Turismo sostenibile nelle aree protette. Il caso del parco naturale dell’Etna

The 10% of Italian territory consists of protected areas and tourism is an opportunity for sustainable development planning of these areas. Unlike in the past, local people show an interest in planning environmentally friendly forms of tourism that are useful to the sustainability of economic activities, with the provision of tourist and cultural services which enhance local resources, strengthening structures eco-sustainable accommodations. The year 2010 was very bad for the Italian tourist market, but the segment “nature-tourism” has shown a counter trend, with a +0.51% of presences against the -2% of the total figure. Preferences for protected areas as a tourist destination are approximately one third of the total segment. In Sicily, the area of Mount Etna, the largest active volcano in Europe, is a tourist destination until the time of the Grand Tour and still now is a strong tourist destination for differentiated types of winter and summer tourisms. In the Etna Park the number of accommodation facilities is now higher than that of other regional parks in Sicily, thanks mainly to the creation of non-hotel structures. In fact, while in the Alcantara River Park, near Taormina, insists a large number of hotel businesses (thus adding almost 50% of all hotels of the four regional parks areas), it is precisely in the territory of the Etna Park, which is recorded the highest concentration of non-hotel accommodation, B&Bs and farmhouses, which have reused existing buildings, reducing the environmental impact a lot.