Astronomical tourism: the beauty of the sky as a resource for territories
There are many treasures in the alpine / sub-alpine territory able to attract tourists;some are already part of the tourist offer of many destinations,others are undergoing discovery and have the potential to develop niche tourism in areas ready to capture its value. One of these treasures is the dark sky, able to offer nocturnal celestial landscapes,such as the Milky Way.It is a rare asset of increasingly difficult availability in urban areas,but still present in rural areas where light pollution is less.The night sky is part of the nature and the landscape that surrounds us, therefore, like the other components of the environment,it deserves to be safeguarded.Light pollution can also threaten the quality of human life and endanger the existence of fauna and flora, even in apparently protected areas.The main goal of this project is to protect and develop the natural and cultural heritage of certain territories by identifying there places/areas and by intervening with some measures and soft actions in order to preserve and enhance them, going to create a tourism sustainable and innovative product related to the observation of the sky,the so called “astro-tourism”. Promoting innovative approaches to a natural and sustainable scientific tourism and a variety of cultural activities these locations could benefit from the presence of tourists attracted by the quality of the night sky during the whole year,with the purpose of a greater spatial distribution and a seasonal adjustment.