A psychological approach to tourism: The theoretical foundations laid by the "Maestro"

Abstract First of all, this work aims to highlight how the study of the tourism phenomenon offers Psychology fertile terrain for research, as Marcello Cesa-Bianchi has pointed out on several occasions since that day in San Pellegrino Terme in 1984, making us reflect on the fact that tourism is an area where aspects regarding people and their expectations, as well as the economy and ecology of a territory converge, which entails ethical and legislative problems. In order to meet the demands of such a complex phenomenon, which today offers interesting job opportunities, technical training is not enough. Instead, it requires one that can meet tourists’ increasingly diverse requests. Secondly, it presents possible explanations for the historical and cultural reasons underlying the lack of attention academia has paid to this sector, in particular facing the problem of defining the subject of study from an epistemological point of view. The difficulties in finding suitable explanations and conducting thorough research puts Psychology in a privileged position compared to other social disciplines because the different areas of interest it involves can offer theoretical, conceptual and practical tools to understand the phenomenon.

Keywords: Travel, tourism, epistemology, cross-disciplinary research, psychology.

Roberta Maeran, Un approccio psicologico al turismo: i fondamenti teorici avviati dal Maestro in "RICERCHE DI PSICOLOGIA " 4/2019, pp 681-698, DOI: 10.3280/RIP2019-004007