Tourism as a Creative Industry

Tourism is one of the creative industries. In a world of total globalization and digitization, we are witnessing a paradoxical phenomenon: the more the world becomes the same, the higher the value of the unique, the genuine, the authentic. The tourist is tired of standard postcards and uniform tours. They crave not to see, but to feel; not to visit, but to touch. We’re not talking about entertainment, but about co-creation. A master class with a local potter is not a service, it’s an act of transferring cultural code. A local cuisine festival is not just a gastronomic event, it’s a theater where the main character is taste. A mural on the wall of an abandoned factory, created by a street artist, is not just graffiti, it’s a new point on the emotional map of the city. The articles in this issue are also devoted to how creative practices help regions acquire and convey their authentic voice. We explore how that very “genius loci,” for which a traveler is willing to cross thousands of kilometers, is born. This is a complex task that lies at the intersection of anthropology, economics, cultural studies, and marketing. We are convinced: the tourism of the future is not an industry of hospitality, but an industry of experiences. And at its core lies a deep and sincere dialogue that is only possible thanks to the creative spirit.