Sustainable Tourism Law

Appellations of origin in tourism: toward a sustainable development Sheila Sánchez Bergara 1 Department of Legal and Political Sciences Ostelea School of Tourism and Hospitality University of Lleida I. INTRODUCTION More than a decade ago, Ghafele & Santagata (2006) highlighted the lack of studies that would link intellectual property with the tourism sector. These authors also showed that the majority of research focused, primarily, on patent and copyright issues. However, other legal institutions such as appellations of origin and trademarks were virtually excluded from tourism studies. However, there is an extensive literature taken from economics of cultural studies that highlights the importance of intellectual property rights for the tourism sector (cf. Ghafele & Santagata, 2006; Russo & Segre, 2009; Santagata, 2002, 2006, 2010; Segre & Russo, 2005). These works give special relevance to the role of intellectual property rights in the framework of cultural districts. In this type of productive organization, local culture, as understood in a broad sense, is one of the main tourist attractions and intellectual property rights are a structural element of them. Several studies argue that cultural districts contribute to social, economic and cultural development by generating agglomeration economies and other positive externalities (Felicetti, 2016; Ghafele & Santagata, 2006; Santagata, 2002, 2006). In these contexts, the know-how, creativity and other forms of local culture constitute the foundation for the development of a collective system of intellectual property rights. At the same time, the strategic management of this cultural capital can have a positive impact on the sustainable development of the territory. The tourism sector is considered a driver for socio-economic development. 1 ssanchezb@ostelea.com .