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This paper presents the UE‐Eurostat methodology to design and implement a system of surveys of inbound tourism. It has been thought for the homogeneisation of the information systems of the EU countries and for the development of the cooperation in the field of tourism statistics between the European Union and other relevant extra‐Europe regions. Furthermore, the methodology wants to give a common framework of analysis for the collection and processing of comparable statistics at each territorial level. The general research process has been split up into nine fundamental steps which represent the stages a researcher has to follow in order to obtain reliable data on visitor flows, visitors' and trip characteristics, consumption behaviour and opinions and impressions on the trip and the visit. It has been implemented for closed areas (areas with political borders, e.g. a country, geographical borders, e.g. a island, artificial borders, e.g. a museum, a theme park, an archaeological area) and open areas (a macro‐region, a region, a single tourist destination, e.g. a city, or tourist site, e.g. a square).

Studies on the impact of tourism in art cities underlined that many cities begun to suffer too many costs because of mass tourism. The problem of costs/benefits balance was in some case further complicated by the quick increase in a peculiar kind of excursionists — the so called false excursionists. Their increase is in fact joined with the spreading around the city of “alternative” accommodations. But false excursionists bring to the destination more costs and less benefits than traditional tourism, as a relevant part of their budget is spent where they are lodging. Thus, this sort of tourism “development” calls for visitors management policies able to reduce costs and maximize the tourism benefits for the city. But these policies require a deep understanding of the relationship between demand and accommodation supply, and between accommodations within and outside the city. And, more important, a continuous monitoring on how these relationships change in time, and why. Pricing and product strategies put into effect by accommodations, joined with changes in the demand behaviour, are in fact the basic variables of a mechanisms that might eventually lead to a substantial increase in false excursionists number and a stagnation in overnight tourists demand, with major consequences on the cost/benefits ratio for the art city as a whole. Aim of this paper is to introduce a set of 10 indicators and, through their application on the Venice situation, show how they can be used to analyze on diachronic terms the impact of accommodation evolution on demand choice.

The TRIP (TouRism International Panel) Forecasting Models (1), the first regarding international tourist departures from each country of origin, the second international tourist flows to Italy and the third international departures from Italy, represent, through an appropriate mathematical and econometric analysis, the fixed effect approach of the panel data analysis, the economic process behind the foreign tourist's decision to holiday in Italy and the Italian tourist's decision to holiday abroad.

Southern Italy (2) is a multiform and atypical system in the Italian tourist economy. According to a general image, one of its main features is the extensiveness and quality of the region's natural resources, especially the coastal areas, attractions which traditionally make the macroregion known essentially as a destination for “sun&sea” holidays. In recent years, moreover, due to growing and widespread awareness for environmental quality and for cultural factors, this image seems to have acquired new impulse and new occasions of interest. The wealth of particularly important historical, artistic and archaeological attractions (Magna Graecia, Roman and Arab‐Byzantine influences, the Baroque, etc); the diffusion and, often, the persistence of social‐cultural traditions that resist the influence of modernisation, are today—just as they were at the time of the Grand Tour—factors of strong appeal for the Southern regions. Today, the “capital cities” in Southern Italy are the main historical destinations of the early years of tourism, especially for foreign demand: besides Naples and Palermo, cities such as Taormina, Sorrento, Capri and Ischia, or destinations of cultural tourism such as Agrigento and Siracusa stand out.

The authors' approach to quality is in contrast to the usual view found in economics. They analyse the quality of tourism as a system which includes final consumption, product‐based market services, the natural environment and cultural resources at no cost, and the impact of the local society, all from the macroeconomic point of view. They point out that if optimal use is to be made of resources in the sense of achieving sustainable system quality, this use must be compatible with carrying capacity.

This paper analyses the consumption habits of tourists coming from different origins and choosing Italy as a holiday destination, in terms of expenditure level and composition. The economic role of both international and domestic demand and the plot of interactions going from tourist expenditure behaviour to the tourism industry have been measured. Furthermore, the impacts which localised expenditure (total and by item) can generate in each regional economic system are discussed, and estimates of the “centralising” and “leakage” effects are presented. The balance between these effects selects the net centralising regions of economic benefits deriving from tourism demand localised everywhere, with respect to those regions producing a net leakage of the positive effects generated by the demand localised in them.

Zusammenfassung Die vorliegenden Ergebnisse des “Workshop 2” verdeutlichen, daß intensiv nach einem gemeinsamen Verständnis zur strategischen Tourismuspolitik in Abgrenzung der Felder Tourismuspolitik (policy) und — Strategie gesucht und dieses Verständnis in den genannten Modellen festgehalten wurde. Trotzdem haben gerade die Fallbeispiele gezeigt, daß jede spezifische Situation verschieden handzuhaben ist und deshalb auch unterschiedliche methodische Ansätze zur Analyse der Fallstudie herangezogen worden sind. Auch konnte die Begriffsverwendung von Tourismus‐politik und Strategie nicht immer eindeutig zugeordnet werden. Ein allgemein gltiges Rahmenmodell — wie in Kapitel 3 und vier aufgezeigt — ist deshalb nur erschwert im Detail darstellbar. Zur Notwendigkeit einer strategischen Tourismuspolitik ist insgesamt eine große Übereinstimmung festzuhalten.

Nach 1953 ist die Internationale Vereinigung wissen‐schaftlicher Fremdenverkehrsexperten zum zweiten Mal in Wien zum jährlichen Kongress versammelt. Damals nach Kriegsende ging es darum, einem langsam wiedererstarkten Tourismus eine solide wissenschaftliche Basis zu geben. Es waren auch die Tourismuswissenschafter der klassischen Fremdenverkehrsländer Italien, Spanien, Österreich und der Schweiz, welche sich 1949 erstmals in der Schweiz trafen, um diesem Vorhaben eine konkrete Struktur zu geben. Prof. Paul Bernecker, als einer dieser Promotoren — genannt seien hier die andern: Prof. Walter Hunziker (bis 1973 Präsident), Prof. Kurt Krapf (erster Generalsekretär) und Prof. Angelo Mariotti — übernahm es, den Wiener Kongress zu organisieren. Er war dem Thema “Marktforschung und Werbung im Fremdenverkehr” gewidmet, übrigens ein nach wie vor aktuelles Thema, auch wenn die Terminologie heute in Marketing bzw. Marktbearbeitung oder Kommunikationspolitik erweitert wurde.

The digital revolution is causing profound transformations, characterised by the way companies and customers approach the market, helping to significantly transform the tourism sector. The aim of this study is to investigate how small hospitality businesses use internet in terms of marketing.

After analyzing the literature, which concerns the relationship that has gradually developed over the years between small businesses in the tourism sector and the use of the internet, it was decided to carry out an empirical survey conducted among the subjects managing micro-activities in the hospitality sector. The research hypothesis is that the adoption of the website is conditioned by the size of the company and the type of experience one has with small businesses.

The results show how small hospitality businesses make limited use of booking portals and social networks, and it emerges how digital marketing policies are crucial to achieve success, both in Italy and abroad.

It is believed that this work can provide useful insights that can be useful for the local government, aimed at promoting a greater ability of small businesses to participate more actively in the competition.