Presentation

Abstract

The 3rd IRT International Scientific Conference will take place in Egypt from Saturday 24th to Monday 26th of October 2009. The Conference, promoted by the Helwan University, is organized by ARCES University College, the Research Center CRUEC and the Embassy of Italy in Egypt with the cooperation of the Palermo University. The theme of the conference regards the development and the territories of the Mediterranean in an Integrated Relational Tourism approach, while respecting the cultural and environmental sustainability. For some years the process of globalization has been creating a standardization in the consumption and the behaviour of individuals, to the detriment of local identities. The imposition of external models has led to the subsequent abandonment of certain traditional and cultural values in many regions of the world. The concentration of the population in cities has increased while areas in the interior have lost their value, especially their economic worth. These territories have progressively gone from being functional to the economy of urban areas (primary sector) to becoming indifferent containers of inconvenient functions or ”something else”. IRT can be realized through an active participation of all the key players of local development such as government offices, businesses and local communities. The Conference by a multy-disciplinary approach to tourism, aims to give prominence to the awakened territory, whose three main challenges are a territorial re-alignment of the economies, a re-assessment of the cultural identity and a recomposition of social groups.