Sustainable Tourism Law

APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN IN TOURISM 521 during which the creation process is spontaneous, market-oriented and subject to trial and error feedback (Ghafele & Santagata, 2006). That is to say, they require a long process of development and the socio-economic environment cannot be built beforehand. However, it is possible to influence some of the mechanisms that govern it through plans designed to modify the structure of economic incentives (Santagata, 2006). In cultural districts, another important element to consider is collective intellectual property rights. Rights such as appellations of origin and collective marks can contribute to setting quality standards, increasing prices, generating income and increasing the competitiveness of the district (Ghafele & Santagata, 2006). One of the newest theoretical proposals on this subject for the tourism sector is the work of Russo & Segre (2009). These authors analyse a theoretical model of a tourist destination they call the Creative Tourism District, which is characterized by a system in which the commitment of visitors to local knowledge is crucial. At the same time, and unlike other types of cultural districts, in this case, a spatial concentration of companies is not necessary. Among the distinctive elements of this type of district are the following: 1) It is designed to improve the well-being of the host community through its participation in tourism development. This, in turn, contributes to improving the quality of products and services and has an impact on visitor satisfaction. 2) Visitor satisfaction is mainly derived from their participation in local culture and knowledge events. That is to say, tourism experiences have the local culture as a significant component. This element favours an empathetic attitude by the visitors and the practical possibility of learning and interacting with the residents. 3) The entire tourism supply chain is based on local culture and creativity, which is one of its competitive advantages, as it positively connects the different sectors of creative production, i.e. art, design, fashion, food and drink and crafts. (4) The functioning of cultural industries and the enhancement of material culture are a growth engine, both for the cultural sector itself and for the whole system of access to the territory. This element fosters a virtuous cycle of economic development driven by local cultural capital. 5) Visitors find a more favourable environment to establish emotional links with the cultural capital of the territory. From this element, business opportunities are generated to preserve and enhance the physical and symbolic landscape.