16. Strategic Priorities
1. Manage Coastal and Marine Pressure Through Place-Based Capacity Systems
Problem
Sardinia’s tourism demand is concentrated in coastal destinations, beaches, coves, ports, islands and marine protected areas. Annual visitor data cannot show whether individual sites are being used within ecological, infrastructure and community limits.
Evidence
Recorded tourism demand increased strongly in 2024, with 4,441,322 arrivals and 18,860,976 overnight stays. Tourism pressure is spatially concentrated: thirty municipalities accounted for 85% of recorded tourism movement in 2024, while twelve municipalities in Gallura accounted for more than 30% of Sardinia’s recorded overnight stays.[uniolbia][unionesarda]
Sardinia also has extensive marine protected areas and ecologically sensitive coastal systems. ISPRA identifies eight marine protected areas, including the marine component of La Maddalena Archipelago National Park, covering 93,674 hectares.[indicatoriambientali.isprambiente]
Destination implication
Without place-based management, high-demand coastal locations may experience beach crowding, dune damage, parking pressure, traffic congestion, marine disturbance, water stress, litter and reduced resident access to public space.
A single island-wide visitor-capacity number would be inappropriate. Capacity depends on the particular beach, dune system, access road, wastewater network, marine habitat, parking area, municipality or protected area.
Proposed direction
Establish Coastal and Marine Capacity Management Plans for priority high-pressure destinations. Each plan should combine:
- Seasonal visitor counts and access data.
- Beach, dune and habitat-condition monitoring.
- Parking, traffic and public-transport analysis.
- Water, wastewater and waste-service capacity.
- Boat movement, mooring and anchoring management.
- Resident access and local business needs.
- Site-specific triggers for intervention.
- Clear public communication, booking, zoning or access rules where required.
Plans should be led jointly by municipalities, protected-area managers and relevant regional authorities, with participation from residents, tourism businesses, transport providers, environmental organisations and scientific institutions.
Relevant stakeholders
Regional Department of Tourism, Crafts and Commerce; Regional Department for Environmental Protection; ARPAS; Conservatoria delle Coste; municipalities; marine protected-area authorities; port and marina operators; water and waste utilities; tourism businesses; local residents; universities and research institutions.
Possible indicators
| Indicator | Suggested measurement |
|---|---|
| Daily and seasonal site use | Visitor entries, beach counts, parking occupancy, shuttle passengers or boat arrivals |
| Habitat condition | Dune vegetation, erosion indicators, Posidonia condition, disturbance records and litter density |
| Mobility pressure | Traffic volumes, parking turnover, public-transport use and travel times |
| Service capacity | Seasonal water consumption, wastewater load, waste volume and collection performance |
| Resident access | Resident survey, beach-access availability, complaints and service-access indicators |
| Management effectiveness | Compliance rates, enforcement activity, restoration progress and public reporting |
Delivery horizon
Immediate to medium term. Begin with a small number of high-pressure coastal, beach and marine sites; apply lessons before expanding the system regionally.