ABSTRACT
Tourism is one of the economic sectors in which sustainable disclosure has been successful in enhancing the role of eco-labels to increase firm reputation. A new value for eco-labels is given by their active role in local development strategies. This chapter studies the impact of the Blue Flag program on tourism development, through the lens of sustainability and green awareness of local inhabitants and tourists. Blue Flag is an indicator of a holistic stakeholder engagement, since it involves public policy instruments, firms’ strategies and users’ behaviour. Based on a a quantitative analysis taking all Italian territory as the perimeter of the analysis for the case study, significant results in terms of the economic impact of Blue Flags are obtained. The main conclusions are that they positively impact income per capita and they have a role in the decision process of municipalities pursuing a local development strategy; that is, participation in the program influences the “green” behaviour of local communities, taking into account the relevant role of sustainable tourism as a driver for the community improvement and wellness.
