Tourism-led initiatives in shrinking villages: towards a qualitative analytical framework beyond urban-centric and growth-oriented perspectives

Abstract

Purpose This paper aims to propose a qualitative, actor-centred and process-oriented methodological framework for investigating whether and how tourism-led initiatives contribute to the multidimensional resilience of Italian shrinking villages. By bringing the concepts of territorial capital and resilience into closer dialogue, it offers an alternative perspective on tourism-led territorial regeneration beyond growth-oriented approaches. Design/methodology/approach Building on Camagni’s (2009) territorial capital matrix, this paper develops a qualitative reinterpretation that reframes territorial capital from a factor of territorial competitiveness into a dynamic process of reproduction enacted through the practices and interactions of local actors. The resulting analytical matrix is structured around three levels of agency (individual, network and collective) and three dimensions of resilience (economic, relational and socio-cultural), offering a framework for interpreting qualitative data collected through document analysis, focus groups, interviews and field observation. Findings Rather than providing empirical evidence, the framework provides an interpretive tool for analysing whether and how tourism-led initiatives may influence territorial capital reproduction and broader processes of resilience in shrinking villages. By organising qualitative evidence across multiple dimensions and scales of agency, the framework enables the identification of synergies, tensions, trade-offs and potential blind spots in tourism-led territorial development. Originality/value The paper contributes to the literature by integrating the concepts of territorial capital and resilience within an actor-centred analytical framework and by conceptualising multidimensional resilience as an emergent outcome of the continuous reproduction of territorial capital. The proposed framework provides an adaptable framework to support future case study research and policy evaluation on tourism-led regeneration initiatives.