National policy on tourism and agri-tourism (Alento)

Editor's note 6Jun14: Sources D142-4

Tourism in Italy represents a key sector involving social, economic and environmental aspects. Besides the strategic role of tourism for the Italian economy, the related policies are relatively recent and have been fully developed in the last two decades. Though tourism is not mentioned in the Italian Constitution, it involves so many sectors at all levels of the national administration that the national administration has implemented administrative structures and agencies, such as the ENIT (national agency for tourism).

The national legal framework for tourism is represented by Law no. 135/2001 for development and promotion in Italy. This law establishes the Central State as the authority to supervise tourism policy and promotion and at the same time empowers the Italian regions ruling and administrating the tourism sector according to the administrative structure of the national administration.

Tourism policies is also regulated by Regional Laws defining Tourism Local Systems, drawing guidelines for the promotion and development of the sector and defining the roles of regional and local administrations, regional agencies and local associations.  Other laws relate to accommodation services and hotels, rural tourism, the Regional Tourism Observatory, tourism professions and quality branding for the tourism accommodation services.

At national level, the main objective is the development of strategies to overcome existing disparities between regions in the tourism sector through the planning of tourism development in accordance with national economic programmes and the principles of the European Union funds. Another important objective is the promotion of Italian tourism abroad and the development and financing of local tourism systems. At the national level, the Government is the main actor in implementing tourism policy, represented by the Department for Development and Competitiveness of Tourism of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers. The main activities are supervising tourism policy and promotion, promoting co-operation and harmonization in local tourism development policies between regions and generally supporting the regions in terms of: programming and developing tourism activities at regional and local levels; promoting strategic marketing activities; managing European Structural Funds; performing tasks related to the regional tourism structures; performing tasks related to enterprises and tourism professions.

Agri-tourism laws were first introduced in Italy in 1983. According to the the legal framework "agri-tourism activities are defined as individual farmers or partnerships and associations of farmers with shared capital, offering third parties restaurant services and/or temporary lodgings which are directly connected with the farm’s activities in the agricultural, forestry or animal husbandry sector.". Regional laws which impose strict criteria and limitations on agri-tourism activities in the territory.

Farmers, farming family members and/or other farm employees with part-time or full-time work contracts may be employed in agri-tourism enterprises on the provision that contracts are made under the mansion of ‘agricultural worker’ and are stipulated under the same fiscal code, insurance and benefits regime as the law provides for this mansion. External workers are permitted exclusively for mansions involving complementary services or activities.

Agri-tourism activities can be carried out exclusively in pre-existing farm buildings which are of no longer use to the activities of farming. Funding is provided via the Italian regions under the European Union’s Rural Development Funds.

Implementation, impacts, effectiveness of Agri-Tourism Policy (Alento)    

The first agri-tourism law in the Campania region dates from 1984 and regulates the development of touristic structures in rural areas; rural areas in the vicinity of archaeological sites; the production and marketing of typical local products; the cultural and folkloric traditions of the local agricultural community. The law appoints town councils with the task of checking the suitability and eligibility of agri-tourism enterprises within their territory and keeping relevant records. After revision, regional law has instituted a regional technical committee for agri-tourism which promotes and incentivizes interventions for the sector.

Regional aims of the policy include development of the agricultural and forestry sectors; counteracting the rent of rural exodus; creation of employment, particularly for women and young people; restoration and valorisation of local patrimony; preservation of natural resources, the local environment and landscape; promotion of traditional local agricultural products and craftsmanship from rural areas; restoration and valorisation of traditions and cultural patrimony; strengthening relationships between urban areas and the countryside; education and knowledge-transfer of agricultural activities; setting-up agri-tourism structures directed towards hunting activities.

The Campania region is the main policy implementer, responsible for approving and assigning funding available under agri-tourism measures based on national criteria. Controls and eligibility of agri-tourism structures within each region are carried out by individual town councils, also responsible for applying sanctions for infractions of regulations. Local farmers are the policy beneficiaries.

According to Regional Law, farmers who wish to start an agro-tourism enterprise must present their proposal to the local town Council. Following the proposal, the town Council carries out the necessary checks. In the case of serious infractions and/or irregularities, the Council has the right to suspend all activities relating to the agri-tourism until corrections are made within the regulatory time frame. The Council is responsible for ensuring that all proposals and the necessary accompanying documentation for new agri-tourism enterprises are sent to the local competent Provincial and Regional offices.

The main financial policy instrument is Measure 311 “Diversification to non-agricultural activities” of the Campania region’s Rural Development Plan 2007-2013. The measure provides more than 30 million euro of subsidies to farmers and farming families which amount to total investments of around 62 million euro.

In 2010, there were 53 agri-tourism enterprises in the Alento study site out of a total of 5,136 farms (1%). The total number of agri-tourism enterprises in the Campania region in 2010 was 849 out of a total of 136,872 farms (0,6%).

Farms that have diversified into agri-tourism register lower profits than traditional farms, due in great part to the higher costs involved in diversification, especially in terms of labour costs. Agri-tourism farms have a greater number of employees, particularly external/non-family workers, irrespective of the farm size. Agri-tourism farms also prove to be more compatible with the environment as compared with traditional farming systems, e.g. money spent on chemical fertilizers and pesticides is lower than that of traditional farming systems. Agri-tourism farms also value the rural landscape more highly and consider it to be a crucial factor for attracting tourists into rural areas. In short, agri-tourism farms represent an alternate to the industrialisation of agriculture; good environmental and social practices are paramount objectives to agri-tourism farms, whereas maximising profitability is considered perhaps less important than the creation of jobs and the preservation of the rural landscape.

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