A Roadmap for
Place-Based Tourism
That Regenerates Local Value
From Global Templates
to Distinctive Places
Tourism is no longer just an economic sector. It reshapes territories, disrupts the daily life of local communities, and redefines the identity of the places it reaches. This insight proposes a practical framework for cities, destinations, and territories ready to move from managing tourism to actively shaping it — putting local value, not visitor numbers, at the centre.
What you will find in this insight:
A diagnosis of the dominant model: Why most tourism strategies are built to attract and accommodate visitors — but not to protect what makes places worth visiting. And what the real cost of that gap is for residents, local identity, and long-term competitiveness.
The opportunity of place-based tourism: How genius loci — the unique combination of landscape, culture, rhythm, memory, and craft that defines every place — can become a strategic asset rather than a casualty of growth. Illustrated through cultural, sports, wellness, and heritage tourism.
Two strategic shifts for destinations towards 2030: From reactive to proactive management, and from volume to value — with a new indicator framework to measure what actually matters: local economic retention, territorial distribution, quality of employment, and residents’ wellbeing.
- Four design principles to build distinctive places: Territory-first, identity as soft infrastructure, regeneration beyond sustainability, and collaboration as a governing logic. Not aspirational values — operational tools for policymakers and private actors ready to lead the transition.
- Three action areas to start now: Reframing, economic alignment, and governance — with practical guidance on where to begin, regardless of context or level of maturity.
‘The places that will succeed are not those that attract the most visitors. They are those that stay true to what makes them worth visiting in the first place.’
