The Municipality of Lipari has commissioned Fondazione Santagata with the drafting of a strategic
plan for sustainable tourism in the Aeolian Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
CONTEXT
In recent years, the Aeolian Islands have seen a strong increase of tourists visiting, especially in the summer, which puts a strain on the natural resources of the territory and risks compromising the balance and natural heritage of the archipelago. To be able to cope with the increase of visitors while safeguarding the well-being of the islands and their inhabitants, the Municipality of Lipari has decided to develop, with the support of Fondazione Santagata, a plan for sustainable tourism in the Aeolian Islands in order to define the objectives and strategies for the development and management of tourist flows in this complex destination.
This archipelago, located in the northeast of Sicily and including Lipari, Vulcano, Salina, Stromboli, Filicudi, Alicudi and Panarea, is a valuable testimony to the volcanic phenomenon and ongoing volcanic activity. Due to these natural features, in 2000 it was included on the UNESCO World Heritage sites List.
GOALS
Aiming to define a strategic plan for the development of sustainable tourism of the UNESCO site Aeolian Islands, the project intends to draft a plan which, basing on the analysis of the context, will identify a development strategy that pursues the following objectives:
- development of adequate tools for the regulation of tourist flows and of transit to and
from the islands; - definition of touristic, commercial, accessibility and internal mobility services that shall meet the needs of both local communities and visitors;
- identification of necessary actions to integrate the services offered by local operators and definition of a coherent and recognisable touristic product;
- programming a training and support plan for local operators for the development and valorisation of a touristic offer that is embedded in the context and that can provide added value to the site;
- definition of visitor management strategies that are respectful of the context;
- national and international positioning of the UNESCO site.
WORK PHASES
The drafting of the strategic plan envisages the following activities:
- preliminary analysis of documents, files/reports and projects that have been carried out or planned by the Municipality of Lipari and by its main stakeholders and partners, in order to define/establish the starting point;
- definition of a strategic plan for sustainable tourism;
- public sharing of goals and tools;
- support to the identification of possible fundraising occasions for the plan of touristic development both in its whole and for individual tasks/elements.
