Tourism in Matera. A resource or a problem?

Abstract

Matera, a medium-sized town in Basilicata, Southern Italy, was European Capital of Culture in 2019, at the end of twenty years of strong tourist flows growth. On the one hand, tourism development was perceived as a significant opportunity for economic development and urban and real estate renovation and enhancement. On the other hand, especially in the last years, tourism impacts were often considered excessive. First, there is a review of the most used terms to define the impacts of tourism, and a description of the context and the evolution of tourist flows in the city in the last twenty years. Then, the paper aims to explain the actual impacts of tourism on the urban environment, analyzing the spatial distribution of tourist attractions and accommodations, and the real estate market, taking into consideration also the role of accommodation booking and sharing platforms. The analysis partially confirms the worries about the negative externalities of tourism; nonetheless, it also scales them down, thanks to a more accurate investigation on the peculiarities and the potential of the city, which make it hardly comparable with other cities.

Keywords

• tourism
• touristification
• overtourism
• revitalization
• matera