No. 4 (2018)

Halal tourism can represent an opportunity to be grasped for the Italian tourism sector. In the presence of international trends of certain interest, there are still few, in absolute value, tourists of Islamic faith who choose to visit Italy but the trend appears to be growing. Awareness of the phenomenon by tourism institutions and operators, adequate training of human resources and targeted marketing policies, both public and private, are the prerequisites for intercepting young average tourists with good spending capacity who show an increasing interest in traveling in Europe, in Italy in particular.

Roots tourism is a segment of cultural tourism potentially significant both quantitatively and qualitatively. However, in Italy the interest for this segment on the part of the institutions and the research world has so far been rather limited. The article illustrates the main characteristics of the demand generated by roots tourists both in terms of preferences and in terms of purchase and consumption behaviour. This is useful information to be able to outline a framework for planning future policies aimed at developing this important tourism segment.

This work aims to study the skills that characterize today the role of reception manager in hotels. The role of the reception manager and, in general, the front-office roles represent an important driver to offer the customer a memorable experience and a complete delight. After a review of the main literature on the workforce in tourism industry and the evolution of related skills, this paper presents a survey carried out in the Republic of San Marino. The study was aimed to reception managers and hotel managers and / or owners, in order to: know the respondents' perception about the activities related to the role of reception manager; identify the respondents' perceptions about the importance of the skills required to work and their perception of the skills possessed; know the importance attributed and the relative competence about some technological and digital skills related to the role; note any gaps between necessary and owned skills; carry out reflections on training. The research highlighted a good awareness of the evolution of the role of reception manager, a good level of knowledge possessed, with lack in the second foreign language and in management subjects. It also highlighted good operational skills, but deficiencies in technological and digital skills, as well as data analysis, statistical techniques and tools. This lack of mastery related to technical and management tools partly reduces the chances of creating true experience, although behavioral skills are very good. The problem of adapting skills to the needs of the application recalls the topic of training and school and academic education: from the collaboration with the operators of the tourism industry, the school and the university must find a greater push towards emerging issues, such as that of experiential tourism.

It's now possible to have a summary of the roman turistic situation about the underground tourism and business. Especially, the underground business regards problems like cover-up of data, financial dimension and unregulated activity. The solutions given about usage and enjoyment of non-hotel accommodation, consider some examples from other countries. Besides, it's absolutely necessary a legislative transformation regarding to the tourism infrastructure, the mentality, the entrepreneurial attitude and the approach between tourists and citizens.

The Italian way of life represents a model in the world. In the era of the tourism related to the unique and unrepeatable experience, the small characteristic villages live a new life: tourists especially foreigners are attracted by the atmosphere created by the smaller centers, made of simple hospitality, aromas and flavors linked to the past’s traditions. Italian villages represent a strong attraction, not easily replicable that allows to position themselves in the mind of tourist as a popular destination, where they can enjoy the best of the Italian way of life. Tourism in rural community is not linked to seasonality and it allows to improve the economic conditions of destinations considered as minor, today the fulcrum of the tourist experience. The authenticity of the villages is one of the features that arouses great interest in the imagination of foreign tourists who have the desire to experience moments of cheerfulness and truth, far from the usual tourist circuits.