Conclusion: A Different Measure of Success
Sardinia’s tourism economy is entering a decisive phase. Visitor demand is growing rapidly: in 2025 the island recorded 5.108 million arrivals and 21.802 million overnight stays, up 15.0% and 15.6% respectively from 2024; international visitors accounted for 12.1 million stays, or 56% of the total. The question is no longer whether Sardinia can attract visitors. It is whether this growth will improve the island’s natural assets, community wellbeing and long-term economic resilience.[uniolbia]
This paper proposes that tourism success should be measured not only by arrivals, overnight stays or revenue, but by whether Sardinia becomes:
- More resilient to drought, heat, wildfire, coastal erosion and climate disruption.
- More protective of landscapes, marine ecosystems, biodiversity and cultural heritage.
- More accessible to disabled visitors, older people, families and residents.
- More valuable to local communities through better jobs, skills, local procurement and year-round activity.
- Better able to manage visitor pressure in the places and periods where capacity is limited.
- More transparent and accountable in how it uses data, public funding and tourism-derived revenues.
Core proposition
The strategic shift is from tourism growth to destination stewardship.
Promotion will remain necessary, particularly in international and shoulder-season markets. However, promotion must be matched by infrastructure capacity, environmental safeguards, labour standards, accessible services, public trust and effective visitor management. A destination that attracts more visitors without managing cumulative impacts may undermine the very assets that make it desirable.
Conversely, Sardinia can use tourism as a force for place renewal. Well-directed demand can finance restoration, maintain cultural heritage, sustain local services, create opportunities for younger residents, support inland communities and expand the economic case for conserving natural landscapes.
Ten priorities
| No. | Strategic priority | Intended outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Set destination carrying-capacity and growth-management rules | Growth occurs within ecological, infrastructure and community limits |
| 2 | Build water resilience into tourism and accommodation growth | Water security, lower consumption and reliable services during peak demand |
| 3 | Move from waste collection to circular destination management | Less waste at source, better seasonal services and more local material value |
| 4 | Make climate resilience a core tourism standard | Safer businesses, infrastructure, visitors and communities under changing conditions |
| 5 | Protect nature as tourism infrastructure | Healthy ecosystems, credible conservation and high-quality nature experiences |
| 6 | Shift from peak-season volume to year-round, place-based value | Less concentrated pressure, longer seasons and more distributed local benefit |
| 7 | Build a skilled, fair and year-round tourism workforce | Better careers, stronger service quality and a more stable labour supply |
| 8 | Make accessibility and inclusion a destination-wide standard | A tourism offer that works for more people, with reliable access information |
| 9 | Govern tourism through shared data, clear accountability and adaptive management | Decisions based on real impacts, not visitor-volume metrics alone |
| 10 | Align investment, regulation and incentives with sustainable outcomes | Public and private capital reinforcing resilience, equity and quality |
What changes in practice
The strategy asks decision-makers to apply a simple discipline to every major tourism action:
- Understand the place. What are its environmental, infrastructure, housing, labour and community limits?
- Set a desired outcome. Is the goal to increase value, reduce pressure, restore nature, strengthen year-round employment or improve inclusion?
- Choose the right intervention. This may be product development, public transport, building retrofits, access controls, conservation funding, skills support or clearer visitor information—not necessarily more promotion.
- Measure the result. Use common indicators, local monitoring and public reporting.
- Adapt when evidence requires it. Change investment, marketing, access or regulation when thresholds are exceeded or benefits are not reaching local communities.
The opportunity
Sardinia has the core ingredients to lead: internationally recognised landscapes, strong cultural identity, growing international demand, established tourism-data systems, protected natural areas, an active regional adaptation framework and access to substantial European and regional investment programmes.
The opportunity is to become known not simply as a summer beach destination, but as a year-round Mediterranean model for a visitor economy that is climate-ready, nature-positive, accessible, locally rooted and professionally managed.
The outcome should be clear: a Sardinia that welcomes visitors while strengthening the places and people who call the island home.