting the current landscape conditions through NDVI. The algorithm has been tested in the study area, within the historical agricultural landscape of paddy-rice fields in between Turin and Milan, where high scenic conditions related to the flooding occur over the spring season. This tool can support a range of end users’ decisions for the creation of a widespread tourist destination offer year-round, with the aim to promote more sustainable and balanced use of the places and reduce overpressures in the most frequented places.

Multimodal Access to Minor Places in Heritage-Rich Landscapes: GIS Mapping to Define Slow-Tourism Routes from the Stations in the Railway Networks in-between Turin and Milan

“…Other research lines are oriented to develop GIS-based methods for the definition of slow-tourism routes. Some of them are based on landscape resources mapping, by creating customized datasets that are useful to define slow-tourism routes [40], others perform specific workflow for experiencing seasonal scenic conditions of the landscape [41]; other researchers carry out synthetic indices for supporting decision makers, such as the one for measuring the spatial quality of slow-tourism routes [42] or for the identification of the suitability of the disused railway lines to a greenway conversion [43]. As a communication tool to improve the fruition of slow-tourism routes, GIS has been integrated as a web mobile mapping application where users can contribute to the mapping process, becoming producers of geospatial data as volunteer geographers [44] by uploading spatial information on a web platform [45].…”

Cycling Tourism: A Literature Review to Assess Implications, Multiple Impacts, Vulnerabilities, and Future Perspectives

“…Slow-travel infrastructure (cycling and hiking) connects local areas and regenerates the dispersed heritage of an area and enhances territorial capital (natural, cultural, and human) [44]. Another bridge between cycle tourism, sustainable tourism, and the slow-tourism phenomenon is created by Scandiffio (2021), who shows that tourist involvement initiatives have increased significantly in the last decade, constituting a real healthy alternative to mass tourism [45].…”

Transformation of Abandoned Railways into Tourist Itineraries/Routes: Model of Revitalization of Marginal Rural Areas

“…Zhang et al [18] emphasize that the planning of tourist routes plays a pivotal role in ensuring their sustainability, underscoring the necessity for further research on this subject. Tourist itineraries can play a significant role in enhancing landscapes and cultural heritage, shaping new strategies for sustainable tourism, and rejuvenating marginalized and interior areas [19]. According to Meyer [20], tourist itineraries provide an effective mechanism for tourism development in marginal areas that possess natural and/or cultural resources that can be defined and spatially connected.…”

“…The very process of crafting cultural routes as tourist products is regarded as a novel principle for safeguarding, revitalizing, utilizing, and promoting cultural heritage and tourism [25]. In Europe, numerous instances highlight activities aimed at propagating sustainable tourism through the concept of tourist routes/itineraries [19]. Illustrations include the cultural routes of the Council of Europe, fostering a renewed synergy between national, regional, and local authorities [26], and the trans-European network of cycling paths "EuroVelo", facilitating connections between European countries [27].…”

“…Illustrations include the cultural routes of the Council of Europe, fostering a renewed synergy between national, regional, and local authorities [26], and the trans-European network of cycling paths "EuroVelo", facilitating connections between European countries [27]. Noteworthy are also examples of the repurposing of abandoned railway lines into greenways [19]. In Serbia, as in various European countries, railways are transformed for tourist use [28].…”