Good practice:

“Costa dei Trabocchi” territorial brand

Public policies developed in the framework of the European Fishery Fund, of the European and Maritime Fishery Fund and of regional laws have contributed to the valorization of the s.c. “Trabocchi”. Furthermore, public-private initiatives (i.e. LAGs, FLAGs, Parks, Destination Management Companies, Product Management Companies and the coastal contract for the protection and enhancement of marine resources) have enhanced the brand “Costa dei Trabocchi” which now identifies a territory making it more attractive for potential visitors and tourists,. Local people feel also identified and satisfied with their life quality and local economic operators feel engaged themselves in the promotion of this territorial identity. The “Costa dei Trabocchi” brand has not been anyway registered.
“Costa dei Trabocchi” became then the brand that identifies the Trabocchi Coast, which corresponds to the coastal stretch Adriatic of province of Chieti (Abruzzo), a 70-kilometer coast from Ortona to San Salvo, with coves and reefs below the hills that end at the Adriatic Sea marked by the spread of Trabocco, fishing construction on piles. It is a stretch of coast famous throughout Italy for its natural beauty and for its diversity: each of the towns of the Coast maintains its own characteristics and traditions.

No direct financial resource has been charged since regional laws established only a regulatory framework. The only investments made belong to the “Dmc Costiera Dei Trabocchi” (national funds 250000 €) and to the LAG and FLAG “Costa dei Trabocchi” (EFF and EMFF, indicatively 270.000 €)

New initiatives linked to the brand have born such as: sustainable mobility systems, residents associations, sport and leisure initiatives. Furthermore, between 2001 and 2011 (the only official data available according to ISTAT) tourist presences (also foreign) and hotel occupancy rose in all cities of the area of 20,4%. From 2011 to today instead tourist presences rose of 10% each year according to data collected from Chamber of Commerce and associations of Trabocchi and of hotel owners.

It is necessary to network with the territory, rationalize, increase and improve services and structures, to improve the quality of water and air, to intercept new tourist flows knowing how to combine the quality of the services with the environmental protection

The “Costa dei Trabocchi” experience demonstrated that it is possible to create synergies among public and private initiatives in order to combine the quality of the services with the naturalistic aspect and to articulate shared policies that give touristic value to the local gastronomic and wine excellences.
The territorial brand focused on common strengths in tourism (such as cycling, wine and food traditions, natural and cultural heritage), thereby creating a recognizable profile as a tourist destination and differentiating the regional economy by linking it to tourism (see f.i. CALALENTA).
The “Costa dei Trabocchi” brand also established a direct link between the top-down initiatives of the Abruzzo Region (regional laws for the valorization of “trabocchi”), of the existing public-private partnerships (FLAG, LAG, DMC, PMC) and the local activities and stakeholders (tourist information offices, hotels, city guides, etc.), which remain in any case responsible for customers