Introduction

Sardinia as a Living Destination System

Sardinia is one of Europe’s most distinctive island destinations. Its visitor economy depends on coastlines, seas, beaches, water systems, landscapes, cultural heritage, public infrastructure and communities. These resources are often presented as individual attractions. In reality, they are connected elements of a living territorial system.

The condition of that system shapes far more than environmental quality. It influences destination competitiveness, public-service capacity, local livelihoods, visitor experience, social cohesion and the ability of the island to adapt to a changing climate. Beaches depend on functioning coastal processes. Coastal settlements depend on reliable water, energy, mobility and waste systems. Marine tourism depends on ecological quality and the effective management of sensitive habitats. Cultural tourism depends on living communities, locally meaningful heritage and viable territorial economies.

The central challenge for Sardinia is therefore not simply to increase visitor demand. It is to manage tourism in ways that protect and regenerate the resources that make the island valuable.

In 2024, Sardinia recorded 4,441,322 arrivals and 18,860,976 overnight stays through the regional Ross1000 tourism data system. These figures represented annual growth of 13.76% in arrivals and 15.40% in overnight stays compared with 2023; the average length of stay was 4.25 days. The figures confirm the scale and growing importance of the visitor economy. They do not, however, show whether tourism growth is balanced between municipalities and seasons, compatible with ecological conditions, resilient to climate risks, or fairly beneficial to local communities.[uniolbia]

This distinction is essential. Tourism volume alone does not determine sustainability. Pressure depends on where visitors go, when they arrive, how they travel, how long they stay, which resources and services they use, and the environmental and social sensitivity of the places concerned. A regional annual total may conceal high pressure in particular beach systems, coastal municipalities, protected areas, ports, roads or water networks. Equally, regions and communities with lower visitor volumes may need carefully managed tourism to support employment, cultural continuity, local enterprise and public services.

Sardinia’s demographic context strengthens the importance of this analysis. The island had 1,562,381 residents at 31 December 2024, a decline of 8,072 people, or 0.5%, from the preceding year. Tourism therefore operates within a territory characterised not only by strong visitor demand, but also by demographic change, uneven settlement patterns, differing local economic conditions and a continuing need to sustain viable coastal and inland communities.[istat]

This paper does not treat Sardinia as a tourism product, nor as a collection of attractions to be marketed. It examines the island as a territorial system in which biodiversity, ecosystems, climate, land use, water, mobility, energy, waste, cultural heritage, communities, businesses and governance are interconnected.

Its central question is:

How can Sardinia protect and regenerate the natural, social and territorial resources on which its long-term value as a tourism destination depends?

The paper applies the Coolvoyage methodological sequence:

\\text{Observe} \\rightarrow \\text{Measure} \\rightarrow \\text{Understand} \\rightarrow \\text{Connect} \\rightarrow \\text{Adapt} \\rightarrow \\text{Develop}

This sequence begins with the territory rather than the market. It asks what resources define Sardinia; what evidence exists about their condition; what pressures they face; how environmental, social and economic systems interact; where destination management must adapt; and which forms of development can create enduring value without weakening the foundations on which tourism depends.

The purpose is not to oppose tourism and conservation. It is to establish the conditions under which tourism can support biodiversity, climate resilience, community benefit, cultural continuity and long-term destination competitiveness.