Puglia Is No. 1 Domestic Summer Tourism Destination

August 7, 2010 on 6:09 pm | In Uncategorized | 2 Comments

Puglia is the leading enjoying summer tourism destination among Italians from other regions in 2010, according to the preliminary statistics from the hospitality trade group Federalberghi (http://www.federalberghi.it/). Among Italian summer vacationers who were surveyed, 10.6% are visiting Puglia, compared to 10% a year ago. Following Puglia are Sardinia at 9.7%, up from 9.6% last year, and Sicily at 8.8% versus 8.5% in 2009.
That Puglia is so attractive to domestic tourists is good news for the region’s economy, but officials and the tourism industry must be careful to maintain the cleanliness of visitor destinations and not allow them to be polluted or littered and thus threaten the future of these beautiful areas. Puglia has much to offer visitors, even beyond its beaches, but the environment is fragile and must be protected.

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  1. Hello and thank you for your informative blog. I, too, fell for Puglia upon first visiting in 2000 and subsequently left NY-LA to purchase a property in the countryside of Ostuni.

    The only aspect that has upset me in regards to Puglia is how often I have seen trash and waste dotting the gorgeous land and coastline. This is committed by the locals and visitors alike.

    I want to return to create an intimate ecological lodge made up in part by restored trullis but mostly by temporary modular luxury tents that will leave little to no impace on the surroundings and blend in perfectly with the nature, the olives and the of course, the trulli.

    I wonder if you can tell me about any specific laws/regulations pertaining to such a business. Or since this involves no newly constructed permanent structures, if it can just fall under “camping” and if so, does that require specific permissions?

    Any insight or advice would be greatly appreciated.

    Comment by Mina — November 4, 2010 #

  2. Hi Mina – Thanks for your very nice note. It’s good to see interest in Puglia, especially from a preservationist point of view. The trash situation is very disappointing, and I’ve brought it up whenever I’ve met with regional and local tourism officials. It’s particularly bad on roads leading away from the Bari airport, which of course is the first thing many visitors see. I’ve also seen numerous historic sites and monuments littered with garbage and spray-painted with graffiti. Very sad.

    As far as I know, any project to accommodate paying guests would fall under the jurisdiction of the region’s tourism commissioner:

    http://www.regione.puglia.it/index.php?page=macroaree&at_id=8&opz=disparee

    The region’s government has been trying for the past few years to control the quality of accommodations after travelers reported bad experiences and it resulted in negative publicity. There also have been efforts toward regulating and licensing tour operators and guides, which the legitimate providers want very badly in order to ensure quality. For many years, Puglia’s tourism industry centered almost exclusively on attracting huge crowds to its beaches, which are famous throughout Europe, because of the revenues they generate, but they’ve given little thought to the negative repercussions. My particular interest is in sustainable tourism away from the beaches, particularly in responsible tourism that protects antiquities and other sensitive sites, and your idea sounds terrific. Puglia has a lot of potential. I wish you success – Jeff

    Comment by Administrator — November 4, 2010 #

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