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Three case studies about tourism impacts caused by air travel were presented in the first workshop of the 44th AIEST‐conference. The three presenters were discussing the impacts of airtravel in European regions: France (Claude Origet du Cluzeau), Pisa (Harald Pechlaner) and Southern Italy (Andrea Macchiavelli).

The workshop 3 was directed by Mme Origet du Cluzeau; it aimed to focus the role of the State in the development of sport and tourism and in which way the Public Administration, with private sponsoring, finances the sport events.

The paper analyses the tourism supply in Southern Italy with the aim to verify the role played by air transport in promoting tourism in Southern Italy among major European sales market. Thus the following items are taken into account: a. The level of competitiveness and main characteristics of tourism supply in Southern Italy, compared with those of the other countries in the Mediterranean Basin, according to holiday offers presented in several catalogues collected among tour operators placed in some major European capitals; b. The level of air accessibility of Southern Italy, provided by its commercial airports, through a deep analysis of airports schedules of Southern Italian airports and their competitors; c. The evolution of the air accessibility in the last three years, and the causal link with major trends verified in the airborne transport market during the recent years. The results of the study show that new trends in the air transport are favouring the development of tourism in South‐Eastern Mediterranean Basin, but airlines tend to centre flights towards areas already providing a well‐developed tourism supply, and where it is more integrated in European sales markets. Countries such as Italy, where the tourism supply is more fragmented are more damaged; whereas Italy, on the one hand, has difficulty in reaching a sufficient level of demand for specific tourist areas, on the other hand, there is a lack of commercial policies coordinated among operators to penetrate the “richest” foreign markets. The main problem for Southern Italian tourism operators is therefore to develop policies strongly integrated among different areas and regions, both on supply organization and in the field of marketing, with the aim to generate the traffic volumes necessary to attract airlines. The increasing in competitiveness faced at the present time by the air transport market, and the increased easiness for the individual customer to choose and book air flights must stimulate those policies.

Market globalisation produces a very competitive scenario that affects mainly enterprises operating in very fragmented contexts. Tourist enterprises have difficulty in finding economic and efficient conditions, they are generally small‐sized and the management culture in tourism is still at the beginning. Cooperation and integration among stakeholders operating in the tourism system are the conditions that ensure the full satisfaction of tourists' expectations; but also that promote the search for business economies. A tourist destination becomes a product only if it provides tourists with an integrated supply system. The cooperation among enterprises and institutions creates added value for the tourism destinations and for the single businesses, but operators have difficulty in recognising it. Especially the mature destinations are those that find it hard to change their mode of operating, mainly because they do not wish to re‐nounce to the perpetual annuities that have already been obtained. Some examples, with reference to the Italian situation, confirm this. Operators tend to evaluate the benefits of their initiatives in the short‐run, but the results of integration actions should be assessed in the medium‐ and long‐term. Furthermore, in a process of organisational change the powers and the skills tend to be redistributed unevenly. The points of view of tourists and enterprises shall overlap more and more till they can no longer be separated. In this way the services supplied will meet the tourists' expectations. The re‐organisation of the industrial sector proved that network‐based operations are essential for the efficiency of the enterprises and for the competitiveness of the tourist areas.

Generally, school exchanges in foreign countries are not understood as a tourism phenomenon. From the statistical point of view, these stages of visiting student abroad, normally for a period of a week, are clearly defined as tourism. The motivations which lead to undertake an exchange experience are similar to the motives in cultural tourism. Moreover, a stay abroad offers the students an opportunity to learn how to travel. Local tourism offices should attach mire importance to student exchange programs in general and also include them in their marketing planning. The schools offering student exchange programs should put their efforts together by building up networks in order to support mutual interests.

Claims that the process of transition of former socialist countries has been misguided. The reform of the economic system is but part of the overall process of social transformation, and it is argued that at the root of the disappointing results has been the fact that instead of focusing on moral redemption, the moral decay of these societies has even been enhanced by the infusion of economic egoism. The present transition can be seen as a process of transformation from primitive socialism to primitive capitalism. Without the sanctity of law and order rooted in the value system of the cultural heritage of Judeo‐Christian ethics, the privatization of state industries and public utilities including the commercialization of education, health, the arts and sciences has been creating conditions for a place far removed from an environment conducive to social peace, political stability and economic growth.