ABSTRACT
Recently, geographers have advocated closer integration of tourism research into mainstream economic geography research (S.Britton 1991; Shaw and Williams 1994; Ioannides 1995; Ioannides and Debbage 1997). The growth of the Third Italy, and the economic, social and political conditions behind its expansion, has been one of the leading lines of research in this context (Malecki 1995; Piore and Sabel 1984). Until now, however, few geographers have used findings derived from studies on the development of industrial districts, and the flexible means of production that the firms within these districts employ to assess tourism.
