From seaside to experiential tourism: the new trends in the Latin Arc

Thanks to their extraordinary beauty, cultural richness and great variety, the EU's coastal regions are the preferred destination for many European and non-European vacationers, making coastal and maritime tourism an important sector of the tourist industry. With nearly 3.2 million employees, this sector generates a total gross value of 183 billion euros and represents over one-third of the maritime economy. No less than 51% of hotel accommodation across Europe is concentrated in coastal regions [ref: ec.europa.eu]. In 2000, almost two decades ago, Latin Arc countries (Spain, France, Italy) accounted for 64% of total flows in the coastal areas of the Mediterranean, already the world's first tourist destination (Benoit, Comeau, 2005). However, new forms of tourism are emerging today, increasingly "complex and refined" (Ferrari, 2008), the new types of tourism – agro-tourism, ecotourism, rural tourism, experiential tourism, etc – that we can find in the Latin Arc are many. Within this new tourist form, there is the emblematic example of 'rural tourism', where travelers experiment farming activities together with farmers, such as vintage harvesting, olive harvesting, plowing and planting fields, living inside a farm, working with an artisan and more. This new type of tourist aims to expand its horizons and knowledge, deepening local culture and traditions, respecting the place and promoting sustainability. In this direction, cities must be targeted, adapting to the new demands of global tourism, with the aim of enhancing cultural heritage, creating an economic relapse for the territory and offering a product that creates relational well-being unrepeatable.