Participatory location-based learning and ICT as tools to increase international reputation of a wellbeing destination in rural areas: a case study

This chapter presents the case of an international student competition where students had an active role in promoting the Fermo territory (Marche Region, Italy), through social media by leveraging on Mediterranean diet lifestyle and associated health and wellbeing benefits. The main aim is to investigate how the participants to the international student competition, viewed here as educational tourists, used their social channels to share and evaluate the experience, and how this can support the identification and analysis of the most popular attractions of a place, offering important indications for place promotion. To this end, the employment of geolocation information contained in photographs and posts in social platforms (Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram) were explored to extract data about the users. The tracking, collection and analysis of tourists' digital footprints can be a valuable source of information for both tourists and stakeholders.