Recovery of the Pastures

As far as the recovery of the mountain pastures is concerned, the difficulties usually concerned the adaptations to health regulations (in particular with regard to the potability of water) and inconveniences due to isolation. While respecting the fundamental rules of hygiene, the local architecture and the choice of construction materials must be safeguarded as far as possible in the cheese-making premises already existing in the mountain pastures. To this end, the minimum structural and hygienic requirements for the cheese-making rooms in the mountain pastures were provided.

#### 6.5.2. Economic Financial Feasibility of the 'Rifugio Diffuso'

Once the technical feasibility had been explored, it was essential to verify the economic financial feasibility. First of all, it is necessary to examine in detail the functions of the intervention, investigate the potential and residual housing demand, and define the input data of the financial plan of the accommodation facility.

#### Potential Demand and the Existing Accommodation Offer

The tourist flows of the SNP show that over the last decade, there has been an increase of approximately 9.6% [66,67], mainly recorded in the post-pandemic period. This value was mainly determined by Italian tourists (+104.8%), who had shown a growing interest and appreciation for the Sila area. Foreign tourists also arrived in greater numbers than in the past and tended to stay longer. On the other hand, Italian tourists reduced the duration of their vacation, in line with the behavior observed at the national level. The average length of stay of tourists inside the Park was 4.79 days [66]. In terms of usage patterns, it emerged that the green holiday was mainly chosen by couples (44.4%), families with children (20.9%), and single individuals (13.5%).

The accommodation system of the area was characterized by a general lack of structures and beds and by an uneven distribution throughout the territory. Approximately 30% of the structures present in the entire area consisted of shelters and bivouacs, which accom-

modated to the needs of a specific segment of tourists who enjoy trekking to reach areas only avaliable by foot. In most cases, they do not lend themselves to satisfying a potential "light and widespread tourism" capable of causing positive economic effects directly on the local tourism system. The accommodation offer was predominantly made up of medium, small-sized, and medium-category hotels. The higher standard hotels are concentrated in Lorica, while there was no consolidated offer of non-hotel structures such as farmhouses, B&Bs, guest houses, and holiday homes. It is a tourist offer still linked to traditional models and poorly integrated with the valorization of the territory's own resources.

Currently, the park is characterized by short-break users, who stay for a short time, usually on weekends, in the months of July and August. It is a heterogeneous type of tourism, whose consumers are mainly families. Tourism in the area is oriented towards nature, is respectful of the environment and local communities, and expresses diversified benefits (relaxation, sporting activities, socio–cultural entertainment), lending itself well to the environmental context of the park, which is characterized not only by significant naturalistic elements but also various folkloric curiosities.
