Its secluded sandy beaches, aquamarine lagoons and towering headlands have enchanted Italian tourists for decades. But over the past 10 years, Sardinia has become a popular destination for visitors from other nations, who are eager to sample its warm Mediterranean climate, stunning coastline and famous hospitality.
Thanks to the arrival of low-cost airlines, even Sardinia’s most glamorous resorts on the Costa Smeralda, near Olbia in the north-east of the island, have become accessible. Little wonder then that, despite the recession, tourist arrivals have remained pretty much constant – with the island welcoming 2.15 million guests in 2010 for a total of 11.5 million overnight stays, compared with 2.2 million arrivals and 11.8 million hotel nights in 2009.
What slight contraction Sardinia has witnessed can be attributed for the most part to the domestic market, which, according to the island’s tourist board, represented two-thirds of the 2.5% reduction in visitor numbers in 2010. The rest of world, meanwhile, has kept Sardinia firmly on its holiday map, supported by a perpetual stream of new airline routes to the destination.
Sardinia is 24,090sqkm in size and is the second largest island in the Mediterranean. Three airports – Olbia Costa Smeralda and Alghero-Fertilia in the north and Cagliari-Elmas in the south – serve it.
Of these, Cagliari-Elmas is the biggest, handling some 3.4 million arrivals in 2010. Indeed, in spite of the global economic downturn and nominal decline in Sardinia’s overall tourist numbers, this particular airport has witnessed an unprecedented growth over the past three years, including a 3.3% increase in passenger numbers in 2010 compared with 2009, and a 14.8% and 9.7% increase respectively in the two years prior to that.
A key reason why Cagliari-Elmas’ star is in the ascendant is the low-cost carrier Ryanair, which has now become the airport’s number one airline, usurping Meridiana from its former top position in 2010.
Arguably Ryanair’s decision to open bases at both Cagliari and Alghero in March 2009 has had an impact on its positioning. Sardinia is, after all, an important location for Ryanair. As the airline’s head of communications, Stephen McNamara, puts it: “The destination is already very well known in Europe and is a desirable place to travel … [We’ve] seen the potential Sardinia has to create sustained passenger traffic [and it’s] for this reason Ryanair decided to keep developing from the island.”
This notwithstanding, Alessio Grazietti, general manager at Cagliari-Elmas Airport, believes that the airline’s approach of operating a year-round schedule of flights has been equally responsible for putting it ahead of its competitors.
Ryanair’s year-round schedule
It is an approach, he tells Routes News, that is really benefiting the tourist trade. “Sardinia has traditionally been a very seasonal region, with people flying using routes that only operate in the summer,” he says. “To improve tourism, it is important for us to de-seasonalise the traffic and bring people in during the spring and autumn. Ryanair has helped us do that by [choosing to operate] point-to-point and international routes the whole year round.”
Today, he continues, 75% of all flights to Cagliari-Elmas operate year-round and 25% are seasonal. “It is more balanced,” he says – although he later concedes that the majority of the 15 new connections launched by the airport at the end of March are seasonal offerings and will run only for the next six months.
On the positive side, the five of these 15 that are operated by Ryanair are brand new destinations for Cagliari-Elmas. By opening up routes to Ibiza, Krakow, Parma, Perugia and Rhodes, the focus will be on encouraging a whole new set of tourists to visit Sardinia.
Similar efforts are being made at Alghero-Fertilia and Olbia Costa Smeralda airports – the latter of which recently announced that it will be launching two new routes this summer: one thrice-weekly to Paris Orly with easyJet, commencing July 10, and a second weekly connection to London Heathrow, which will be managed by British Airways on behalf of tour operator Sardatur Holidays, starting on May 21.
Diverse attractions
As they fly in to Sardinia, new visitors are often surprised by its diverse topography. Most decide to take a holiday to the island – which lies equidistant between Italy and Tunisia, approximately 200km from each coastline – because they’ve heard about its vast swathes of sandy beaches. On their descent to Sardinia, however, they also see tall, rocky cliffs, remnants of Roman and Punic settlements, a smattering of picturesque medieval walled towns and lush green plains – all dwarfed by the immense Gennargentu Mountain Range that dominates the centre of the island.
At 6,017ft, Punta La Marmora – the tallest of the Gennargentu Mountains – is not exactly comparable with the Alps. Yet this and the other peaks, which are obscured by snow from November through to March and even have their own ski resort, do present some interesting alternative holidays for those who don’t simply want to ‘fly and flop’.
Adventure holidays
Heather Godbert, Italian programme manager at Headwater – a UK-based specialist walking, cycling and canoeing tour operator, believes that those looking for activity holidays won’t be disappointed with Sardinia.
“It’s got some excellent and very diverse walking,” she says. “You can go from untouched mountains through forest trails, alongside river valleys, past prehistoric sites down to relatively unknown coastal paths, with a chance to see some great flora and fauna along the way, including wild horses, cork trees and oleander.”
Luigi Crisponi – the Sardinian councillor responsible for tourism – agrees, stating that adventure tourism based on walking, watersports and even horse riding is beginning to gain traction on the island.
“Adventure tourism represents a huge opportunity for the development of Sardinia, [particularly as] it’s a sector where the biggest tourist figures are gained during low season periods,” he says. “Active tourists are aware and responsible, with a high spending [capacity] and high cultural [standards]. Sardinia has enormous territorial and cultural resources to feed this segment. Adventure tourism guarantees regular income every month of the year and helps [build awareness of] Sardinian territories which, up to now, have been scarcely known.”
Food and wine tourism
Adventure holidays aren’t the only types that are growing in popularity on Sardinia. The island has built up a well-deserved reputation for its food and wine, which are quite distinct from mainland Italy. Chief exports include Vermentino di Sardegna – a light, citrusy white wine; the lemon-flavoured liqueur Limoncello; and Torrone: a Sardinian version of nougat. But with local menus including more unusual delicacies such as Porcheddu – roasted suckling pig cooked with aromatic herbs – and Seada – a sweet ravioli-like dessert, filled with cheese and lemon rind and served with honey – there is plenty to tempt the gastronomic traveller.
“The hotels and resorts we feature in our brochures have a focus on food,” says Bella Smith, marketing manager at the tour operator Kirker Holidays. “Sardinia only represents about 5% of our total Italy holiday operation, but we’re finding that more and more people that are going there are looking for something different. They don’t necessarily just want a beach holiday anymore. They’re interested in different cultural angles – and food is one of those.”
One property in Kirker’s brochure that pays particular attention to gastronomy is Forte Village Resort – host to Routes Europe 2011 – which features 21 restaurants, three of which are affiliated with Michelin-starred chefs.
“Food tourism is growing quickly in Sardinia,” says Lorenzo Giannuzzi, managing director at the resort. “People come here mainly because they want to enjoy the sub-tropical climate and the beautiful golden beaches. But they are also [becoming] more interested in trying dishes that are unique to the island. They’re starting to see it as a gastronomic destination in the same way they look at places like Tuscany.”
With an emerging culinary and adventure tourism market, an increasing number of routes being developed by airlines like Ryanair and a growing influx of tourists from brand new territories such as Asia (+7%), North America (+14%) and Russia (+15%) – acquired through the tourist board’s concerted marketing campaigns at international travel fairs, it is little surprise that new hotels are being developed and older ones being refurbished throughout the island of Sardinia.
The biggest brand-name property development in 2010 was the 124-bed Doubletree by Hilton in Olbia, which opened in April of that year. Those due to come online in 2011 include the boutique Canai Resort and Spa on the tiny island of Sant’Antioco off the south-west coast.
For its part, Forte Village Resort is forging ahead with its continual renovation and expansion programme, which this year will include the building of a new villa, 12 new suites and 30 luxury rooms.
“It is true that low-cost carriers are responsible for much of the tourism coming in to Sardinia,” says Giannuzzi. “But the island is still considered to be one of the most exclusive holiday destinations in the Mediterranean. That is the reason we are continually updating our resort – to provide the five-star accommodation people want.
“There are strict building regulations here [preventing] the development of very large properties that will spoil the beautiful countryside. That does have an impact on how many tourists Sardinia can take,” he adds. “But that is part of the appeal of the island. It remains exclusive. It remains unspoilt. It is a destination people really dream about visiting.”
This issue appears in Routes News 2011 Issue 3
