In Search of a Social Optimum in Tourism Flows: The Role of Cultural Heritage in Italian Municipalities

Tourism represents a contributor to local economic conditions as well as to fund raising for heritage preservation. However, concerns related to excessive flows of tourists have been raised from many parts. In fact, overtourism can lead to social, cultural, environmental, and economic costs. This is especially true in cultural destinations. Therefore, touristic destinations both benefit from tourism-related advantages and are subject to the associated drawbacks. This work aims at investigating the sustainability of tourism flows in Italian municipalities from the residents’ perspective by jointly analyzing localization benefits and costs for residents -among which tourism is both a cost and a benefit. Particularly, the work uses a neoclassical economic approach to look for a social optimum in tourism flows, defined as the level that would guarantee the optimal allocation of tourists among Italian municipalities. This enables us to identify municipalities encountering overtourism or undertourism, according to our model. The research is deepened by considering local specificities in terms of heritage endowment and cultural touristic vocation.