زیبایی به عنوان عامل رشد اقتصادی و اجتماعی Beauty as a factor of economic and social development

Introduction The aesthetic qualities of a place are, as widely recognised, a good determinant in attracting tourists. As Urry states in his renown book (Urry, 2002), tourism consumption is heavily image-oriented, and tourists look forward to pleasant views, either natural or “artificial” landscapes. Whether natural, environmental or built, recently or in a more or less distant past, the resources a destination has, if deemed sufficiently “beautiful”, are exploited for promotional purposes and may become an important competitive advantage, mainly because they contribute much to the overall experience of a visitor (Kirillova et al., 2014). Beauty, therefore, is an essential element for a tourism destination, and a good reflection on its role is important. Up to now aesthetic characteristics have been seen almost just as one of the factors of attraction, and several studies have focussed on the role played in determining choices and satisfaction of tourists (Seddighi and Theocharous, 2002). However, a deeper consideration of this element is still missing, even if some recognition exists of the fact that the aesthetic value is one of the main factors contributing to the tourism potential of a site (Yan et al., 2017). As Breiby (2014, p. 163) states: Given the historical relationship between viewing or “gazing” and tourism, it is rather incongruous that the concept of aesthetics has received little attention in tourism marketing. A platform of knowledge about the concept of aesthetics in terms of tourism marketing may be important for finding out ways to influence the tourist’s overall satisfaction and thereby affect, for example, the intention to revisit or recommend the destination.Yet, when considering a destination not only as a place where travellers go but also as a complex ecosystem, whose important components are more than just the core “touristic” elements (Baggio et al., 2010; Framke, 2002; Hjalager, 2000), beauty can be considered from a different point of view; it can become the engine for the social and economic development of an area.