Change in Perspectives in Cultural Tourism: A Sustainable Managerial Model for Cultural Thematic Routes Creating Territorial Value

The negative externalities due to mass tourism and its unprofitable concentration in some artistic city centers or in some periods of the year can be overcome by both a diversification of the cultural heritage offerings and the use of new technologies. Firstly, cultural thematic routes (CTRs) allow for the promotion of new itineraries through the rich cultural heritage of peripheral and landscape areas, supporting them with a system of information services aiming to communicate their value. Secondly, ICT approaches such as business process management (BPM) and product lifecycle management (PLM), already existing in many industrial contexts, could be extended to the cultural tourism sector. To intercept and satisfy a wider and more complex demand for knowledge, culture, and heritage, this chapter is aimed at proposing a sustainable managerial model applied to a specific case study: the “Francigena Route” in the Apulia Region. It uses information and communication technologies to develop new cultural services, improving management effectiveness and efficiency, going beyond the traditional approach of mere conservation of cultural heritage. The result is a model capable of managing organizational variables and highlighting critical issues in the evolution of cultural routes, providing strategic guidelines to both cultural and touristic operators and policymakers.