Summer, good forecasts for the season and for tourism: clear sea in Calabria with boats to prevent capsizing

Fifty-six million visitors from June to September and the trend is rising. According to the Outdoor Tourism Observatory, the Italian summer will have long-lasting effects. Employment and GDP will grow in particularly attractive regions. The condition of the sea and beaches has improved despite variable temperatures due to climate change and the less-than-perfect health of the Mediterranean Sea. However, local tourism is growing and the recent awarding of Blue Flags coincides with the Observatory’s forecasts.

In the Flag ranking, after Liguria, there are three Southern Regions in the top places: Puglia, Campania, Calabria. Not bad, considering the lazy and sad image the media paints. Please note that the praise of tour operators and holidaymakers is focused on Calabria. Reservations in villages, hotels and campsites are at a good level. In the first year, the region received 20 Blue Flags Diamond (ancient city of murals) as a fascinating symbol of the Region. For the fourth year in a row, it has won recognition, but is also popular and is plastic-free and maintains two wings in the Legambiente Blue Guide.

Proximity tourism

Former Forza Italia deputy Roberto Occhiuto has been managing the Region since October 2021 and has devoted a significant part of its program to sustainable tourism. From the upper Cosenza area to the province of Reggio Calabria there are villages and resorts owned by international companies that have started investing again. This year the sea is protected by “Pelikan System”, i.e. 6 boats patrolling the coast. Yes, the 800 km long coastline makes the region an extraordinary land with hundreds of municipalities overlooking the Tyrrhenian Sea and the Adriatic Sea. Diamante reminds us that these coastlines and dozens of seaports are a resource that must support the regional economy for at least 4 months of the year. Fortunately, after twenty years, the A3 motorway – Salerno-Reggio Calabria – allows us to drive up to 130 kilometers per hour. Blue sea? The region has launched a campaign against illegal dumping and other environmental crimes. The portal is available to everyone and allows you to report and condemn crimes. “Our tour operators, especially hoteliers, point to a market where tourists’ interest in ethical and sustainable tourism has increased,” he says. Ernest the Greatformer senator of Italia Viva and mayor of Diamante.

Does all this attention have an economic impact? Here, the clean sea flag is worth at least 20% more turnout, and this year this share may increase up to 30%. “Our flag represents one of those cases, I can say it with pride, where ethics, economics and the environment come together happily and in the interest of the community,” adds the mayor.

“The sky is getting bluer”

The pandemic has weakened the tourism system, the economic power of which has eluded the inhabitants of the Region themselves for years. However, they must represent the essence of the welcome, offering a favorable exchange of words with those arriving from outside: a natural and landscape heritage. If they do this, it will be the best way to overcome old stereotypes and easy reputations. There are bad deals, there are also criminal connections, but we can get out of this. We increasingly meet the epigones of these misfortunes in northern cities, perhaps on board of yachts polluting the sea, and among regional presidents. They have nothing to do with clean and sustainable tourism. Two days ago, the British ambassador to Italy, Lord Edward Llewellyn visiting Reggio Calabria, he expressed his appreciation for what he saw.

The main source of the economy of many cities is tourism. The idea of ​​the “Calabria brand” is cultivated by Calabrian industrialists, but to cope with competition it requires systematic interventions in terms of roads, railways, tourist ports, airports and urban beautification. In 2023, the Region was in last place in terms of GDP in Italy: 19.4 thousand euro per capita. The summer of 2024 makes it clear that to thrive, they must do everything possible from an entrepreneurial, political and environmental perspective. You may remember this illustrious Calabrian Rino Gaetano when he sang “The Sky Is Always Bluer.” Like the sea.