Using farmhouse and food to enforce a tourism sustainable development model: empirical evidence from Italy

Environmental sustainability plays a crucial role in influencing policy actions and people’s behavior. The 2030 Agenda highlights the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which can be achieved through tourism, particularly in its most sustainable form, such as ecotourism. Ecotourism provides an ideal platform for experimenting with new lifestyles oriented towards sustainability and well-being. Additionally, ecotourism emphasizes territorial identities, particularly through the promotion of food and wine, which can contribute to the creation of sustainable tourism areas. Food quality production serves as evidence of the attention paid by producers to the sustainability of territories and a lifestyle that prioritizes well-being. European citizens are increasingly recognizing the environment as a resource for good living. In Italy, agritourism, which includes activities offered by 25 certified quality agricultural producers, is becoming increasingly popular among tourists. Within this context, sustainability can be experienced through tourism, which offers an opportunity to live differently. This paper examines two Italian regions (Tuscany and Apulia) where farmhouse, food and tourism (FFST) areas have been successfully implemented as a form of sustainable tourism. The study demonstrates that FFST areas can be defined using spatial analysis, and then can become a model for sustainable tourism development. In conclusion, environmental sustainability holds ethical significance and can be achieved through tourism, specifically through ecotourism and FFST areas, which enable tourists to experience sustainable lifestyles while emphasizing territorial identities.