A Sustainable Approach to Tourist Signage on Heritage Trails

Preprint

Article

A Sustainable Approach to Tourist Signage on Heritage Trails

Altmetrics

Downloads

Views

Comments

A peer-reviewed article of this preprint also exists.

Maria Grazia Deri,Letizia Chiti,

Augusto Ciuffoletti^*

Maria Grazia Deri,Letizia Chiti,

Augusto Ciuffoletti^*

This version is not peer-reviewed

Submitted:

20 October 2023

Posted:

25 October 2023

You are already at the latest version

Alerts

Abstract

Guiding the visitor to appreciate the sights during an excursion is crucial to building a memorable experience. In the literature, we find many articles exploring the use of sophisticated technologies towards such a goal. The case of tourism proposals for inland areas exhibits a noteworthy aspect, since the presence of human artifacts and the signage may damage the experience, and introduce pollutants as well. This paper analyzes the signage for a natural trail putting into practice a holistic methodology that takes into account all aspects of the problem, starting from the touristic vocation of the area and the social fabric. The analysis indicates slow, community-involved tourism as the preferable target, with extreme requirements of sustainability in the social, economic, and environmental domains for the signage solution. Appropriate governance guidelines are given to implement the proposal. Footprint evaluations address the QR-code technology, which is used to design a real-scale solution finally deployed on the field.

Keywords:

Subject: Environmental and Earth Sciences - Sustainable Science and Technology

1. Introduction

Although an official decision is still pending, there is a widely agreed proposal for the naming of the time that we are living as the Anthropocene. Behind this proposal is the recognition that humans have the potential to significantly alter on a global scale the environment in which they live.

The problem with the above fact is that we humans are not able to understand the long-term consequences of deploying such a potential, nor even to keep it under control. Even worse, such capacities are often used with the aim of short-term local effects, ignoring long-term global ones, with the risk of long-term global deterioration. This attitude pervades all activities, starting with the most basic ones such as the supply of food and homes, and is often influenced by economic profit.

Leisure activities play an important role in bringing profit to niche businesses. This creates a reinforcing effect that follows the negative dynamics seen above: a leisure activity that is neutral in itself (e.g., skying) can have a significant impact due to induced effects (lifts) that strengthen the success of the activity (easier to practice) bringing more investment and impact. Unlike the beneficial effects, which are usually well localized, the negative impact has a very broad spectrum that includes environmental, social, and economic sectors, as discussed by Patthey in [1].

To manage this situation, international agencies promote the keyword “sustainability” as a guideline for the conservation of our habitat. Jeffry Ramsey et al. [2] consider the concept behind this word as “vague and disputed but not meaningless” and that cannot be used without a concrete framework, especially in a normative context. To solve the problem of measuring sustainability, Tom Kuhlman et al. [3] point out an inherent conceptual tension between growth and stability. This tension has been attenuated by a change in the meaning of the word, which has gone from focusing on preservation for an indefinite future to a concept that includes three “pillars”, society, economy, and environment, as determinants that need to be protected in the present to promote sustainable development in the future. The authors relate artificial and environmental goods, discriminating the two cases where a loss in the latter can or cannot be compensated by an increase in the former, introducing the terms of weak and strong sustainability.

The promotion of cultural heritage is situated in such a complex scenario. As noted by Jorge Otero in [4], local communities benefit from the promotion of heritage: conservation activity generates social growth, while tourism provides an extra income that can be reinvested in promotion. However, just as in the case of ski resorts, there is a risk of compromising the heritage itself. This interaction raises a question of sustainability also for heritage valorization initiatives, two issues that, instead, are often considered in a virtual synergy. As stated in the document titled ’World Heritage and Sustainable Development’ by UNESCO [5], calling for actions that “harness the potential of World Heritage properties and heritage in general, to contribute to sustainable development”.

This research stems from such a tough contradiction in trying to answer the question: is there a way to unlock the potential of cultural heritage while at the same time limiting the damage to a social, economic, and environmental equilibrium?

The question arises in the course of the Underlandscape project [6] funded by the Italian Ministry of Research aimed at applying cutting-edge technologies to the investigation of karst caves that may have been inhabited, from prehistory to today. Among the expected results of the project is the definition of a strategy to disseminate the research outcomes allowing non-specialists to visit and enjoy the results, thus contributing to the economy of inland areas that are severely exposed to de-population. A sustainable strategy is even more crucial as the geological environment of interest is particularly fragile, as noted by Aleksander Anticc̀ et al. in [6].

This document provides a conceptual solution for a specific aspect: heritage trail signage. The solution is conceptual in that it tries to follow a guideline that takes into account many aspects and provides a practical way that is adaptable to other environments.

2. Unlocking Site Potentials through Signage

The signage used to guide and inform the visitor is of paramount importance and must be carefully designed to accomplish its functions while following the guidelines of a sustainable approach.

The functions of signage are two:

an effective signage must guide the tourist across the resort. A map represents a starting point for this purpose, but not all visitors feel comfortable reading a map. The ideal signage should provide visible reference points and suggest actions, like “turn right after crossing the stream”. A good example of such signage is the one used by the Italian Alpine Club (CAI), consisting of colored stripes marked on tree bark (see Figure 1a). The marks are placed in such a way that standing near one of them, the hiker can spot the successive on the trail;
a sign should explain the reasons for interest in a site. This includes featuring the site where the sign is installed, but also other nearby points of interest that invite the visitor to continue the visit (see Figure 1b). In this sense, the CAI signal above is not sufficient. A simple board with a site name fits only when the site is sufficiently popular. Otherwise, a more structured message should be used to explain its relevance.

In our study, we consider a range of solutions that support sustainable tourism, specifically the dynamic provision of information during a visit along a natural trail not covered by Internet connectivity (a dead zone using the term used by Pearce and Gretzel [7]). We consider the presence of two stakeholders for the signage itself [8]: the hosting organization (the host for short) which implements a signing installation, and the visitor (or user ) which extracts useful and enjoyable information from signing devices.

The purpose of such an installation is guiding the user on a tour that includes urban streets, buildings, natural trails, and caves (this latter being the topic of the project giving financial support to our research). The task of the host organization is to provide the user with all sorts of information that may guide him across the visit, making it as profitable and enjoyable as possible.

A traditional approach makes use of physical information boards with graphical or textual content, as in Figure 1. Our study starts by pointing out the issues related to such a solution:

dimensions: the board must be sufficiently large to contain the desired content, taking into account its readability from a distance;
installation logistics: depending on the location, the transportation and placement of a plaque may require a basement or other sorts of supports;
environmental impact: to be effective, the plaque has to be prominent, and this may negatively affect the quality of the site;
accessibility for the visually impaired: the plaque is not useful for visually impaired persons;
accessibility for stranger visitors: to limit the size of the plaque, the number of translations must be limited as well;
update limits: to update the content, the plaque must be replaced;
removal logistics: when the board degrades it must be either removed or replaced, which entails waste disposal together with other issues similar to those found during the installation.

Such points motivate an investigation to find alternative ways.

2.1. Technology to Minimize Intrusion

We characterize our approach as an instance of weak sustainability: we do not preclude intervention in the environment, but the impact of such intervention must be better than that related to traditional signs. To this end, we include in our solution tools that are not part of the site but remain with the user.

During the last decades, we witnessed the diffusion of smartphone devices, and we have no reason to expect a change in such a trend. Smartphones enhance the communication capabilities of individuals by allowing them to receive sound, visual, and tactile interactions. The relevance of such capabilities for the improvement of a tourist experience has been widely investigated, either in urban environments [9] or in a rural milieu [10] to find ways to exploit such tools. As we did with physical information boards, we highlight the limitations of this technology, particularly when it comes to outdoor activities.

One is that smartphones although widely available, are not equally familiar to everybody. This is related to usability, with a term borrowed from P. Wan in [8]. The second is that several functions depend on the provision of enabling services: for instance, their networking capability is useless if the device cannot reach the Internet. So the applicability limits of a solution need to be defined.

Starting from the two aspects above we envision the guidelines for a successful smartphone-based strategy, keeping in mind its sustainability.

Regarding usability, the basic recommendation is to keep the operation within the experience of the majority of users, without requiring them to familiarize themselves with new applications.

The definition of its applicability limits is more complex, especially for outdoor activities. In such cases, the provision of a networking infrastructure incurs a severe environmental impact. Consider the installation of antennas to cover a wide area and the power supply for the radios.

2.2. Related Works

The research literature marginally covers the utilization of smartphones for tourist signage purposes.

An exhaustive solution is described by P. Liu in [9], which details an infrastructure that guides the visitors inside an urban milieu. In that case, the presence of pervasive networking facilities is a cornerstone for the whole architecture, which deeply depends on Internet connectivity.

Wan [8] evaluates the quality of signage, without referring to a specific technology, but with many examples showing physical boards, using as a formal reference the Universal Design Principles [11].

The number of research papers explodes when we extend the range to articles investigating smartphones’ impact on tourism. The smart tourism topic is very popular, and covered by several review papers that provide a framework to the vast literature.

A popular research direction covers the social aspects related to the use of the smartphone. W. Tan [12] covers all aspects of a touristic experience related to the smartphone, from the definition of travel destination to assistance during the visit. Much attention is dedicated to the network of connections that is established thanks to the smartphone, which, again, is considered on the Internet. Such an assumption is in contrast with the title, which indicates a nature-based destination, where notably the Internet is not always reachable.

On the other hand, roaming in places not reached by the Internet, or dead zones using the term introduced by Pearce and Gretzel in [7], may evoke contrasting feelings, from rewarding to threatening.

More recently, the smartphone has been considered not strictly related to communication. In 2021 A. Slavec et al. investigated the use of cameras [13] while on travel in locations with a relevant cultural heritage to sustain its preservation and engage the tourists using location-based games, similar to Pokemon Go or geo-caching.

In 2023 V. Rodrigues et al. published a systematic review of papers considering the interrelationships between tourism and portable digital devices [14]. Although the title evokes a one-way contribution, i.e., the impact of digitalization is assumed to be positive on the quality and the sustainability of touristic offers, in the conclusions the authors reveal the awareness for the need to address “the preservation of tourism attractions/sites” and call for a “a holistic approach ... to support a concept that still lacks conceptual and empirical clarification”.

In that direction, we meet the phenomenon of overtourism, covered by significant literature reviewed by Dodds and Butler [15], which focuses on urban tourism and its social consequences. The impact of overtourism on resorts that trade on their natural resources is investigated in the case of the Hawaii Islands [16] or Costa Rica [17] stressing the impact on the social fabric.

The present paper wants to fill the gap highlighted by Rodriguez, providing a conceptual yet pragmatic approach to a well-defined aspect of tourism support, taking into account its sustainability “by design”. Once a range of relevant solutions is identified, we proceed to the empirical part: a proof of concept implementation that verifies the feasibility of a specific solution.

We emphasize that this article is not meant to quantify user satisfaction or the economic revenue associated with the specific solution. Such a target is outside the scope of our research, and indeed the figures that would measure the success of a strategy deserve a thorough investigation. We aim at isolating an issue, proposing a sustainable strategy for its solution, and implementing a proof of concept for it.

2.3. A Simple, Low-Impact Solution

The wireless capabilities of a smartphone are the focus of a straightforward approach. Given the premise that the Internet is assumed to be unreachable, the host stakeholder might provide a local network of low-power radios covering the region of interest. Small servers connected to the network would host specific Web services. The approach requires a modest investment and a marginal environmental impact: for instance, a small device based on the ESP8266 single-chip computer (SCC) has a coverage of tens of meters, and a volume in the order of the cm³. It can provide a WiFi Access Point as well as Web content. The ESP8266 has a capacity of 32KB, which is sufficient for explanatory text and a low-resolution image. Other SCCs, like the ESP32, are more powerful but exhibit a higher power consumption.

Such a solution is severely limited by the power supply dependency. A radio transmitter is a rather power-consuming device, in the range of Watts. Even if intermittent, the operation of a battery-operated networking device cannot be guaranteed for long periods and the host organization should consider power harvesting, which negatively contributes to the economic cost and environmental footprint of the device.

For this reason, we do not consider a solution based on the deployment of a networking facility as a valid competitor against traditional board-based design. As explained, the reasons are related to poor sustainability.

An alternative consists of the utilization of passive devices, like Near Field Communication (NFC) transmitters. The transmitting device is flat, the size of a coin, and costs less than one dollar per piece. To receive the content the smartphone must be very close to the NFC tag. The power needed to operate the radio is drained from the smartphone so that the transmitter does not depend on batteries. The NFC device capacity is in the range of the KBytes, nearly a page on this journal. Engraving content onto an NFC tag is a straightforward task that requires a smartphone and an ad-hoc app.

The NFC technology is currently very diffused, although reading an NFC tag as text requires the installation of an appropriate application. Once the application is running the operation simply consists in approaching the smartphone to the tag: the tag content is transferred to the user’s device as a chink of text. The smartphone can read it aloud to compensate for the user’s inability or translate to deal with linguistic issues. Such capabilities do not need an Internet connection.

Another solution in the family of passive devices is the QR tag (QR stands for Quick-Response). Such a technology does not require radio communication but uses the smartphone camera to acquire a graphical code that is translated into text. The capacity of a QR tag depends on the number of dots in the image, which in turn depends on the size of the code and the smartphone camera characteristics. We may consider that the capacity of a QR tag roughly equals that of an NFC tag. A QR tag is larger than an NFC tag of comparable capacity, and manufacturing requires a printer.

A preliminary check verifies compliance with the Universal Design Principles [11]:

Equitable use is closely related to the smartphone technology, which is itself considered a vehicle for equitability,
Flexibility in use is enabled by the device capabilities, which allow listening instead of reading, translating the information in a different language, or storing it for later use,
Simple and intuitive use holds since the operation requires a single application, possibly already installed since useful in many circumstances, and tag reading requires a single finger touch on the smartphone,
Perceptible information is a critical requirement, which contrasts to keep low environmental intrusion. This point will be further discussed in the section devoted to the implementation,
Tolerance for error: there are no margins to use the device in a way that compromises user safety. The deliberate or accidental release of the passive device into the environment determines a minor pollution,
Low physical effort holds, although the user needs to carry a smartphone,
Size and Space for approach and use need to be carefully considered. In the case of the NFC tag the smartphone needs to be nearly in touch with the passive device, while the QR code must be in the line of sight and frameable without effort.

Such minimal solutions (see Figure 2) compare well with other more complex ones that make use of the user’s smartphone. There is a trade-off concerning capacity, but in many circumstances, a capacity of 2-300 words is sufficient to convey the description of the site or provide directions for the visit. If capacity limits are not an issue, a solution based on NFC or QR tags exhibits several advantages:

does not require any power supply,
has a limited impact on the landscape,
does not entice theft,
has a negligible cost,
is durable,
produces a limited quantity of waste when disposed of,
content can be stored for later usage; for instance, to visit a URL once the user reaches a zone covered by the Internet.

The two passive technologies of choice exhibit the following features, that may make one of them preferable for a specific application:

an NFC tag is smaller than a QR tag;
writing an NFC tag requires a smartphone, while the QR tag needs a printer;
reading an NFC tag works near-to-contact, while QR tags can be read from a distance;

For a signage application, a QR tag is preferable because a noticeable size is needed. In addition, keeping the tag out of reach prevents vandalism and misuse.

In conclusion, we have reasons to select a QR-tag-based solution as a good candidate for smartphone-based signage. We now consider how it copes with the limits of a traditional board-based approach (as listed in Section 2):

dimensions: a 2-300 characters QR-code has a dimension in the order of 100 cm²
logistics: QR-code board can be installed on any sort of pre-existent or natural support
impact: the board has minimal interference with the landscape and may easily go unnoticed
accessibility for the visually impaired: the text can be read aloud
international: the text can be translated automatically
update: the board can be easily replaced when the content becomes obsolete
disposal: the card releases a limited quantity of pollutants related to ink support (paper or plastic)

There are two relevant trade-offs that the host needs to resolve. One is related to the visibility of the tag. The trade-off is between visual impact and visibility. The other is related to monitoring tag utilization. This may be useful for all sorts of planning activities and is discussed in Section 4.

3. Materials and Methods

Our study aims to demonstrate a sustainable solution in a concrete setting through a proof of concept. In order to follow a holistic approach, we must start with the definition of the operation framework.

This section is dedicated to describing the economic and social context, as well as the historical background that characterizes the heritage resource we want to promote.

The geographical area of interest is the surroundings of Casoli, a small village in a mountainous region in the north of Tuscany, Italy. The area falls within the municipality of Bagni di Lucca, in the province of Lucca. In 2021, the archaeological team of our project realized a thematic map assessing the reasons of interest for the heritage and the geomorphological features of the area.

3.1. The Natural and Cultural Resources of Casoli and Its Vicinity

Bagni di Lucca is located on the north-eastern boundary of the Province of Lucca, in Val di Lima, and is part of the Media Valle del Serchio district. With its mountains it marks the historical border with the Modena and Pistoia area, it is very rich in potential for its naturalistic, archaeological, and historical heritage, both expressed and as yet unexpressed. Thanks to the archaeological map the main sites of interest from prehistoric to contemporary times in this municipality are cataloged, photographed, and georeferenced.

From a historical-geographical point of view, this area is identified with the Lima stream and its tributaries, which impress the area with a peculiar geomorphology impervious despite the modest hilly elevations.

The Lima stream has characterized the history of Bagni di Lucca since ever: the valley’s ancient river terraces contain some of the earliest evidence of human presence, such as caves and rock shelters frequented since the Palaeolithic age; the manufacturing industry (paper mill, flour mills and, in recent times, energy production) have exploited since the Middle Age until the 1980s [18,19,20].

On the naturalistic side, the region of Bagni di Lucca encompasses an incredible concentration of biodiversity, counting no less than three sites of the Natura 2000 Network [22] European Economic Community (EEC) initiative.

There are three SCIs-SACs (Sites of Community Interest and Special Areas of Conservation) located in the area north of the Lima stream, corresponding to the Apennine portion, covering 23% of the municipal surface:

the limestone areas of Val di Lima and Balzo Nero;
Monte Prato Fiorito-Monte Coronato-Valle dello Scesta;
Orrido di Botri.

Figure 3. The region of Casoli. (a) Italy and Tuscany, bordered in red. (b) Tuscany and the municipality of Bagni di Lucca (in yellow). (c) Location of the Casoli village in the Bagni di Lucca municipality, bordered in yellow. The small town of Bagni di Lucca is visible located a few kilometers west of Casoli .

The latter is also a SPA (Special Protection Area) and the Orrido di Botri State Reserve is located within it [22]. It is therefore a natural heritage with a fragile balance that needs to be preserved.

In recent years, the main tourist attractions have concentrated on the Lima stream, with some associations and private entities promoting outdoor experiences, particularly fluvial sports, such as canyoning, rafting, and sup. Other important tourist attractions are trekking and hiking, supported by a network of paths tracked by local CAI (Club Alpino Italiano).

In the last few years, the community opened two entirely new trails:

the Alta Via dei Pastori (2019), a ring around Monte Prato Fiorito that takes up the ancient grazing route, and
the Sentiero degli Avi (2020), a ring that from Montefegatesi reaches Monte Coronato [21]

Another recently developed project (2019) is the expansion of the Saint Bartholomew’s Path, which runs through the territory of Pistoia, with a variant that from Popiglio continues in five stages in the municipality of Bagni di Lucca to Pieve di Controne, acting as the ’Lucca gateway’ to the Path [24].

Such initiatives led to a considerable revival of interest among Italian and international hikers in the area, especially for the Apennine side of the valley.

The way to improve the valorization and enjoyment of this area applies to a slow tourism approach. This approach can involve the community, especially in the southern part of the municipality, which is still less frequented, more hilly, and therefore less traveled by the network of trails. We envision the creation of geo-itineraries characterized by the rediscovery of the historical roads, partly well-preserved, which connected the villages with the valley bottom and between them, including those sites of interest that encapsulate the history of this area, starting with the caves.

3.1.1. An Historical Perspective of An Italian Mountain Site

The village of Casoli is located south of the Lima stream on a hill named “Tanette”. In the local small lair, the name reveals the presence of karstic cavities, some inhabited between the Paleolithic and the Iron Age and used also as stations on the trans-Apennine routes [18,22,23,24,25].

Ceramic fragments dated between the 3rd century BC and the 1st-2nd century AD prove that Ligurian populations occupied the region scattered and in small nuclei. The dedication of the Latin colony of Lucca in 180 BC marked a decisive turning point in the Romanisation of the area and, shortly after, the definitive subjugation of the Ligurian populations, accompanied by a rapid acculturation [22,26].

We have little evidence of Roman settlements in the mountainous hinterland, and the scarce archaeological traces are concentrated in the cave of Buca La Piella, investigated in 1975 by the Centre for Archaeological Studies of Lucca; it has two entrances joined by a walkable tunnel and rooms of discrete dimensions that overlook the outside. In addition to numerous faunal remains and fragments of locally produced common pottery, twenty bronze coins belonging to the 3rd century AD, bronze and lead objects were found [22,27,28].

In Longobard and Carolingian times, Lucca’s Val di Lima was one of the three administrative districts into which the mountains were divided and was called fines Contronenses [29,30,31]. The only find from this period is the Grotta di Arzale, a rock shelter that opens up northwest of Casoli [22].

The first attestation of the settlements of Casoli and Lacu dates back to the 10th century [22]. Most documents of this period show the fractioning and alienation of ecclesiastical heritage in favor of the city aristocracy, securing an accumulation of funds and power that was to form the basis of the subsequent domains [22,29,32,33].

Written sources mention a castle in Casoli from 1180, but its foundation must be earlier. Between the 13th and 15th centuries, the fortification was at the center, along with the other castles of the Val di Lima, of clashes between Lucca, Pisa and Firenze, with alternating fortunes, as it was a strategic border area for the power of Lucca. Today, very little is preserved and the area is partly inhabited [22,32,34].

The same document from 1180 mentions the church of San Donato, located in the main square of the village of Casoli. The current structure dates back to the 12th-13th centuries, with subsequent renovations. Initially dedicated only to San Donato, it acquired a double dedication after the abandonment of the church of Sant’Andrea de Lacu. The latter is located on a plateau to the east of Casoli lake and is attested from 1260 [22,35,36], but we are aware that it was abandoned in the 15th century. [22,37]. This was probably due to the depopulation of the lake area and the simultaneous strengthening of the town of Casoli, which was fortified and better protected during this unstable period.

Today, the Romanesque church of Sant’Andrea de Lacu is in a state of decay, with a rectangular plan, ending on the east side with a semi-circular apse. Inside, there is a reused element of the previous building, testifying to an older origin, probably contemporary with the ancient settlement of Lacu, meaning “lake” and mentioned in sources from the 10th century and no longer visible today.

In the early modern age, villages of the area experienced a progressive architectural renewal, which still largely characterizes the settlements today. Within Casoli, a series of residential buildings with imposing dated portals are preserved, some with courtyards, and mansions that denote a discrete deployment of resources by wealthy social classes. Also dating from the modern era is the Madonna di Castello oratory, characterized by an entrance enclosure and located along the cobbled road that traces the ancient route between the village and the summit area of the medieval castle [22].

Along the road that led toward Lucchio crossing the area of Casoli lake, there is the chapel of Madonna di Col di Piano and two “metati”, buildings destined for chestnuts drying, referable to the contemporary age. Referred to as the “bread tree,” chestnut fruits and the flour derived from them were a staple of the mountain diet until the mid-1900s [38,39].

3.2. An Integrated View of Tourism in the Casoli Region

The relevance of the touristic context of the territory is crucial in understanding the socio-cultural system of potential tourist destinations. In light of this and for a holistic study approach to social features of tourism, the host and traveler relationship is directly related to local development and local government systems [40]. In this study, the perception and community empowerment in local tourism are crucial for future destination planning. On the socio-economic hand, it is fundamental to understand touristic data and indexes which are specifically related to Bagni di Lucca’s tourism dynamics, as the administrative land hosting Casoli. In this perspective, the following paragraph concerns Bagni di Lucca’s demography and touristic data analysis that will be depicted for local sustainable governance measures.

3.2.1. Tourism Dynamics in Bagni di Lucca, the Val di Lima and Casoli

In Italy, a municipality is the smallest geographical-administrative unit offering accessible data about tourism, which are the fundamentals of our research. The municipality of Bagni di Lucca boasts historical popularity for its landscapes told by famous poets (such as Giosuè Carducci, Giovanni Pascoli, Eugenio Montale, George Gordon Byron, Percy Bysshe Shelley) and celebrities like Paolina Bonaparte. The typical Liberty style architecture characterizes the villas like the Real Casinò featuring elegant gardens representing the power of the Republic of Lucca in the early XIX century and the Belle Epoque. Such historical prominence made the town a well-known destination abroad, thanks to the massive emigration and the presence of the Thermal Bath structure 1, nearby must-see attractions of the time.

Bagni di Lucca owes part of its charm to the river Lima, which runs along the city before flowing into the Serchio River. The Lima Valley (Val di Lima in the local idiom) is a touristic basin set in the Serchio Valley, dotted with medieval and Roman villages with historical remains such as underground caves. The Val di Lima area is well-known for its environmental beauties including rupestrian and lake ecosystems, and offers a wide range of tourist attractions related to sports, from water sports, such as canyoning and rafting, to trekking in water and land, climbing, mountain biking, and horseback riding. Overall, the Val di Lima has the capabilities to promote a very identifying destination brand straddling the town of Lucca and the mountain area of the Garfagnana.

The strategic position of Bagni di Lucca is one of the strengths of its tourism context, together with the presence of such attractive elements like the Orrido di Botri with the Canyon Park2, and other service companies and associations for experiential tourism.

In reason of a whole insight of the mentioned touristic area, a socio-cultural approach is needed, by considering also tourism flows. In this perspective, it must be considered that there isn’t touristic information at the administrative level of Casoli, so the tourism context analysis concerns the Municipality area of Bagni di Lucca, as the first territorial context providing tourist data registered by ISTAT (National Statistical Institute). The demographic trend (Figure 4a) enlightens a relevant aspect of Bagni di Lucca society and economic aspects of its touristic ecosystem (Figure 4b).

Bagni di Lucca stretches on 164.70 km² area with a population density 3 of 3395 inhabitants per square kilometer and a job occupancy rate of 33.53%. Regarding human growth at the territorial level, it is relevant to consider the Bagni di Lucca population trend during the 2001-2022 period. The curve shown by Figure 4a registers a constant and slight decrease of one thousand people in a twenty-year time frame (2001: 6556 people; 2022: 5593 people).

During the latest decades, numerous touristic operators have started their touristic activities by taking advantage of the climatic and morphological characteristics of the territory. From a quantitative perspective, it is relevant to understand the tourist flows during a 5-year time frame; the chart in Figure 4b highlights a decreasing trend from 2017 to 2021 by considering the pandemic breakdown impacts on tourism.

The Tourism Density Index 4 is 106.41 tourists per km² in 2022. The arrivals exhibit a drop from 2019 (from 4339 in 2017 to 2363 in 2021), and touristic presences have suffered a slight decrease during the same period, as shown in Figure , while a further increase has been registered in 2022 (5.876 arrivals).

The touristic area of Val di Lima features a tourist area belonging to Bagni di Lucca Municipality, the second touristic area after Barga, in the Media Valle del Serchio Area.

Table 1 provides statistical data concerning tourist flows and accommodation in Bagni di Lucca. Notably, the tourist density of 106.41 tourists per km² is higher than the population density (33.95 inhabitants per km²). This information should be considered in local planning to enhance the number of residents.

As shown in Table 1, the number of nights per tourist amounts to an average of 2,98 nights per tourist during a year and it is also significant since it shows, on one hand, Bagni di Lucca context appeal for tourists choosing to stay a number of nights more than a weekend and less than a week. On the other hand, this data means that people like staying in this tourist comprehensory and they may have found attractions, services and activities they need. Consequently, a well-organized touristic system attracts potentially touristic presences widespread on the municipality territory.

The coexistence index describes the distribution of tourist nationalities: 103.74 foreign tourists per 100 Italians in Bagni di Lucca indicates a significant share of foreign tourists.

For a benchmarking point of view, the provincial touristic context of Lucca is mentioned in this study with the purpose of highlighting the percentage weight of Bagni di Lucca tourism flows within the whole tourism dynamics of the Province of Lucca. As concerns tourist indexes shown in Chart 3, the touristic density counts 1866.96 people per square kilometer (1773 km²), with an average stay of 3.36 nights per tourist, showing a medium-length permanence in the provincial territory; this data is in line with Bagni di Lucca average stay (2.98 nights). The provincial area of Lucca shows an accommodation density of 19.30 on 10.14 of Bagni di Lucca, while the coexistence index of Lucca (with 69.87 foreign tourists on 100 Italian tourists) is lower than Bagni di Lucca’s coexistence index (with 103.74 foreign tourists in 100 Italian tourists). Definitely, it can be claimed that Bagni di Lucca is well positioned in the whole touristic context of Lucca since it represents one of the less populated municipalities in the territory with interesting tourist indexes. In fact, Bagni di Lucca boasts its historical thermal tourism tradition together with a well-equipped environment for sport and adventure tourism, on a surface of 164.70 km², that is one of the biggest municipality areas in the province of Lucca.

Summing up, the quantitative data give evidence of a vibrant and attractive tourist reality constantly attracting tourists during the last decade. Thanks to such tourist flows Bagni di Lucca is considered one of the main tourist areas of the Val di Lima and the Serchio Valley. Several promotional websites advertise Bagni di Lucca attractions6: the sitography closing this paper contains a long yet incomplete list that confirms such a statement, and Table 2 exposes the promotional touristic system offering varied experiences in the Val di Lima area. The variety of outdoor touristic services dates back to the ‘90s when some associations began organizing mainly trekking excursions and rafting experiences.

From the point of view of our research, the context of the Bagni di Lucca helps to understand the complexity and variety of mixed tourism clusters (a sort of “touristic ecosystems” with common identitary elements such as: anthropic, socio-cultural, and historical features, as well touristic services).

After a detailed analysis of the touristic and social context of Bagni di Lucca, it can be claimed that the area boasts a good tourist appeal towards Italian and foreign tourists searching for various kinds of experiences, such as thermal, environmental, outdoor, sport and cultural activities [41].

Indeed, Val di Lima can promote a very identifying destination brand straddling the town of Lucca and the Garfagnana mountain area.

The Municipality of Bagni di Lucca and the tourist area of the Val di Lima are the context for the small village of Casoli, which is one of the 31 villages belonging to the Municipality. It is 7.22 km far from Bagni di Lucca, at an altitude of 500 meters of altitude.

Casoli is a fascinating village settled on the green and rolling hill landscapes crossed by the river Lima, in the Media Valle del Serchio. Its territory features multiple kinds of touristic sights: from soft and hard outdoor experiential attractions (specifically the Canyon park activities like canyoning, rafting, and trekking experiences)) to Romanesque churches’ remains and huts. Definitely, despite its variety of tourist attractions, Casoli exhibits unique features in its comprehensive tourism.

Given the context and the local vocation, we conclude that Casoli is a small destination for tourists practicing heterogeneous touristic circuits in individual and combined ways. According to qualitative and quantitative analysis [41] on the touristic and social context of Bagni di Lucca, as the municipal area encompassing Casoli village, the mentioned area boasts a good touristic appeal towards Italian and foreign tourists searching for various kinds of experiences, such as thermal, environmental, outdoor, sport and cultural activities. Local stakeholders operating in the tourism system offer a variety of services all year round. Whenever possible the offer is enriched with original touristic approaches paying attention to sustainability. As part of the Bagni di Lucca’s ecosystem with its touristic vocation, Casoli is defined as a well-known destination. Considering that Casoli is a destination for slow tourism, ensuring the sustainability of development actions is crucial to maintaining its unique social fabric. The latter aspect suggests paying attention to environmental conservation, cultural heritage conservation, intergenerational continuity, and economic equity [42].

3.2.2. Guidelines for A Sustainable Development

As described by [43] Dianne Dredge and in light of the above analysis, private and public entities can contribute to sustainable tourism by developing the following actions:

Public actions:

-

to foster an inclusive stakeholder approach for the tourism ecosystem

-

to promote a community-involved tourism vision

-

to monitor and analyze tourism flows

-

to plan a slow tourism development strategy to achieve environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic sustainability objectives

-

to develop digitization tools and strategies for culture and tourism fruition
Professional actions:

-

to renovate experiential tourism with a sustainable approach

-

to develop potential touristic areas with unexpressed tourism appeal

-

to diversify tourism offers based on tourist provenance and service preferences

-

to monitor tourism flows and tourist behaviors

-

to foster a public-private collaboration approach to use public funds for tourism and cultural projects toward sustainable objectives

The above-mentioned tourism and culture measures should be included in a wider and holistic planning vision for Bagni di Lucca as a heterogeneous cultural and sustainable destination. The combination of private and public interest as a long-term strategy for a comprehensive tourism approach needs a bottom-up vision involving residents and local operators in tourism and tourism-related sectors [44,45].

In this way, community-involved tourism can be a promising solution for sparsely populated areas with significant tourist attractions, such as the village of Casoli. This type of tourism involves active participation and entrepreneurship from the local community to promote self-employment, community management, and stakeholder decision-making processes [46].

In order to create a successful strategic plan, it is crucial to have a thorough understanding of the destination’s morphology, environment, history, culture, society, and economy, with sustainability being the key value. Policymakers should recognize such needs and act in this way, both politically and socially as described by Beatrix et al. in [47]. As concerns the empiric case of Casoli village, within the wider context of Bagni di Lucca, tourism is a key driver for re-population and re-qualification strategies, mainly where historical and archaeological sight can be promoted with natural attractions.

In such a context digitalization plays a primary role in innovation actions, allowing effective monitoring of tourism dynamics, improving the touristic experience with geo-localization tools, and providing the tools to design and operate tourism initiatives [45].

3.2.3. Our Activity

We include three stakeholder communities in the evaluation of the response to the initiative. We do not speak about success since the initiative is deliberately soft, an outcome expected in years, and the definition of the evaluation criteria raises new questions. We are content with determining if the stakeholders viewed the initiative as intrusive, helpful, or simply neutral.

We considered four stakeholder communities:

the residents the local community that currently inhabits the site
the entrepreneurs who currently have a business on the site
the administrators that are in charge of managing the site resources and that, at due time, will respond to the two stakeholders above, and finally
the users, those that come to Casoli to visit the Cave of La Piella and that we find the QR-codes on their way

The QR tag does not record reading operations, preventing an evaluation of the user category. A URL was added to the text message in the QR tag to monitor the number of hits.: however, this feedback largely underestimates the number of times the tag is read.

Considering that each stakeholder category has specific concerns that need to be addressed, our focus has been on understanding the unique characteristics of each category, including their needs and expectations for tourism and environment development.

Regarding residents, we had the chance to meet a few people living in Casoli, which did not provide useful information; local entrepreneurs we met informed us about the trekking tourism flows passing through Casoli and the Piella Cave path, which usually starts from the Canyon Park experience.

The administrators of Bagni di Lucca Municipality were highly involved in addressing the study’s concerns and provided valuable information regarding archaeological and cultural aspects that align with our study goals, namely to enhance Casoli area as a sustainable area for hi-tech oriented tourists.

In light of the above assumptions, a reflection on community-involved tourism perspective is needed. As shown by this empirical study, a small village like Casoli can require a valorization strategy taking advantage of the wider local tourism context.

According to a holistic development vision, when a tourist destination meets its community issues it means that local stakeholders must balance a tourist industry vision with sustainability goals at a comprehensive perspective on the environment, socio-cultural and economic long-term benefits, as described by George B. Et Alii [48].

Indeed, a multi-stakeholder approach could represent a valuable tool for “minor tourism” and well-established tourist destinations.

Literature on this scientific focus, as described by Richards G. and Derek H. [49] gives evidence of local stakeholders’ role as ‘designers’ of their living territory. This is particularly important in inland and marginal tourist areas that require a sustainable approach to development, rather than relying on mass tourism.

A systemic vision is necessary to manage these areas effectively. With these concerns, inner area governance needs a sustainable-led community and policy approach considering socio-cultural local aims for tourism system implementation and environment development. In these terms, local awareness is fundamental for private and public stakeholders enabling sustainable decision-making processes.

On the pragmatic hand, the scientific aim of our territorial exploration is to promote cultural and tourist points of interest with high tourist value. In this regard, we have analyzed the potentiality of involving local administrations and professional tourism operators to create new tourist itineraries by valorizing existing hiking trails. Firstly, the Municipal Structural Plan should include an archaeological survey; secondly, local tourism stakeholders will benefit from a destination management action to promote environmental and socio-cultural sustainability.

Definitely, community-involved tourism may represent the balanced intersection between community and development through policymakers’ actions and decision-making [50]. In this view, the socio-political framework of tourism, involving governance measures, has to include environmental requalifying and destination planning [49].

Policy measures for sustainable and resilient tourism should focus on culture-led and community empowerment activities, such as preserving the history and memory of the place, promoting slow tourism and cultural innovation, as well as implementing digitalization activities.

3.2.4. Sites and Trail’s State of Art

As explained in the previous section, the area around Casoli is a suitable case study location due to its long history, which is reflected in its architectural and geological features. In the following, we define the relevant features and report on their accessibility.

The cave named Buca La Piella is the foremost site from an archeological point of view. It is located in a fascinating environment outside conventional circuits, which is why it is less frequented and consequently less compromised. It is reachable leaving a marked path to follow the bed of a tributary of the Lima stream. The trail is dotted with minor karst caves, and the Buca La Piella is reachable by climbing up on a steep slope in the wood on the left of the watercourse.

Not far from the Buca La Piella on the same side of the river is another karst cave named Antro dell’Ugola. It is reachable following a faint and intermittent track that departs from a marked path. It is characterized by a suspended geological formation reminding an uvula, hence the name.

Both caves are going to be analyzed in the course of the Underlandscape project [6,54], and findings can further enhance the interest in both sites.

Along the dirt road from the village in the direction of the lake of Casoli are some of the most interesting sites. The medieval remains of the church of Sant’Andrea de Lacu, now in a state of serious disrepair, without its roof and with static problems, but characterized by its Romanesque forms and 10th-century decorations.

The metati (structures for drying chestnuts), together with the hundred-year-old chestnut trees, testify to the exploitation of forest resources since the Middle Ages.

A little further along the CAI path is the oratory named Madonna di Col di Piano. Recently renovated, with its canopy it has been a shelter for wayfarers since modern times.

Inside the town of Casoli, narrow streets branch off to the main square, where the medieval church dedicated to the Saints Donato and Andrea with its bell tower can be admired. From here, an ancient street climbs to the top of the hill. On the way up there is a small oratory called Madonna di Castello, still consecrated but in poor conditions.

On the summit are the remains of the medieval castle with its walls. In need of consolidation of the walls, it cannot be visited at the moment as it is on private property; it is only possible to observe part of its structures from the path.

Two other sites that are particularly curious but cannot be visited because located on private properties are the so-called Celtic Calendar, an artificially excavated rock interpreted as a kind of sundial, and an epigraph reused in a house interpreted as Lombard.

3.3. Implementing A QR-Based Signage

The concept behind the implementation of the QR-based signage is to guide the visitor through a self-organized experience. To verify on the field the practical aspects and deployment we realized and placed several QR tags. The list is in Table 3.

The proposed signage cannot replace CAI one (see Figure 1a), which is recognized throughout the country and is very effective. The QR-based signage complements it and provides more detailed information at multiple levels. For one, the availability of written directions along the trail leading to the Buca La Piella, which is hard to follow and not covered by CAI signage, is of great help to inexperienced hikers.

Tags are printed on Synaps™, a non-biodegradable polyester synthetic film by Agfa-Gevaert NV. Agfa documents the production process giving guarantees of sustainability [55]. According to Agfa, Synaps is more sustainable than laminated paper. From previous experiences, it is also more durable.

To minimize the environmental footprint, the tags are attached to pre-existing structures, like trees or poles. The tag is tied with a thin biodegradable string, as in Figure 5a.

The QR tag is designed to implement three levels of reading (LoR), with an increasing level of technology involved:

visual: the information is printed on the tag. The user does not need any technology to read the content;
QR tag text: this is the text encoded in the tag. The user needs a smartphone-like device and an appropriate app to read aloud or translate the content;
URL: these are Web URLs encoded in the tag text. The user needs an Internet connection to visit the URL.

We placed QR tags both along the trail and at sites of interest; the former are at detours or at close range so that from one you can see the next, as per the CAI standard [51]. They can therefore have the function of a simple signpost to visually indicate the continuity of the trail. The second LoR gives access to the written indications recorded within it, which are more accurate and precise than those printed on the tag. The third LoR provides further capabilities, as detailed below, but is accessible only whenever the location is covered by the Internet.

There are many ways to distribute the content among the three LoRs, dictated by tag purpose and location. For our experiment, we used the same organization for all tags, which privileges the second LoR, namely the text encoded in the tag (see Figure 6a):

visual LoR (see Figure 6a): the tag is approximately the size of a game card, 80 cm². $40 %$ of the frame (32 cm²) provides mechanic resistance to the holes needed to secure the tag. $60 %$ of the remaining (48 cm²) contains the QR-code, $20 %$ for a heading containing the name of the location, one line instruction for use, and the project logo, and a footer ( $12 %$ ) for further instructions and project credits;
QR text LoR (see Figure 6b): it describes the site or gives directions to reach the destination of the trail. The text includes historical, archaeological, and naturalistic information, together with the URL for the next LoR. In our prototype, the maximum length of the text amounts to 700 characters. A Huawei FIG-LX1 (2017) decodes the tag from a distance of more than 50 cm using an Android application available on the Play Store. The same phone can read aloud the content (in Italian) without Internet connectivity;
URL LoR: such information is useful only in a few locations since the area is not uniformly covered by broadband networks: for instance, during a recon to the Piella cave, none of the smartphones of the participants received sufficient broadband network signal to visit the linked page. However, the application records the URL so that the user can visit it when entering a covered area. Each Web page contains site-specific information, an interactive map with the location of all the QR tags (see Figure 7a), and a form for user feedback (see Figure 7b). The map is hosted by the UMap Web service (https://umap.openstreetmap.fr/it/) [57], and displays the location and content of all QR-tags (as shown in Figure 6b). The server hosting the site is configured to collect aggregated statistics about visitors’ activity.

The production process of a series of tags has also been investigated to streamline the task and use only basic Information Technology skills.

The master document is a GeoJSON file describing the area and the tagged features: a GPS tracking application can be used to record an initial version of it during a recon.

The finalized master document contains a single GeoJSON FeatureCollection object containing one Feature object for each tag. Each Feature contains a Geometry object of type Point, and a properties object with fields containing information needed to create the tag: its unique identifier uid, a random string of six lowercase letters used to produce the associated URL, the title printed on the tag, and the text to be encoded in the QR code (see Figure 8b). The properties are also shown on the UMap map.

Editing the map downloaded from the GPS app to fill in the properties does not require technical skills, since the tools integrated into the UMap user interface already fit the purpose (see Figure 8a). The resulting GeoJSON object describing a tagged feature is shown in Figure 8b.

The master document is rendered by UMap on the page linked to the tags (as in Figure 7a).

A Bash script running on a Linux system makes straightforward the conversion of the GeoJSON file into a printable array of QR tags. The code, a total of 90 source lines written in Bash and Python makes use of the ogr2ogr and qrencode commands, and is on GitHub [58].

4. Results and Discussion

We aim to define a design approach that will enhance the tourist experience of an inland area. The approach is conceptual and therefore applicable to a wide range of use cases. First, the requirements for sustainability in design are defined, taking into account the three pillars of sustainability: social, environmental, and economic.

To put our approach into practice we used a small-scale use case: a signage system addressing the guidance of visitors in an inland area. The area has a cultural and environmental heritage to be protected and valorized at the same time.

Our design started by defining a profile for the area according to the three pillars. The environmental aspect is characterized by natural formations and human artifacts tracing back to the Paleolithic Era. As for tourism-related economics, currently the dominant component in the area, we noticed that the location selected for our use case exhibits unexpressed potentialities although the area surrounding the location has a recognized touristic vocation. From the social point of view, we observed that the area is exposed to depopulation due to the shortage of productive activities.

One conclusion after the above analysis is that, in order to preserve the native social and economic framework, mass tourism is not a candidate target, while a motivated, non-casual visitor is preferable. Regarding the potential reasons for a visit, we found a not easily accessible cave inhabited since pre-history, a village with historical buildings, and nearby architecture dating back to the Middle Ages.

We investigated a technique for guiding the visitor and telling the history of the place. The fragile economy limits financial investment, while the natural heritage requires non-intrusive techniques.

The proposed solution consists of a dozen QR tags placed at key locations. The total cost of the tags amounts to a few Euros for the printing service, although finding a shop with an appropriate printing device may be difficult. The impact on the environment is extremely limited, as shown in Figure 5.

The preparation of the signage required a solid knowledge of the area that was gained by carrying out archaeological surveys and consulting historical documents and cartography. The evaluation of touristic vocation was based on the available statistical data and person-to-person informal interviews. Two on-site surveys provided further practical indications and the opportunity to place the QR tags.

On the technical side, the proposed signage is a benchmark difficult to improve in terms of environmental impact and cost.

In areas like our use case, where the cultural heritage extends across scarcely accessible land, preserving and accessing sites located on private property or in hazardous areas can be challenging. In these cases, QR tags could improve the visitors’ experience by providing, besides textual data, the Web URLs for videos, aerial shots, and photos. Multimedia resources allow visitors to immerse themselves in the area’s history and gain an experiential understanding, even if they don’t have access to a specific spot. The resulting widespread knowledge can be a beneficial tourist-economic engine that encourages investments in cultural heritage policies, thus achieving the goal of protecting and conserving abandoned sites.

Its performance is currently difficult to evaluate. The recording of the number of times a given tag is scanned, in theory, a significant performance index, is unreliable for technical reasons. In fact, the QR tag does not have the capability to record or transmit read events, and, on the side of the smartphone, the user may be unable to visit the URL in the tag or deny such operation for security reasons. In addition, the URL can be visited by means different from the QR reading. For this reason, we do not discuss such an index.

The reactions we collected by interviewing local stakeholders are positive, which gives us the impression that the initiative is respectful and consistent with the social and economic framework. The measurement of the efficacy in financial terms is currently beyond the scope of this paper and will be assessable only in the long term depending on the collaboration of the involved stakeholders.

Although we are satisfied that the solution complies with the sustainability principles that inspired this work, we identified two issues that indicate directions for future research:

The balance between visual impact and effectiveness is critical. The current dimension of the tag is such that the visual impact is limited, but this negatively affects its efficacy: it is easy to miss a tag containing possibly relevant information;
Monitoring visitor’s activity, like the frequency of visits of a given tag, or the sequencing of visited tags, which may be of interest for managing the site, is currently ineffective.

Trading off cost and simplicity for effectiveness and measurability there are solutions, based, for instance, on Bluetooth communication or dedicated applications, that might solve such issues.

5. Conclusions

Tourism, like other productive activities, is at risk of being unsustainable and damaging the very resources that support it. To avoid heavy drawbacks the design of a tourism initiative has to consider the complex framework where it will operate according to an holistic approach. A methodology made of examples and guidelines helps cope with such a challenging task.

This paper is a step in this direction. We address an ordinary problem, that of providing the visitor with directions, with the aim of promoting slow tourism and preserving distinguishing traits of an inland area.

We show how a balanced use of technology may help in the task, with a process that is necessarily multidisciplinary, joining skills coming from the diverse domains: sociology, economics, humanities, and engineering. The paper demonstrates how their interplay returns ad-hoc tools targeting sustainability and efficacy.

The resulting implementation is original in the literature, and minimalistic in its deployment. The detailed description enables its reuse as a starting point in future initiatives.

On the technical side, the discussion regarding the deployed experiment indicates directions for future investigation. The definition of a potential application will foster research aiming at passive or very low-energy devices that are able to effectively advertise their presence and collect statistics.

From a different point of view, the lack of discoverability suggests a recreational scenario inspired by Geocaching® and Pokemon-GO®.

In conclusion, more sustainable solutions to old problems exist and are reachable melting technology and humanities. Policy-makers are crucial in the development and monitoring of sustainable measures. This is especially important in the tourism industry where sustainability is a multifactor topic that includes resident ecosystem resilience and regeneration efforts by both policy-makers and private tour operators.

Author Contributions

Conceptualization, A.C., M.G.D. and L.C.; methodology, A.C., M.G.D. and L.C.; software, A.C.; validation, A.C., M.G.D. and L.C.; investigation, A.C., M.G.D. and L.C.; data curation, A.C. and M.G.D.; writing—original draft preparation, A.C.; writing—review and editing, A.C., M.G.D. and L.C.; supervision, A.C.; historical-archaeological framework, L.C.; touristic data analysis, community-involved tourism and guidelines for sustainable tourism, M.G.D. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.

Funding

This research was funded by the Italian “Ministero dell’Istruzione, dell’Università e della Ricerca” under project PRIN 2020 “Underlandscape” (2020428LS8)

Data Availability Statement

Statistics referenced in the paper are publicly available through the referenced web portals. The software mentioned in the paper is available on GitHub [58].

Acknowledgments

The valuable experience Monica Baldassarri has been fundamental in the unfolding of our research. Enrica Salvatori helped in getting in touch with local administrators.

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are used in this manuscript:

URL	Uniform Resource Locator
QR	Quick Response
GeoJSON	Geographical JavaScript Object Notation
CAI	Club Alpino Italiano
UNESCO	United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
SCC	Single Chip Computer
NFC	Near Field Communication
EEC	European Economic Community
SCI	Sites of Community Interest
SAC	Special Areas of Conservation
SPA	Special Protection Area
ISTAT	Istituto Nazionale di Statistica

References

Patthey, P.; Wirthner, S.; Signorell, N.; Arlettaz, R. Impact of outdoor winter sports on the abundance of a key indicator species of alpine ecosystems. J. Appl. Ecol. 2008, 45, 1704–1711. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Ramsey, J.L. On not defining sustainability. J. Agric. Environ. Ethics 2015, 28, 1075–1087. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Kuhlman, T.; Farrington, J. What is Sustainability? Sustainability 2010, 2, 3436–3448. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Otero, J. Heritage conservation future: Where we stand, challenges ahead, and a paradigm shift. Glob. Challenges 2022, 6, 2100084. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef] [PubMed]
Labadi, S. UNESCO, world heritage, and sustainable development: International discourses and local impacts. Collision or collaboration: Archaeology encounters economic development 2017, 45–60. [Google Scholar]
Antić, A.; Peppoloni, S.; Di Capua, G. Applying the values of geoethics for sustainable speleotourism development. Geoheritage 2020, 12, 1–9. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Pearce, P.L.; Gretzel, U. Tourism in technology dead zones: Documenting experiential dimensions. Int. J. Tour. Sci. 2012, 12, 1–20. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Wan, Y.K.P. Accessibility of tourist signage at heritage sites: An application of the universal design principles. Tourism Recreation Research 2022, 1–15. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Liu, P.; Liu, Y. Smart tourism via smart phone. 2016 International Conference on Communications, Information Management and Network Security. Atlantis Press, 2016, pp. 129–132.
Kumar, S.; Shekhar. Technology and innovation: Changing concept of rural tourism - A systematic review. Open Geosciences 2020, 12, 737–752. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Universal Design Principles. Available online: https://www.udinstitute.org/principles (accessed on 29 June 2023).
Tan, W.K. The relationship between smartphone usage, tourist experience and trip satisfaction in the context of a nature-based destination. Telemat. Inform. 2017, 34, 614–627. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Slavec, A.; Sajinčič, N.; Starman, V. Use of Smartphone Cameras and Other Applications While Traveling to Sustain Outdoor Cultural Heritage. Sustainability 2021, 13. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Rodrigues, V.; Eusébio, C.; Breda, Z. Enhancing sustainable development through tourism digitalisation: A systematic literature review. Inf. Technol. Tour. 2023, 25, 13–45. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Dodds, R.; Butler, R. The phenomena of overtourism: A review. Int. J. Tour. Cities 2019, 5, 519–528. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Linnes, C.; Agrusa, J.; Ronzoni, G.; Lema, J. What Tourists Want, a Sustainable Paradise. Tour. Hosp. 2022, 3, 164–183. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Matarrita-Cascante, D.; Brennan, M.A.; Luloff, A. Community agency and sustainable tourism development: The case of La Fortuna, Costa Rica. J. Sustain. Tour. 2010, 18, 735–756. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Mencacci, P.; Zecchini, M. Lucca preistorica. Versilia, Valle del Serchio, Piana Lucchese dal Paleolitico alla conquista romana; Nuova Grafica Lucchese: Lucca, 1976. [Google Scholar]
Bedini, G.; Cantini, C. L’ acqua fonte di attività produttive lungo il Serchio e le sue valli; Publied, 2005.
Serafini, G. I mulini idraulici nel comune di Bagni di Lucca. Visita guidata agli 84 vecchi mulini; Autopubblicato, 2021.
Pinori, S. Val di Lima, le “dolomiti” toscane. Montagne 2021, 360, 20–23. [Google Scholar]
Giambastiani, C. I Bagni di Corsena e la Val di Lima Lucchese dalle origini al XVI secolo; Istituto Storico Lucchese: Lucca, 1996. [Google Scholar]
Palma di Cesnola, A. Nuovi reperti del paleolitico superiore nella Grotta delle Campane. Riv. Sci. Preist. 1963, XVIII, 279–285. [Google Scholar]
Zecchini, M. L’industria epipaleolitica di Ponte Maggio, 1972.
Zecchini, M. Le Grotte Preistoriche di Ponte nero. La Provincia di Lucca 1972, XII, 82–86. [Google Scholar]
Ciampoltrini, G. Culture in contatto. Etruschi, Liguri, Romani nella valle del Serchio fra IV e II secolo a.C. I Liguri della Valle del Serchio tra Etruschi e Romani. Nuovi dati e prospettive di valorizzazione 2005, 15–66. [Google Scholar]
Mencacci, P.; Zecchini, M. Lucca romana; Fazzi, Pacini: Lucca, 1981. [Google Scholar]
Ciampoltrini, G. La valle del Serchio fra I e VI secolo d.C. Aspetti della dinamica dell’insediamento. Appennino tra antichità e medioevo; Roncaglia, G.; Donati, A.; Pinto, G., Eds.; , 2003; p. 209–22.
Quirós Castillo, J.A. Modi di costruire a Lucca nell’altomedioevo. Una lettura attraverso l’archeologia dell’architettura; All’Insegna del Giglio: Firenze, 2002. [Google Scholar]
Ciampoltrini, G. Lucca tardoantica e altomedievale (IV-VII secolo). Archeologia di una struttura urbana “allo stato fluido”; Vol. 15, Geschichte und Region/Storia e Regione, 2006; p. 61–78.
Ciampoltrini, G. La città di San Frediano. Lucca fra VI e VII secolo: Un itinerario archeologico; I Segni dell’Auser: Bientina, 2011. [Google Scholar]
Fornaciari, A.; Coschino, F. Il castello di Benabbio in Val di Lima (LU): Le trasformazioni insediative tra XII e XIV secolo. Atti del VI Congresso Nazionale di Archeologia Medievale; , 2012; p. 257–264.
Fornaciari, A. La Val di Lima ai tempi di Pancio da Controne (1275/80-1340): Note sul paesaggio e la viabilità medievali. Giornata di studio su Pancio da Controne, archiatra del re di Inghilterra, 2015; p. 87–102.
Romiti, E. La valle dei castelli. Le fortificazioni delle Antiche Vicarie di Val di Lima, Coreglia, Barga Gallicano e Diecimo; Accademia Lucchese di Scienze, Lettere e Arti, Maria Pacini Fazzi Editore: Lucca, 2016. [Google Scholar]
Bertini, D. Memorie e documenti per servire alla istoria del ducato di Lucca; Vol. Tomo IV, Francesco Bertini tipografo ducale: Lucca, 1818.
Cappellini, V. Tracce documentarie della religiosità di Vico Pancellorum nell’Archivio Storico Diocesano di Lucca. In Val di Lima. Bagni di Lucca e il suo territorio; Vol. III, Istituto Storico Lucchese, 2017; p. 51–66.
Concioni, G. Chiese, clero e cura d’anime in Diocesi di Lucca: Nella visita pastorale del domenicano Matteo da Pontremoli (1465-1467; Vol. 1, Accademia lucchese di scienze lettere e arti: Lucca, 2012.
Buccianti, M. Il castagno in provincia di Lucca: Storia, strutture, economia; San Marco: Lucca, 1992. [Google Scholar]
Puccinelli, G. All’origine di una monocoltura: L’espansione del castagneto nella Valle del Serchio in Età Moderna. Riv. Stor. Dell’Agricoltura 2010, a. L, n. 1, 3–68.
Amoiradis, C.V.; Stankova, E.; Mariya. Tourism as a socio-cultural phenomenon: A critical analysis. J. Soc. Political Sci. 2021, 4.
Lozato-Giotart, J.P.B.; Capocchi, M. ; Alessandro. Progettazione e gestione di sistemi turistici; Territorio, sistemi di produzione e strategie: Territorio, sistemi di produzione e strategie, 2009. [Google Scholar]
Kuhlman, T.; Farrington, J. What is Sustainability? Sustainability 2010, 2, 3436–3448. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Dredge, D. Regenerative tourism: Transforming mindsets, systems and practices. J. Tour. Futur. 2022, 8, 269–281. [Google Scholar] [CrossRef]
Lemmi, E.; Deri, M.G. A new model for the’Tourism Renaissance: The Case study of the Tuscan village of San Pellegrino in Alpe. Almatourism 2020, 22, 19–43. [Google Scholar]
Lemmi, E.; Deri, M.G. New models of destination governance between creative intelligence and territorial dialogue: HERIBITS digital platform; Bollettino della Società Geografica Italiana, 2022; pp. 123–140.
Nagarjuna, G. Local community involvement in tourism: A content analysis of websites of wildlife resorts. Atna J. Tour. Stud. 2015, 10, 13–21. [Google Scholar]
Beaumont, N.D.; Dianne. Local tourism governance: A comparison of three network approaches. J. Sustain. Tour. 18, 1, 7–28.
George, B.P..N.; Antony, A.; Mercy. The business of community based tourism: A multi-stakeholder approach. Tour. Issues 2007, 3.
Richards, G.H.; (ed.)., D.R. Tourism and sustainable community development; Psychology Press, 2003.
Jamal, T.; Dredge, D. 6. Tourism and Community Development Issues. In Tourism and Development - Concepts and Issues; Sharpley, R.; Telfer, D.J., Eds.; Channel View Publications: Bristol, Blue Ridge Summit, 2014; pp. 178–204. [CrossRef]
Club Alpino Italiano. Sentieri. Pianificazione, segnaletica e manutenzione, iv edizione ed., 2010.

1	Terme di Bagni di Lucca: https://www.termebagnidilucca.it/.
2	https://www.canyonpark.it/.
3	Index referring to the number of people living in a territory per square kilometer. It is the rate between the annual number of residents and the surface area. In our case and for 2022, the density is 5593 people over 164.70 km².
4	The Tourism Density Index shows the tourism concentration in the higher touristic season. It is the rate between the number of tourists and the surface area.
5	Each index gives a different type of touristic information about Bagni di Lucca Municipality: the touristic density represents the number of tourists per km²; the Average stay index is the average number of nights spent in town by tourists; the Accommodation Density Index is related to the number of touristic presences on the number of beds occupied by tourists all over the year; the coexistence index shows the relevance of foreign tourists per 100 Italian tourists.
6	Among local websites, these two destination websites are: www.turismobagnidilucca.com and www.valdilima.org.
7	The list might not include all private stakeholders of the territory, since some touristic operators might have an Internet presence and others might operate as public-private players. The companies and associations in the list have been individually contacted but some did not respond to our survey on touristic information.

Figure 1. Signs frequently found on trails in Italy. (a) CAI mark on a tree. (b). A direction sign.

Figure 2. An NFC coin, a QR tag used in the prototype, and a 1 Euro coin by comparison on a paper with a square of 1 cm.

Figure 4. Demography and tourist flows in the municipality of Bagni di Lucca. (a) Population trend (2001-2022). (b) Tourism flows and population (2017–2022).

Figure 5. Tag placement at different scales. (a) A tag secured to a tree near a shelter. (b) Google Earth view of the surroundings of the tag. The map is north-oriented, and shows the village of Casoli in the left-high corner.

Figure 6. QR tag parts and content. (a) QR-tag parts. (b) QR-tag content on a 5.5’ screen.

Figure 7. Content of the Web page linked to the URL in a QR tag. (a) Linked page: the map. (b) Linked page: survey form.

Figure 8. Editing the GeoJSON with uMap editor. The resulting file is automatically converted into printable QR-tags. (a) Editing a feature associated with a QR-tag in UMap. (b) GeoJSON Object representing the same the feature.

Table 1. Tourist numbers in Bagni di Lucca in 2022.5

Region	Bagni di Lucca	Lucca
Resident density (residents/km²)	33.95	215.71
Touristic density (visitors/km²)	106.41	1866.96
Average stay (days)	2.98	3.36
Accommodation density (accommodations/km²)	10.14	19.30
Coexistence Index (100 × Foreign/Italian)	103.74%	69.87%

Table 2. Tourism experiences’ offer in Val di Lima area.7

Touristic promotion	Kind of service
Aguarajà River Experience https://aguaraja.it/	Soft rafting, Rafting, Canyoning, aqua-trekking, kayak
Rafting H2O https://www.raftingh2o.com/	Soft rafting, Rafting, Canyoning, aqua-trekking, kayak
RocKonda https://www.rockonda.it/	Soft rafting, Rafting, Canyoning, aqua-trekking, kayak
A.S.D. Garfagnana Rafting https://www.garfagnanarafting.com/	Soft rafting, Rafting, Canyoning, aqua-trekking, kayak
Val di Lima Off-Road https://www.valdilimaoffroad.com	Quad, enduro
Canyon Park https://www.canyonpark.it/canyon-sup	Canyoning, aqua-trekking, stand-up padding, mental care and yoga, eco laboratory
Pro Loco Bagni di Lucca https://www.turismobagnidilucca.com/ https://www.valdilima.org/	Sportfishing, mental care, trekking, survival, paragliding, horse riding, diving
eBike Adventure Tour http://www.ebikeadventuretour.it/	Ebike, Mountain bike
Val di Lima eBike https://valdilimaebike.it/	Mountain e-bike, Quad, Enduro, Paintball
Terme Bagni di Lucca https://www.termebagnidilucca.it/	Spa, beauty and wellness experience

Table 3. The QR-tags placed around Casoli . The URL key is a random code that appears on the web page linked to the QR code. The Length refers to the description in the QR tag and is in characters.

Name	Long	Lat	URL Key	Length
Buca La Piella	10.68361	44.03667	t5ysrm	476
Calendario celtico	10.66985	44.03986	my0kp8	484
Castello	10.67062	44.04004	4l4r6y	597
Chiesa dei SS. Donato e Andrea	10.66947	44.03928	lwtyx6	632
Iscrizione longobarda	10.67244	44.03906	60m75s	369
Lago di Casoli	10.67761	44.03468	xqjpbk	369
Madonna di Castello	10.66994	44.03960	qlci89	395
Madonna di Col di Piano	10.67760	44.03173	3w44wr	414
Metato	10.67764	44.03591	sbgnl0	660
Sant’Andrea de Lacu	10.67592	44.03530	fxq83v	657
Antro dell’Ugola	10.68296	44.03871	mprs0w	226
Deviazione per Antro dell’Ugola	10.68343	44.03971	e4n2js	88
Deviazione per Buca La Piella	10.68427	44.03573	hve4pj	139
Deviazione per Sant’Andrea de Lacu	10.67663	44.03507	13uav3	200
Ingresso Buca La Piella	10.68358	44.03592	5ahvp8	190
Riparo sottoroccia lungo percorso Piella	10.68401	44.03573	kwr1wx	286

Disclaimer/Publisher’s Note: The statements, opinions and data contained in all publications are solely those of the individual author(s) and contributor(s) and not of MDPI and/or the editor(s). MDPI and/or the editor(s) disclaim responsibility for any injury to people or property resulting from any ideas, methods, instructions or products referred to in the content.

© 2023 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

Copyright: This open access article is published under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license, which permit the free download, distribution, and reuse, provided that the author and preprint are cited in any reuse.

MDPI Initiatives

Important Links

Choose an area of interest and we will send you notifications of new preprints at your preferred frequency.

Disclaimer

A Sustainable Approach to Tourist Signage on Heritage Trails

Abstract

1. Introduction

2. Unlocking Site Potentials through Signage

2.1. Technology to Minimize Intrusion

2.2. Related Works

2.3. A Simple, Low-Impact Solution

3. Materials and Methods

3.1. The Natural and Cultural Resources of Casoli and Its Vicinity

3.1.1. An Historical Perspective of An Italian Mountain Site

3.2. An Integrated View of Tourism in the Casoli Region

3.2.1. Tourism Dynamics in Bagni di Lucca, the Val di Lima and Casoli

3.2.2. Guidelines for A Sustainable Development

3.2.3. Our Activity

3.2.4. Sites and Trail’s State of Art

3.3. Implementing A QR-Based Signage

4. Results and Discussion

5. Conclusions

Author Contributions

Funding

Data Availability Statement

Acknowledgments

Conflicts of Interest

Abbreviations

References

MDPI Initiatives

Important Links

Subscribe