Conference Agenda

Turin was considered one of the automotive capitals of the world, along with Detroit and Stuttgart and other sites scattered across the continents. This was not only because the city was the centre of a large manufacturing group, Fiat, but also because, historically, it had seen a succession of skills in the sector that was unique in the world. Known and shaped for a century as a factory-town, at the turn of the 1980s and 1990s it experienced a moment of serious crisis, coinciding with the onset of globalisation processes, with the radical change in the way companies compete and with the choices made by industrial companies to relocate production. Before other Italian cities, Turin has in fact witnessed a profound downsizing of its manufacturing industry.

Over the last two decades, and particularly after the 2006 Winter Olympics, this dynamic city has undergone a very significant change: it now presents itself as a cultural and tourist city, characterised by an innovative force capable of shaping and changing its identity. The city has enriched its roots with new vocations, realising that the industrial vocation alone would not be sufficient to guarantee past prosperity and that it was therefore necessary to broaden the spectrum of its excellence. Through diversification strategies and numerous projects, it moved in the direction of the knowledge economy: research and start-ups, university and education system, and culture. Culture has been a key element, and investing in culture has been and is strategic both for the inhabitant involvement that for tourist attraction. In this transition frame, a role of excellence is played by the museums, some of which are world-famous, others less well-known but equally valuable. Turin has become one of the favourite tourist destinations for Italians and has increasingly opened its doors to foreign tourists.

Within this general framework, the research proposes to share some insights on the intertwining of geography and urban tourism in the city of Turin: its transformation from the city of the car to a city that has been able to renew its image and exploit its potential to become one of the most interesting cultural and tourist centres on the national scene today can certainly be an interesting case study.

Burgess (1925) observed that “In all cities there is the natural tendency for local and outside transportation to converge in the central business district... we expect to find … great hotels, theaters, art museums …” (p. 52). This idea of concentrated tourist activities influenced later geographical studies inspired by the Chicago School, which sought to identify and define distinct visitor-oriented areas. Consequently, terms such as "Tourism Business Districts" (Getz, 1993) emerged, highlighting the spatial segregation of tourism within specific zones.

Such confinement has been criticised as creating 'artificial bubbles' (Judd, 1999), distancing tourists from local urban life. Contemporary perspectives, however, have come to view the "tourist city" as an overlay on other urban functions, reflecting diverse uses and users (Ashworth & Page, 2011). Concepts such as the flâneur (Nuvolati, 2009) and the choraster (Wearing & Foley, 2017) emphasise tourists’ integration into everyday urban spaces, shifting the focus to their interaction and co-creation of cities.

Despite these shifts, the division between tourist-dedicated and resident spaces remains central, encompassing ecological, morphological, and sociological dimensions. The “invasion” process has been described as transformative—and often disruptive—with McKenzie (1925) stating, " … there takes place displacement and selection determined by the character of the invader and the area invaded" (p. 76).

In the context of tourism, some observers posit that such "invasions" can foster convergence between tourists and local communities, thereby reinforcing shared perceptions and urban bonds (Russo & Quaglieri-Dominguez, 2013). Others underscore the potential risks of conflict and imbalance, with overtourism giving rise to tensions, resistance, and even "tourism-phobia" (Novy & Colomb, 2017; Milano, 2018).

In Italy, an urban demographic crisis, rising housing costs, and speculative real estate ventures linked to platform capitalism (Aalbers, 2018) have reshaped city centres. The proliferation of short-term rentals and the decline of traditional accommodations have driven gentrification, which is often disconnected from local well-being.

This study investigates how urban tourism reshapes historic Italian cities with significant visitor flows. It employs specific indicators to analyse the transformation of tourist spaces.

A tourist destination extends beyond administrative boundaries and is closely tied to the perceptions of tourists and day-trippers, who define the tourist territory. So, how large is the tourist destination of Venice? From the municipality’s perspective, it extends within the administrative borders of the metropolitan city; for the region, Venice encompasses the entire regional territory (examples of tourism promotion include the Dolomites, marketed as Venice’s mountains; the province of Treviso, described as Venice’s gardens; Caorle, promoted as the “small Venice”; and the northern Adriatic coast, referred to as “Venice’s beach”). But what do visitors to the historic city think? Or rather, what does their behaviour reveal about how the boundaries of the destination can be defined?

Using high-frequency data from mobile phone cells, this study conducts an in-depth analysis of "hit-and-run" visitors—day-trippers who visit Venice for just a few hours during a day trip. Do they really return to their place of residence? And most importantly, what behaviors do foreign visitors exhibit?

The findings present maps illustrating the behaviors of so-called “false day-trippers”—individuals (mainly foreigners) who visit Venice for a single day but stay overnight in nearby municipalities such as Padua, Treviso, Cavallino Treporti, and even Cortina d’Ampezzo.

These results prompt several reflections: How can these flows be controlled and managed? Is there a way to coordinate between municipalities? Should taxation measures (such as the tourist tax and access contribution) be reconsidered?

Sport, like other human activities, is an engine of development and transformation in economic, socio-political and environmental terms (Bale, 1989; Mc Gillivray, 2019). One of the most interesting dimensions of sport studies refers to the role of cities. As noted by some authors (Turner, Carnicelli, 2017; Balletto, Borruso, 2018), the reflections of the management of the sports issue in a city are linked to its representation and how it can be experienced not only by residents, but also by potential visitors (Slobodyan, 2018).

Nowadays there is a tendency for cities to compete for international awards such as “European Capital of Sport” recognition (ACES Europe), the goal is to trigger local transformation processes that have positive impacts on the territory as a whole and on social cohesion. The reflection presented here fits into this perspective with a case study analysis: Genoa as the “European Capital of Sport 2024”. This recognition - is relevant both in terms of mobilising resources and concrete territorial spin-offs, and in terms of attracting events and tourist flows.

In the first part of this contribution, a general overview of sport-related activities in Italy will be offered, also in a comparative perspective with the rest of Europe; a second part of the research will focus on the case study of the city of Genoa and the related implications of the recognition as the “European Capital of Sport 2024”; finally, the transformations in the field of sport that have already taken place and/or are evolving in the Genoa area will be highlighted, as well as the related development trajectories in a tourism perspective. In order to support the reflections presented and to assess the phenomena described, also from a quantitative point of view, secondary data from official sources have been used.

The territorial analysis carried out makes it possible to affirm that also Genoa is part of that process of enhancing sport at an urban level that does not only have attraction and territorial marketing purposes, but also intends to promote sport as a fundamental practice for individual wellbeing and social cohesion.