In malga: indagine in quattro aree delle Alpi Centrali sugli atteggiamenti dei turisti-escursionisti riguardo agli alpeggi

This paper discusses the results of a survey carried out in the summer of 2003 with the aim of gaining a deeper understanding of the attitudes of contemporary tourists towards mountain pastures. 829 visitors were interviewed in four areas in the provinces of Bergamo, Sondrio and Trento using a brief questionnaire. Besides enabling us to gather information about the basic demographic features of the tourist, the questions focused on the motivations for the visit and the attitudes towards specific aspects of pasture land such as landscape, grazing animals and local produce. The tourist profile which emerged from the bivariate analysis ascribed major relevance to the culture and environment associated with mountain pastures rather than the functional meanings. The age of the interviewees was the most significant variable in discriminating the answers: older people tended to appreciate the various different aspects to a greater extent.