{"id":7409,"date":"2018-05-02T10:45:25","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T10:45:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tourismconcern.org.uk\/?p=7409"},"modified":"2018-05-02T10:45:25","modified_gmt":"2018-05-02T10:45:25","slug":"an-interview-with-valle-dei-cavalieri-awarded-for-excellence-and-innovation-in-tourism-by-the-unwto","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/travindy.com\/news\/2018\/05\/an-interview-with-valle-dei-cavalieri-awarded-for-excellence-and-innovation-in-tourism-by-the-unwto\/","title":{"rendered":"An interview with Valle dei Cavalieri, awarded for "Excellence and Innovation in Tourism" by the UNWTO."},"content":{"rendered":"

\t\t\t\tA little mountain community at risk of disappearing, due to the depopulation. They decided to work together cooperatively to save their territory, their culture and their history.<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\nThey believed in another kind of development. Based on the values of collective participation, mutual help and internal democracy. Tourism has been an important tool in the process. But just an instrument in the hands of the community.<\/span>\n\nIn the last 25 years, they have been creating a successful reference. It has been observed and studied with interest and curiosity.\n\nLast January in Madrid, the experience received the Award at the UNWTO for Excellence and Innovation in Tourism<\/em>.<\/strong><\/span>\n\nElisa Spampinato has met Dario Torri<\/strong> and Oreste Torri<\/strong>, president and vice-president of Valle dei Cavalieri <\/em>Cooperative.<\/span>\n\n\"An<\/span>\n\n\n\n

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Why didn\u2019t Valle dei Cavalieri set a smaller target from the very beginning, instead choosing the broader goal of regenerating the territory? Weren\u2019t you scared of starting a kind of <\/b>mission impossible<\/em>? Did all the local population agree straight away with the long-term goal project?<\/b><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n <\/em>Actually, in the beginning, we did not have very ambitious goals. We wanted to protect our village, provide some basic services to the population. Many expressed concerns and were reluctant to participate. But we were very determined. We started and then over time the sharing grew and we were able to progressively set more advanced goals.<\/span>\n\n\n
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Was there any resistance, or any fear of failing at the beginning? How strong was the sense of community at the beginning? And how has that changed over time?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\nThere was always a sense of community from the beginning. Confidence in our project has grown gradually as the first positive results have been achieved.<\/span>\n\n\"An<\/span>\n\n\n
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I believe that the fact that the services haven\u2019t been created for <\/em>the tourists plays a crucial role in the success of community-based tourism experiences worldwide. Do you think there is always a direct relationship between these two elements?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\nOur priority was to give the inhabitants some services that had existed in the past. But that had disappeared, such as the grocery store and the bar. Then we realized that the same services could be shared with our guests, tourists, and we have since focused on tourism as an opportunity for work and income. We opened the restaurant. The farmhouse with the rooms, sheep breeding with the production of pecorino cheese, a small spa, recovered the sports field, started the rental of mountain bikes and snowshoes, we also manage two small alpine refuge. And now we have also recovered the parsonage, with 25 beds, which was granted to us by the parish. This shows how the whole population recognizes itself in the cooperative, which is strongly rooted in the village.<\/span>\n\n\"An<\/span>\n\n\n
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I am interested in your definition of an authentic tourism experience. What does that mean to Valle dei Cavalieri<\/em>?<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\nIt means to propose a reality, a village that has built its own identity. In the past there were three ancient villages, distinct, close to each other, but separate. Due to the landslide the three villages were abandoned and a new village was built in the 70s. The remaining inhabitants of the three small villages converged. We created a new identity born of a traumatic event. Today we offer this identity to our guests.<\/span>\n\n\n