Mountain Tourism: Environmental Management for Fostering Tourism Destinations. From Context Analysis to Tourism Products

A tourism destination is defined as a geographical region, an administrative jurisdiction or a relevant attraction that offers the visitor a range of tourist experiences that are memorable through one or more tourism products, a combination of tangible and intangible elements around the core of the tourism destination. In mountain contexts, a tourism destination cannot be separated from the quality of the natural environment, often representing its main attractor. For this reason, the scientific community started paying attention to define models for assessing sustainability of mountain tourism destinations. The present contribution reports the activities carried out in the territory of Alagna Valsesia, Monte Rosa Massif (Piedmont), as part of the Alagna Walser Green Paradise (AWGP) project, within a scientific collaboration with the Piedmont Region and the Municipality of Alagna Valsesia. Through the definition of the Context analysis a new tourism product has been defined. The "Way of the waters" is a walking route that will link all the municipal fountains valorizing a natural resource through multiple viewpoints (cultural, historical) and thanks to high technology the information will be accessible to all.