Italy's island region of Sardinia has launched a strategic tourism project in China aimed at spreading information and increasing appeal among Chinese potential tourists.
Sardinia is one of Italy's most beautiful regions, the second- largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Its wild coasts and turquoise-blue waters attract each year thousands of tourists from all over the world.
China, with its evolving society and growing internal consumer market, represents a great opportunity for the island region, says local councilor for tourism Sebastiano Sannitu.
＂More and more Chinese tourists travel around the world and are attracted to new destinations. We would like to increase the number of those who visit our land. Many Chinese couples already choose Sardinia as the best location for their honey-moon.＂
Last October Sardinia's northern coasts hosted the Chinese ＂ Rose Wedding＂ television reality show, where 15 Chinese VIP couples celebrated their marriage ritual amid spectacular settings.
The program, produced by Shanghai-based television company Rose Wedding Formalities, was followed by 160 million Chinese spectators. Frequent exchange visits have taken place between Sardinia's local authorities and the Chinese producers.
For the promotional tourism project in China, running till December and including various initiatives, the Italian region has allocated about 512,000 euros.
The goal is thus to increase information on the island and spread awareness so that more Chinese people will come to visit. And the best place from where to do this is Shanghai, which will be hosting in May the Universal Expo.
For the occasion, very important to Italy, Sardinia's local authorities have opened several information points and purchased spot banners and booths along Shanghai's busiest most commercial street, Huaihai Road. A communication and advertising campaign has also been launched on local Chinese media.
＂Shanghai is a strategic city, the richest and most populated of China, where 50 percent of people travel abroad and are attracted to non-traditional destinations,＂ says Sannitu.
Of course, the natural beauties are the core asset of Sardinia' s touristic appeal but there is much more worth discovering (and living) on the island. What the region aims at exporting in China is a particular notion of tourism.
＂We are investing in the so-called Active Tourism,＂ says the councilor. ＂It's a sustainable type of tourism that goes beyond the traditional sea-side summer trends, encompassing all-year round low-season touristic flows that link eco-tourism, adventure and culture.＂
The Active Tourism has a low environmental impact and includes, among other practices, historical site-seeing tours and sport activities such as windsurf, trekking, biking, kayak, rock climbing and parachuting.
Another initiative focuses on the construction of 20 new golf camps. The first international workshop on Active Tourism is scheduled for March.
In coming years the island region will focus on reaching-out to the international touristic market. Other than in China, promotional campaigns have been sponsored as well in many countries including Japan and Russia.
Sardinia's touristic flows last year resisted the general downturn in national trends, with a 1.9 percent increase in arrivals and a higher number of foreign tourists compared to the rest of Italy.
Research & Consulting