Perceptions of and interactions between locals, migrants, and tourists in South Tyrol

Abstract

The nexus of migration and tourism is well explored, and both phenomena possess push- and pull factors. Their influence and connections can be seen in one of the top tourist destinations in Europe, South Tyrol, a region located in Northern Italy, and one of its most important tourism hubs: Ortisei. The area is particularly interesting for researchers due to its long history of tourism and the multilingualism of the region. Our in-depth and exploratory research approach helps gain a better understanding of the complexity of the migration-tourism nexus from a local perspective. It confirms the attractiveness of the tourism sector for migrants, but also the impact of both phenomena on the region. The findings show that the presence of migrants in a destination is strongly connected to the inflow of (domestic and international) tourists and the touristic experiences offered at the local level. Therefore, tourism contributes to the generation of in-migration. The growing share of migrants working in the local tourist industry represents the most evident link between the two phenomena, supporting the tourism-led migration hypothesis. But the local perception of tourists and migrants as the ‘other’ and trust as a relational characteristic joins the two phenomena on a different level, as both are seen as ‘non-local’ groups. However, within a tourist destination, both migrants and tourists interrelate with the local community, thus shaping it. And even though the statistical categories prevail based on the length of or reason to stay, at second glance those boundaries blur, and the acceptance of ‘new’ populations groups living, working and visiting the destination seems to increase with their duration of stay.

摘要

迁移和旅游的关系已经得到了很好的探讨, 这两种现象都具有推动和拉动因素。它们的影响力和联系可以在欧洲最著名的旅游目的地之一, 意大利北部的南提洛尔地区, 以及意大利最重要的旅游枢纽之一:奥蒂塞伊看到。由于该地区有着悠久的旅游发展的历史和多种语言的使用, 研究人员对该地区特别感兴趣。我们详细的探索性研究方法有助于从地方角度更好地理解迁移-旅游关系的复杂性。它证实了旅游业对移民的吸引力, 但也证实了这两种现象对该地区的影响。调查结果表明, 移民在目的地的出现与国内和国际游客的流入和地方层面提供的旅游体验密切相关。因此, 旅游业促进了移民的产生。在当地旅游业工作的移民人数越来越多, 这是这两种现象之间最明显的联系, 支持了以旅游业为主导的移民假说。但是当地人把游客和移民认识为“他者”, 而信任则是一种关系特征, 在不同的层面上将这两种现象结合在一起, 因为两者都被视为“非本地”群体。然而, 在旅游目的地内, 移民和游客都与当地社区相互联系, 从而塑造了当地社区。尽管统计上的分类是根据逗留的时间或理由来划分的, 但再看一看, 这些界限就变得模糊了, 人们对居住、工作和访问目的地的“新”人口群体的接受程度似乎是随着逗留时间的延长而增加的。

Keywords:

• Migration-tourism nexus
• migration
• tourism
• local perception
• trust
• South Tyrol
• Ortisei

关键词:

• 迁移与旅游的关系
• 移民
• 旅游
• 当地认知;信任
• 南提洛尔；奥蒂塞伊

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Anja Marcher

Anja Marcher, M.A., is former researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research in Italy and is a doctoral candidate in Geography at the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany.

Ingrid Kofler

Dr. Ingrid Kofler is currently working as senior researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research in Bolzano. Her research interests include innovation and networks, governance, migration and inter- and transdisciplinarity. She holds a PhD in Sociology from the University Paris Descartes-Sorbonne and University of Roma Tre.

Elisa Innerhofer

Dr. Elisa Innerhofer is Senior Researcher at the Center for Advanced Studies at Eurac Research in Bolzano. She studied international economics and business science as well as political science at the University of Innsbruck and the Marquette University in Milwaukee (WI, USA) and holds a PhD in Economics from the Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt.

Harald Pechlaner

Prof. Dr. Harald Pechlaner holds a Chair in Tourism and is Director of the Center for Entrepreneurship at the Catholic University Eichstätt-Ingolstadt in Germany and is Adjunct Research Professor at Curtin University in Perth/WA (Curtin Business School). He is Head of the Center for Advanced Studies at the Eurac Research in Bolzano in Italy.