Sardinia, all the nodes of travel and the Pnrr opportunity

As for many territories and for many sectors, the NRR is the last call for a successful development: it is especially so for a region like Sardinia which, at least today, does not have to face the seasonal adjustment, but must equip itself to “seasonalize” – that is to recover the a lot of ground lost in just two years – to start again with other logics.

From 15 million visitors in 2019, the island went to just 6 million in 2020 with operations that, already reduced in the recent past, have further thinned to just 40-50 peak days. And this is not the case: the various speakers at the Sardinia Travel Conference clearly stated this, where the Sardinia Region “shone” for its absence, precisely that public interlocutor capable of resolving so many unknowns once and for all, before among all the age-old problem of territorial continuity that cuts the wings of the initiatives of airlines and shipping companies to create an adequate transport offer and bring new flows of tourists to the island.

An absence judged “shameful” by tourism entrepreneurs who still believe in Sardinia and its tourism potential, such as Paolo Manca (president of Federalberghi Sardinia). “On our island there are two problems to face: one of a constitutional nature because the Region, with the resources at its disposal (9 billion euros) could do much more for the sector and certainly private individuals cannot replace it for provide Sardinia with hospitality services and experiential programs – says Manca – The other is of a financial nature: we must ensure a long seasonality to private investors, the usability of the island for almost the whole year, otherwise interest is lost to spend on quality facilities and services “.

But there are also those who, like Andrea Azzeri of FA Travel, a genuine accommodation specialist, note the absence of strategic organizations on the island such as a Convention Bureau capable of promoting and intercepting new targets. The opinion of the tour operators was very hard, starting with Massimo Diana of Ota Viaggi: «We have heard about the same problems in Sardinia for more than a decade and very little has happened. A few examples? How can we talk about extending the season if the Verona-Olbia route is only allowed from early May to early September? How could an operator like Ota Viaggi, which has already invested in 4,200 empty-to-full rooms for the summer season 2022, bring more customers? How can tourists be brought to Iglesias or Cagliari if territorial continuity in maritime transport is granted only three times a week, and never on Sundays with a single ship from Civitavecchia? Not to mention foreign markets: how can I talk to my European partners who are asking for 2023 fares if I don’t even know which flights there will be in 2022? I wonder if any public administrators, and not only in Sardinia, really know the dynamics and timing of organized tourism “.

Professor Gaetano Casertano even harder, who gave the testimony of Veratour, another important operator-investor in Sardinia: “Thanks to families like that of the Pompili who opened a village in San Teodoro or the Aprea di Ota Viaggi, Sardinia can continue to have targeted and productive investments. And I say this because financial logic would say not to make certain investments if there is no continuity. So what is the keystone that could, in Sardinia as in Italy, solve a lot of problems in critical infrastructural points, from airports to ports? The answer is in the most popular acronym of these times: Pnrr. In this plan there are 2.6 billion euros for tourism and can be used, if well spent, to make the accommodation capacity active: these from the NRP are not debt money, but are resources for setting up efficient infrastructures “.

For Casertano, therefore, “there has never been such an opportunity in Italian history, namely the ability to develop and innovate infrastructures and services at optimal conditions. So there is also the possibility for Sardinia to play a decisive match. The next step is to network with digital tools which means exploiting a new way of presenting tourism and selling it better on the global market. Today, the holiday no longer wants to be done but to “live”; Italy and Sardinia can play a strategic role. But the infrastructural element must take shape with the PNRR, and therefore with funds that are not only for tourism purposes, but of wider scope. And let’s also take into account that from this year to the next two or three years, new, very competitive destinations will appear on the market and therefore it will no longer be enough to sell Sardinia for its sea “.

The speech by Massimo Zanon of Bluserena is even more detailed: “From the point of view of investments to seasonally adjust the product, there is the It is imperative to convince foreigners to come out of season with attractive products, or rather with an overall offer of appeal. Because in the end, European tourists take very similar holidays, even temporally. Then you need excursions, ancillary services around the hotel. It is not enough to keep the accommodation facilities open, the beautiful sea. They want to go around and visit interesting places with the right assistance. “