Enhancing identity, sustainability and regional development through cultural tourism routes

This paper focuses on cultural tourism routes as an application of the business administration approach for cultural heritage enhancemente aimed to the socio-economic developmente of a region. The work aims to describe the most important features of cultural tourism routes, such as structure and governance, pointing out the role of relationships among resources and actors. From this point of view, cultural tourism routes are studied as networks which serves as vehicle for socio-economic development stimulation. Through them, local government and sector operators have the opportunity to manage in terms of economies of scope by establishing networks of different service providers, organised in such a way to offer a different range of activities and cultural attractions widespread along local and neighbouring regions. The study points out the importance to promote cultural heritage as an embedded knowledge and suggests a model to develop such knowledge through a web-based tool, already purpose-built and well-tried in other research contexts. In the paper the potential connections and the effects of cultural tourism routes are explained in terms of identity, sustainability and regional development, arising by carrying otu activities according to business administration patterns and tools.