Tourism planning and local development: innovative projects in food and tourism

Over the last few years, food have assumed an increasingly significant role in the dynamics of tourism development of territories, especially in minor areas (i.e. inland regions, mountain villages, etc.). In the perspective of tourism experience, there is a strong correlation between food and tourism development that is not limited to the satisfaction of a basic need but acts primarily as a means of spreading culture. Within the literature, today there is an increased awareness of the cultural significance of food. Hence, food has recently been recognized as an important cultural resource that, through various activities, becomes a crucial factor in promoting tourism in an area. In order to ensure this, it is fundamental that the different stakeholders that interact at the local level have to learn how to plan and design, sharing ideas, goals and strategic vision. In the light of these considerations, the aim of this paper is to demonstrate how territories can generate significant positive impacts in terms of local tourism development through innovative projects related to food. The adopted methodology is the case study, as empirical evidence to investigate the role and impacts of a food related project in territorial enhancement. The project selected as a case study is Tascapan, the first and only integrated platform of online shops of typical products of Aosta Valley, a major alpine tourist destination in North West Italy.