Abstract
Patterns of tourism and leisure behavior involving second homes have been studied comprehensively across several geographical areas. Substantial academic research has been carried out on the contribution of second homes to tourism, their character as seasonal and retirement migration dwellings, and -more recently- to questions related to their experiential dimension. However, Italian second homes studies have focused mostly on estimations of tourist flows in small destinations ignoring the underlying motivations and behavioral patterns of second home owners, and their interaction with the local community. The present study focuses on second home tourism in two diverse geographical areas of the Italian peninsula -South Tyrol and the Aeolian Islands- and aims to provide a systematic overview of the development of second home tourism in these areas and of the experiential dimension of their users. The geographical areas targeted are ideal second home tourism laboratory with a high second home density and considerable exploitation from the local community. Quantitative secondary data were collected to provide an initial framework and a qualitative method of investigation was chosen to gain knowledge of how second home tourists and destination stakeholders see and experience the second home phenomenon. Second home tourism is very heterogeneous across the different regions of Italy, and each region will have its own history and its own characteristics that will shape how the second home tourism reality plays out and how second home tourists experience their visit. The present study aims at presenting such peculiarities therefore contributing to the understanding of the phenomenon.