Title: Tourist experiences in rural tourism: a case study from Puglia Region

Authors: Albert-Pol Miró; Donatello Caruso

Addresses: Department of Economics, University of Vic, Sagrada Familia Street, VII, Vic, Spain ' Department of Economics, University of Foggia, L.go Papa Giovanni Paolo II, Foggia, Italy

Abstract: The offer of tourism experiences is an important factor for the sustained development of tourism destinations. Although there is no established definition of tourism experiences, both tourists and the tourism sector consider that these are essential to provide memorable moments for visitors. This paper includes two groups of studies: firstly, a conceptual approach on the tourism experiences. Secondly, investigate the public aid role into multifunctional farms in natural and rural areas in Puglia Region (Southern Italy). The aims of this investigation are to establish a defining characterisation of the demand and supply of tourism experiences, as well as if there is a solid support of public aid to agrotourism. The results show that the stakeholders consider the potential for development of tourism experiences as significantly higher than the supply. As alternative, the role of e-tourism could be an alternative important to maximise their efficiency and effectiveness.

Keywords: tourism experiences; data analysis; investment plans; e-tourism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDCET.2017.086384

International Journal of Digital Culture and Electronic Tourism, 2017 Vol.2 No.2, pp.103 - 119

Received: 03 Nov 2016
Accepted: 27 Feb 2017
Published online: 04 Sep 2017 *

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