Rita Salvatore is a Senior researcher with more than 20 years of experience in rural development. She has been doing research on the role of tourism within Italian protected areas and rural contexts, with special attention to regional products and food. She has developed a particular interest in the analysis and social planning of sustainable tourism paths, with a particular focus on participative processes and community development. Her most recent research project concerns “new generation agritourism” and the requalification of abandoned villages in fragile areas by young entrepreneurs.
She also teaches “Food & Wine Tourism and Development” at the University of Teramo. She was a visiting researcher and lecturer at the ITW (Institut für Tourismuswirtschaft) of the University of Applied Arts and Sciences of Luzern (Switzerland). She is a member of the steering committee of the IRENA (International Research Network on Agritourism), spokesperson of Slow Food Abruzzo Region and President of the Slow Food Convivium of L’Aquila, Italy.
Latest publications
2021, «From heritage places to ecotourist destinations: processes and strategy to manage social change» in Bortoletto N., (ed.), ADRION, Charter routes from antiquity to modern times, UniZadar-UniTeramo-HB edition, Zadar-Teramo.
2021, «Sustainable tourism, young entrepreneurship and social innovation in peripheral rural areas: case studies from Southern Italy» in Rui Marques (ed.) The Impact of Tourist Activities on Low-Density Territories: Evaluation Frameworks, Lessons, and Policy Recommendations. Springer
2020, “CBT in Rural Peripheral Areas: An Italian Case Study of Territorial Engagement and Requalification» in The Routledge Handbook of Community Based Tourism Management Concepts, Issues & Implications
2020, «Wine Routes and Sustainable Social Organization within Local Tourist Supply: Case Studies of Two Italian Regions», Sustainability, 12, 9388
2019, «Collaborative Processes and Collective Impact in Tourist Rural Villages—Insights from a Comparative Analysis between Argentinian and Italian Cases», Sustainability, 11(2), 432
2018, «Tourism Transition in Rural Peripheral Areas: Theories, Issues and Strategies», in Annals of Tourism Research 68 (2018): 41-51
2018, Non più e non ancora. Le aree fragili tra conservazione ambientale, cambiamento sociale e sviluppo turistico,FrancoAngeli, Roma
2017, «Ecopreneurs, rural development and alternative socio-technical arrangements for community renewable energy», Journal of Rural Studies, Volume 52, May 2017, Pages 33–41
2012, «Sustainable tourism and local social development: a sociological reassessment of the link», Sociologica, 2