Community-oriented governance in tourism destination: The Antico Borgo Orefici Consortium of Naples in Tourism governance approaches

Community-oriented governance in tourism destination represents an unexplored topic in tourism literature. In this paper a case study on the Borgo Orefici Consortium, located in the city of Naples, was presented. The history, customs and habits of a whole community are reflected in the goldsmith's art. The processing of precious metals has only partially changed over the centuries. Naples represents flourishing goldsmithing districts, a precious source to be discovered from a touristic point of view. The Antico Borgo Orefici focuses its strategic development project on the heritage of goldsmith art with its positive effects on the social, symbolic and identity dimension of the Neapolitan territory. The research questions are how: (i) the Borgo Orefici community governance is composed, (ii) trajectories and strategies shared by the companies and all the actors are established, (iii) the public actors offer their contribution to the development of the context and (iv) the values and traditions of the goldsmith's art are perceived by inhabitants. The case study was explored in depth thanks to the observation of the context. Interviews were conducted with the various actors participating in the governance, along with its users (tourists and inhabitants). The aim was to understand the key strategic factors in the development of the context: the trajectories outlined and the critical elements that can help or limit trajectories of tourist enhancement linked to the tradition and specific knowledge to the territory. The main limitation was related to the investigation of a single case study.