The bottom-up approach and PPPs as key-drivers in the creation of sustainable tourism products: Evidence from a community destination

The paper discusses the bottom-up approach and PPPs in the creation of sustainable tourism products, with reference to projects managing the natural resources and protected areas of a typical community destination in northern Italy. We introduce the aims and features of a Reserves Network (RN) and analyse (1) whether and how stakeholder collaboration on projects aimed at conserving and valorising the destination’s landscape and environment stimulate the creation of sustainable tourism initiatives; (2) the roles played by public and private actors in the definition of the projects; (3) if the projects’ contribution -if any -to the destination’s economic, social, and environmental sustainability.The paper illustrates the results of a survey of 167local stakeholders and 9 phone interviews with DMO members. We reconstruct the profiles of public and private stakeholders through multiple correspondence analysis and use content analysis to investigate the link between the RN and the development of sustainable tourism products.The stakeholders recognise the RN’s role, both in the creation of sustainable tourism products and in fostering/enabling local development. Differences, however, emerge between public and private actors regarding the economic, environmentaland social sustainability of the RN projects.The originality of the research lies in its managerial implications and contribution to the theoretical background.