03, March 2015: Despite the reported concerns over falling numbers in tourists to Italy, holidays to Sardinia appear to be prospering, with over 2 million visitors to South Sardinia recorded last year.
A spokesperson from renowned ABTOI website, Love Italy, commented, “The tourism board of Sardinia has come on in leaps and bounds, with continuous campaigns keeping Sardinia in the spotlight.”
Sustained Campaigns
These campaigns have included the 2012 one created by Gavino Sanna, which created a new image of holidays to Sardinia as being accessible for everyone. This involved the launch of Platform Sardinia Tourism 2.0, which aimed to strip back the commercial side of Sardinian holidays, said to have diluted the cultural significance of the island. The campaign concentrated on a heavy web and social media orientated strategy that revealed the untouched beauty and traditional side to Sardinian culture.
The effectiveness of this campaign is difficult to measure statistically speaking, as arrivals for that summer showed a decrease in 5.6%; however success was illustrated in other areas, such as creating a bigger online presence. This served to make holidays to Sardinia far more accessible for everyday people, rather than being associated as an out-of-range expensive holiday destination.
Another area of success that has been recurring for Sardinia is the World Travel Awards, in which the Costa Smeralda won the award for ‘Europe’s Leading Beach’ in 2007, 2008 and 2010. The island in its entirety has been nominated every year since 2007, with a total of 14 nominations for a variety of awards, such as ‘Europe’s Leading Island Destination’; ‘World’s Leading Beach Destination’; and ‘Europe’s Leading Dive Destination’. The shortlist nominees for the 2015 World Travel Awards are due to be announced in March.
In another approach, in 2013 Southern Sardinia became the first Mediterranean holiday destination to join the Global Sustainable Tourism Council. In order to become one of these Early Adopters, the region had to illustrate their dynamism and progress in the management of sustainable tourism.
Experts say it’s clear that Sardinia is working extremely hard to stay relevant and refresh its tourist attractions, despite the general decline of tourism in Italy. The Love Italy spokesperson agreed, saying, “We can see this through the range of activities and locations we have to offer from various tour operators on our site, and it certainly isn’t showing signs of slowing down.”
About Love Italy:
Love Italy is the website of ABTOI – The Association of British Travel Organisers to Italy. If you’re looking for the perfect holiday in Italy, the website provides destination information, contact details of tour operator members to help you plan the best Italian holiday, ‘insider’ tips, year round special offers and information on everything from beach holidays in Sardinia, cycling in Sicily, to a wedding or honeymoon in Tuscany.
Contact Details:
Contact Love Italy at www.loveitaly.co.uk
