The Role of Nature-Based Tourism in Generating Multiplying Effects for Socio Economic Development of Rural Areas

In the last years a new form of tourism has developed. It is the tourism based on natural resources, particularly the one related to natural parks. The trend of growth in this segment of tourism and, in general, the growing interest in the protection of the environmental resources which the tourist comes in contact with during a vacation, are symptomatic of a cultural change that is involving the whole tourist market. The ability of natural parks to favour substantial tourist flows is documented both by the results of various researches and by the data of eco-tourism flows or, more generally, by the tourism based on natural resources. Among the various types of economic activities that can be activated within a protected area, a significant role is played by ecotourism that, apart from providing an opportunity for the conservation and enhancement of natural resources, has the ability to blend the natural systems, the local communities and the systems it interacts with, and in this way it will be able to activate a multiplier process of tourist expenditure wider than the one activated by other forms of tourism. Taking this consideration into account, this type of tourism can play an important role for the local development, a role that goes beyond the direct economic impact and strictly conservative considerations, because it becomes capable of carrying out other important functions. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of nature-based tourism as an important element to enhance local development projects and the specific resources of a territory.