Ecotourism in Casacalenda

Before 1993 (the birth year of the LIPU Nature Reserve of Casacalenda) there was no activity related to tourism, nor a significant production and diffusion of local products. The Casacalenda City Council was aware about the richness of its natural heritage and identified the LIPU Association as sectorial expertise able to give support for a devolopment plan able to ensure nature preservation and its exploitation for tourist aims as well. The establishment of the Nature Reserve was a strategical starting point for an integrated plan of support for the start-up of socio-economical activities linked to territories characteristics, such as organic food and agritourism. The Visitor Centre of the Nature Reserve played an active role on promoting such economic activities giving information and distributing promotional leaflets about local enterprises. It has established a mutual and uninformal cooperation process, that is actually ongoing, between the Nature Reserve and enterprises considering that the Nature Reserve promotes local products and receptivity services while local enterprises bring their customers to the Reserve. The main beneficiaries of the practice are local enterprises, students, universities researchers and stakeholders involved in the Nature Reserve activities were local associations of volunteers, public administrations such as Province of Campobasso, Molise Region and LIPU Nature Reserves network