It would appear that there are two distinct schools of thought when the subject of campers comes up in conversation. There are those who believe that they represent another form of tourism which gives a well needed breath of oxygen to the local economy and if anything they should be encouraged to visit the area in ever vaster numbers.
The other diametrically opposed view is generally stated in terms of: they buy their food in hypermarkets on the way, spend nothing in the area in which they visit, they clog up the roads with their slow moving campers while they are here and then leave behind their rubbish when they leave.
This afternoon both those opinions were aired in the Palazzo Pancrazi as more than 50 campers from all across Italy had gathered in Barga as part of the continuing celebrations for the centenary of the death of Giovanni Pascoli.
The assessore Gabriele Giovannetti as you can hear in the audioboo below, repudiates the second negative view of campers in no uncertain terms.
He maintains that they are a growing and necessary part of a well rounded tourism in this area. An interesting idea was also put forward by one of the campers who said that they have in the past collected all the receipts for good and services rendered whilst they were staying in an area and presented them to the comune at the end of their stay to show just how much money they actually did put into the local economy.
Barga benefits from visitors who respect and enjoy the town and its traditions. A large group of campers at this early stage in the season are a bonus is if they get a warm welcome they may well return for longer.
…non ti aspetti una cittadina meravigliosa…
…non ti aspetti un giornale sul sito internet….
non te lo aspetti in tempo reale…
ma soprattutto non ti aspetti un’accoglienza a dei camperisti….è praticamente una rarità.
La sensazione che abbiamo vissuto è stata quella di incontrare dei vecchi amici
fotografi, reporter..anche in inglese.. lo staff del comune…ma anche i negozi
Mi fa piacere dire grazie a tutti, proprio a tutti
l’ assessore alla cultura con il discorso di benvenuto l’assessore alla viabilità, il vigile che ha aiutato la collega in difficoltà e ci ha scortato sino a villa Pascoli,
anche il signore con il bambino piccolo che ci ha aiutato a sistemarsi nel parcheggio lasciandoci anche il cellulare….
un grazie vero e sentito..
Saluti..torneremo…
un camperista
Massimo Cogno
Ma figuriamoci se a Barga oltre a Le Piazzette, La Festa Del Muletto, Le campane che suonano per il coprifuoco, il Barga Jazz Club, i fuochi per la processione, la fisarmonica del Natalino ecc. ecc. potevano non entrare nel novero delle cose che danno noia anche i camperisti.