With almost 5000 inhabitants and more than 2 million tourist visits per year, our territory is often held up as a case study for its tourism organizational model. Still, diverse future challenges await us. Precisely for this reason, the Azienda per il Turismo [Tourist Agency], after having redefined our role and implemented some successful new tourist products, would now like more people to have a word in the conversation regarding our future. The result is a research-intervention think-tank on the future, involving the local people and main stakeholders in the resort, so that our territory remains as attractive and stimulating for its visitors and above all for the local inhabitants.
Tourism is without doubt the economic engine of our mountain resort. During the current positive and interesting stage in our development, it is nevertheless important to think about future prospects, bearing in mind the big socio-political changes underway: global warming, digitalization, ageing of our local population, the phenomena of mass migration.
The Tourist Agency have therefore conceived an innovative project for development involving local actors, the Dolomiti Paganella Future Lab, with the aim of reasoning today on how tourism can continue to represent a positive force for the good of our community tomorrow and in future decades.
The project is supported by the five Local Councils and was presented to the local people on the occasion of the Mountain Future Festival at the end of August, when the President of the APT, Michele Viola, had the first opportunity to publically trace out our medium and long term objectives.
What does it mean to offer tourism today, and above all how do we imagine the future of a community that faces the challenges mentioned above? Can we achieve a future balance between the local community and visitors? Are we sure that the winning strategy, from the perspective of tourism, is always that of growth? What will our lives be like on the plateau in 20 or 30 years? These are just a few of the big questions that Dolomiti Paganella Future Lab wants to pose, and finding answers will require the central and active participation of all the local community of residents and workers.
The aspiration is to help achieve a shared long-term strategic vision for our tourist venue, so that everyone can assume an active role in the process of change rather than simply enduring it passively.
