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Summer schools are a relatively recent form of higher education provision, especially in Italy. However, they shows interesting potentials both as integrative study to undergraduate, post-graduate and PhD students curricula as well as continuing education opportunities for professionals and for young researcher. Being short, intensive, focused and often located in heritage or tourist town or city, summer schools are often multipurpose and match education objectives with social and leisure ones. This paper, firstly, investigate the dimension of the phenomenon, providing elements on the historical evolution of the “summer school” concept in the world. Secondly, it provides an overview of the Summer School experiences carried out within the University of Bologna. Finally, the focus will be given to the experiences in the international summer schools in Geography of Tourism held at the Faculty of Economics in Rimini.

Tourism for children and adolescents is a neglected topic in tourism research, despite the importance of a child’s life trajectory up to the age of 17/18 in terms of the psychological and social impact it has on their formation of subjectivity. This paper aims to shed light on the topic, starting with an analysis of the scientific literature on childhood, including the thoughts of this cohort, which, as a review of the leading publications shows, has been neglected in the literature. There are various critical issues to consider, beginning with the way the age groups are classified ; they must be divided into childhood and adolescence to reflect minors’ cognitive ability and level of perception and interpretation. The existing literature is based on indirect information, collected from the family responsible for the minor. Using major, long-standing tourist destinations as case studies can reveal the marked importance of this age group, which has been neglected compared to the various adult and senior citizen tourist target groups and for whom innovative tourism options have not been provided. The case study presented focuses on the Riviera Romagnola, the largest Italian seaside tourist destination, responsible for Emilia-Romagna’s place in the top five European regions for hotel accommodation. It was a major coastal tourist destination for children between the two wars, welcoming an estimated 400,000 visitors in 1935 ; in recent years, public bodies, hotelier associations and private associations in the area have directed renewed energy towards this target group, due to growing awareness of new sustainable lifestyles. A survey in the Province of Rimini showed that tourists aged 17 and under still represent a very large target group (accounting for 640,000 visitors in 2013, equivalent to 1/5 of the total) and therefore a strategically important one ; new forms of holiday aimed at this group are now emerging, and innovative practices are being tested. Indeed, the authors highlight how this region, historically shaped by mass tourism, is being strengthened through new cultural projects and products aimed at children, involving best practices related to intangible and intergenerational heritage, as part of a vision of social and cultural sustainability.

Le pratiche turistiche dell’infanzia e dell’adolescenza costituiscono un tema trascurato nella ricerca turistica, sebbene la traiettoria di vita sino ai 17/18 anni sia da considerarsi importante per l’impatto psicologico e sociale nella formazione della soggettività. Questo contributo ambisce a mettere a fuoco il tema partendo dall’analisi della letteratura scientifica relativa all’infanzia, anche sulla base di una riflessione di tale coorte, trascurata nella letteratura scientifica come rivela una ricerca effettuata nelle riviste più importanti. Diverse sono le criticità a partire dall’articolazione delle classi dell’età che necessitano di essere distinte tra infanzia e adolescenza, perché referenti della capacità cognitiva e del livello di percezione e di interpretazione dei minori: di fatto la letteratura esistente si basa su informazioni indirette, riferite alla famiglia responsabile del minore. L’uso di casi di studio di destinazioni turistiche maggiori e storicamente affermate possono mettere a fuoco l’importanza marcata del peso di questa classe di età, trascurata in confronto ai diversi target turistici adulti e senior e carente di prodotti turistici innovativi. Il caso presentato fa riferimento alla Riviera Romagnola, il distretto più importante del turismo balneare italiano, che pone l’Emilia-Romagna tra le prime cinque regioni europee per ospitalità alberghiera. Importante litorale turistico per l’infanzia tra le due guerre con una stima di 400.000 arrivi nel 1935, negli ultimi anni questa destinazione mostra da parte degli attori pubblici, associazioni albergatori e associazioni private una rinnovata attenzione a tale target , per la crescente consapevolezza del nuovo stile di vita sostenibile. Partendo da un’indagine della Provincia di Rimini è emerso come i turisti sino a 17 anni siano ancora un target molto importante (640.000 arrivi, pari ad 1/5 del totale, 2013) e strategico, dove nuove modalità di vacanza emergono e pratiche innovative sono sperimentate. Gli autori sottolineano di fatto un rafforzamento di questo storico distretto turistico di massa attraverso nuovi progetti e prodotti culturali attenti al target infantile in una visione di sostenibilità sociale e culturale tramite buone pratiche di patrimonio intangibile e intergenerazionale.

Les pratiques touristiques de l’enfance et de l’adolescence constituent un thème négligé dans la recherche en tourisme. Pourtant, les expériences accumulées par les jeunes jusqu’à leur majorité jouent un rôle psychologique et social déterminant dans leur formation en tant qu’individus. Cet article aborde ce thème en partant d’une analyse de la littérature scientifique sur l’enfance, une tranche d’âge rarement abordée par les chercheurs. Les problématiques sont multiples, à commencer par la subdivision en classes d’âge établie en fonction des capacités cognitives, de perception et d’interprétation des mineurs, qui impose une distinction entre enfance et adolescence : la littérature scientifique disponible à ce sujet se base en effet sur des informations indirectes, qui renvoient à la famille responsable du mineur. Or l‘étude de cas de destinations touristiques de premier plan consolidées dans le temps démontre le poids que représente cette classe d’âge, oubliée au profit des marchés touristiques des adultes et des seniors et privée de produits touristiques innovants. L’exemple analysé dans cet article est celui de la Riviera Romagnola, le district touristique balnéaire le plus important d’Italie, situé dans une des cinq premières régions hôtelières européennes : la région Emilia-Romagna. Important littoral touristique pour l’enfance pendant l’entre-deux-guerres, avec un flux estimé de 400 000 arrivées en 1935, cette destination a montré au cours des dernières années une attention renouvelée pour ce public, autant de la part des administrations que des associations hôtelières et des acteurs privés.Selon une enquête lancée par la Province de Rimini, les touristes de moins de 18 ans représentent encore aujourd’hui une part de marché considérable et stratégique (640000 arrivées, soit 1/5 du total en 2013), associée à de nouvelles modalités et pratiques des vacances. Nous tenterons de montrer ici comment ce district touristique de masse, né il y a plus cent ans, est en train de diversifier son offre en développant de nouveaux projets et produits culturels ciblés sur ce nouveau segment de clientèle touristique, dans une perspective de durabilité sociale et culturelle, à travers de bonnes pratiques liées à la promotion du patrimoine immatériel et intergénérationnel.