presentation at the Heritage Tourism and Hospitality International Conference, Istanbul, November 2014

1. Ni c ola Bel l ini La
Rochel le Bus ines s
School , Fr ance
Valent ina Barat ta
Uni ver s i tà d i F i r enze,
I tal y
Anna Lof f redo Scuola
Super iore Sant 'Anna,
I tal y
Serena Rovai La
Rochel le Bus ines s
School , Fr ance
Internat ional
Conference, I s tanbul ,
7-8 November 2014
CHINESE TOURISTS IN
TUSCANY: REDEFINING THE
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN
HERITAGE AND
AUTHENTICITY

2. DISCONTINUITIES AS OPPORTUNITIES IN
CHINESE OUTBOUND TOURISM
 growth!
 t h e “ new”
Chinese tourist
(second phase):
travel as
experiential
luxury
 the learning
dimension
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 2

3. CHINESE TOURISTS IN ITALY AND TUSCANY
 an expor t- led model
 but a weak per formance
with regard to China
 fast tourism in the region
of slow l i fe
 our focus on top segments
& coastal cities
 their focus on the main ar t
cities
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 3

4. TOURISM AND THE IMAGE OF TUSCANY
 an unparal leled blend of
intel lectual and emotional
components
 not an original , local construct, but
shaped over a long period of time
by a highly international ized and
educated tourism
 the Tuscan authentici ty seems to
emerge from the intersection of a
vari et y o f “ aut h e n t i c i t i e s ” (c f .
Gi lmore and Pine, 2007),
connecting the place wi th a range
of shared memories and values of
the Western civi l ization rather than
stemming uniquely from a place-speci
fic heri tage and resul ting into
an inextricable mix of objective and
existential dimensions
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 4

5. BUT THE CHINESE ARE DIFFERENT
 The Chinese tourists have, in most
cases, a simpl ified knowledge of
Tuscan and I tal ian history and ar t
and no tools to appreciate their
meanings ad peculiarities. Although
they perceive and recognize beauty,
style, elegance and the value
connected to antiquity, Tuscan
images are foreign and exotic to
them. Fur thermore, unl ike
traditional international visitors,
they have n o “ i nferiorit y c omp lex”
and do not feel culturally indebted.
They respectfully appreciate the fact
t h a t “you are an old civilisation like
we are” .
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 5

6. THE CHALLENGE (1)
 to provide the newcomers
with some sense of Tuscan
beauty and uniqueness that
is real ly meaningful to them
 to design a Tuscan
experience (or better: a range
of Tuscan experiences) that is
at the same time tai lored on
the sel f- image(s) of the
Chinese and that does not
clash with the constructed
Tu s c an “ a u t h e n t ic it y”
 re-authentication?
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 6

7. THE CHALLENGE (2)
 sustainable? “ S u s t ainable
to u r i sm” ( i n a wi d e r me a n i n g )
impl ies that economic
per formance, wel l-being of
the local population,
satisfaction of tourists,
protection of natural
resources, health of local
c u l t u re a r e a l l “ i n b a l a n ce ”,
although potentially
confl icting (Gauzy and
Ni jkamp, 2006) . >> defensive
attitudes towards disturbing
“ to u r i st c u l t u re s ”: t h e
Russian case
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 7

8.  f rom
pract ice
 f rom
interviews
THE EMPIRICAL
EVIDENCE
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 8

9. THE CHINESE VIEW AND OUR POLICIES
(1)
 Tuscany and Italy have
a place in the imagery
of educated Chinese
(history, landscape,
ar ts, movie location) <<
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 9

10. THE CHINESE VIEW AND OUR POLICIES
 < < t h e “ p i lg r imag e
mo d e l ” v s . new
thematisations of the
tourist experience
(1)
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 10

11. THE CHINESE VIEW AND OUR POLICIES
(2)
 strong associations: footbal l; luxury and fashion; modernity
(shopping, fashion museum) as a way to access heritage? <<
underestimated or ignored: high culture separated from trivial
enter tainment
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 11

12. THE CHINESE VIEW AND OUR POLICIES
(3)
 unaware of subnational di f ferences >> undi f ferentiated
images of I taly? (the role of foreign tour operators)
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 12

13. INTERVIEWING CHINESE TOURISTS IN
FLORENCE
 ( o u r ) “high c u l t u re” i s NOT t h e
dominant aspect that shapes
its image for Chinese
prospective tourists
 I n te r n e t a n d T V… b u t d o n ot
forget (their!) culture: Xu
Zhimo
 the Pope!
 the serendipitous discovery of
“mo d er nit y” i n F l o r e nc e
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 13

14. RESEARCH AND POLICY THEMES
 (extreme) psychic distance and re-authentication
 The amount of knowledge resources that have to be
brought into play is impressive and clearly is not
available freely on the market nor the autonomous
acquisition by companies can be simply subsidized
by some sectorial policy.
 the need for local investment in intercultural skills:
the risk of a simplified (ethnocentric) view of
authenticity and of outsourcing cultural mediation
(and marketing!)
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 14

15. TO BE MONITORED
 the role of Chinese students as prospective cultral
intermediaries
 Florence - S h a ng hai, “ t h e lily a nd t h e ma g no lia” ( 2 014 ):
 Tongji University Campus
 The Sino-Italian Design Center
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 15

16. INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOP
Chinese tourism in I taly:
the cultural dimension
November 18, 2014
Foreigners
Contact info:
Istituto Confucio di Pisa
050 883 178
confuciopisa@sssup.it
University for Foreigners
SIENA
Piazza Carlo Rosselli 27/28 ore 10.00-18.00
contributors:
• dr. Markus Schuckert,
School of Hotel and Tourism
Management, Hong Kong
Polytechnic University
• prof. Pu Yongjian,
Chongqing University
• prof. Benjamin Taunay,
University of Angers
• prof. Magda Antonioli
Corigliano, Università
Bocconi
16

17. prof . Nicola Bel l ini
Director, Institute of Tourism
bel linin@esc- larochelle.fr
Bellini, Baratta, Loffredo, Rovai, 2014 17