At the Costa Smeralda Award ceremony, held yesterday at the Porto Cervo Conference Center and hosted by journalist Roberta Floris, Mario Ferraro not only hosted the event but also provided some insights into the health of the Costa Smeralda economy, starting with the award itself, which has established itself as one of the most significant events in the Italian cultural landscape.
"Seven years ago, when we decided to create this award, we had two goals: the first was to provide more content for the destination's tourism offerings, including cultural events, and the second was to increase the number of content items to extend the Costa Smeralda's tourist season, with the award intended to inaugurate it each year," explained the vice president of the Costa Smeralda Consortium and CEO of Smeralda Holding.
"Every year, we've pushed the award date back further: we started in mid-May, and today I'm truly happy to be able to present the event on April 18th," added Ferraro. "When I arrived here in 2015, half the shops in Porto Cervo were still closed on June 15th. Today, April 18th, 80 percent are already open, two of the four most important hotels are open, and by the end of this month, the entire destination will be fully operational. Today," the manager concluded, "we have a seven-month season, and in 10 years, our group, Smeralda Holding, has tripled its turnover and quadrupled its profits, with benefits for the entire local economy in terms of well-being for the entire region, and we are truly happy about this."
The next event is the Wine and Food Festival, scheduled in Porto Cervo from May 7th to 10th.
