Filippo Grasso,

University of Messina,

Italy,

E-mail: filippo.grasso@unime.it

Local Governance, Resources and Tourism Promotion:

The Case of Taormina

ABSTRACT. Only a few holiday destinations today are competitive in the global tourism markets. We take as a case study the Sicilian town of Taormina, which, as an international touristic destination, shows a strong untapped Potential for a relationship between tourism and local economic growth. We explain this factor as dependent on the model of interaction between local development and global markets, and on the ability of different stakeholders to create synergy for an efficient local tourist system. We examine the characteristics of a quality tourist destination through the lens of the local government system. We highlight the role of local governance in regulating relations with foreign tourist markets[1].

Received: May, 2014

1st Revision: July, 2014

Accepted: October, 2014

DOI:10.14254/2071-789X.2014/7-3/13

JEL Classification: M31, O18, O20, L 84

Keywords: marketing, territory, regional analysis, tourism.