The (; "Orange Flag") is a recognition of quality awarded by the
Touring Club Italiano
The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) (Italian Touring Club or Touring Club of Italy) is the major Italian national tourist organization.
The Touring Club Ciclistico Italiano (TCCI) was founded on 8 November 1894 by a group of bicyclists to promote the ...
to small towns (population 15,000 or less) in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
for excellency in tourism, hospitality and the environment.
This recognition was established in 1998 in
Liguria
it, Ligure
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, in response to a regional institution's demand to foster and promote the Italian
hinterland
Hinterland is a German word meaning "the land behind" (a city, a port, or similar). Its use in English was first documented by the geographer George Chisholm in his ''Handbook of Commercial Geography'' (1888). Originally the term was associated ...
. The Touring Club Italiano (TCI) developed an analytical model to identify the first towns recognized with the . Later the recognition was adopted on nationwide scale to identify sites of excellence in all regions of Italy.
This is the only Italian project of its kind to be listed by the
World Tourism Organization
The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) is the United Nations specialized agency entrusted with the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism. Its headquarters are in Madrid, Spain. UNWTO is the leading internati ...
among successful programs for the sustainable development of tourism around the world.
Goals
The main assessment criteria evaluated by the TCI for the award of the are:
*use of local resources;
*culture of hospitality;
*fostering of local crafting and products;
*encouragement of local entrepreneurship;
*strengthening of the territorial identity.
External links
official website flags of the Italian Touring Clubofficial website of the Association of Orange Flag Countries
Italian culture
Tourism in Italy
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