There were more than 22 thousand tourists, Italian and foreign, who chose the Sardinian mountains as a destination for their holidays in 2023. 55% of these, more than 12 thousand people, are Sardinians while the remaining 45% , 10 thousand visitors, reached one of the 34 mountain municipalities of the island from the rest of Italy and the world .
Numbers up compared to 2022 when attendance was just over 20 thousand.
These are some of the data processed by the Research Office of Confartigianato Imprese Sardegna through the Report "Economy and businesses of the mountains of Sardinia: perimeters and trends", which analyzed the structure and dynamics of artisan businesses in mountain municipalities and in the internal areas of the island, through the processing of ISTAT 2023 data.
The presences recorded in the mountains represent 0.2% of those recorded on the island, with a tourist rate (ratio between the number of nights spent by tourists or the presences, in accommodation facilities such as hotels or complementary, and residents) of 1.1% while that of the rest of Sardinia was 12.7%.
"Mountain tourism in Sardinia is a first-rate tourism and allows to revive that economy linked to the mountains too often underestimated and relegated to support activities - comments Giacomo Meloni , president of Confartigianato Sardegna - if managed sustainably, it has the potential to increase the incomes of local communities and help preserve their natural and cultural resources. Above all, it has proven to be a lifeline for many communities in difficulty".
"The numbers of visitors and businesses in those territories - continues Meloni - tell us how there are many opportunities to rethink this type of mountain tourism but also to manage it better and exploit its contribution towards a more resilient, inclusive environment, and sustainable future".
Expanding the scope to the hilly areas, according to the Confartigianato Sardegna report, we discover that there are 318 mountain and partially mountainous municipalities in Sardinia, whose inhabitants exceed 835 thousand units, which host over 104 thousand businesses, of which almost 26 thousand artisans, with over 61 thousand employees. More than 11 thousand businesses are located in partially flat territories, 13 thousand in the hills and only 1,200 in the mountains. The added value of production exceeds 11 billion, with an added value per employee of 34 thousand euros.
(Online Union)
