TOURISM IN PARKS

Update date
Authors

Giovanni Finocchiaro, Daria Gorozhankina, Silvia Iaccarino, Francesca Palomba

Italian parks host approximately 20.2% of all accommodation establishments and 24.5% of total bed capacity within their territories.

This indicator analyzes accommodation supply (number of establishments and beds) and tourism flows (arrivals and overnight stays) in national and regional parks, also highlighting the pressure exerted on these areas.

The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas (ECST) has been awarded to 80% of national parks and around 11.2% of regional parks.

Description

The indicator examines:

  • Accommodation supply (number of establishments and beds).
  • Tourism flows (overnight stays of domestic and foreign visitors).
  • Tourism intensity (overnight stays per inhabitant) in municipalities whose territory is partially or entirely within national and regional parks.

Data for provincial capital municipalities is excluded, as tourism in these cities is not solely attributable to the presence of parks.

The analysis covers 25 national parks and 143 regional parks, as listed on www.parks.it.

The indicator also includes the number of parks awarded the European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas (ECST), a methodological tool and certification coordinated by EUROPARC Federation.

The ECST promotes collaboration among stakeholders to develop a shared strategy and action plan for sustainable tourism, based on a thorough analysis of the local situation.

Its objectives include:

  • Preserving natural and cultural heritage.
  • Improving tourism management in protected areas.
  • Benefiting the environment, local communities, businesses, and visitors.

The growing importance of sustainable tourism development has been highlighted in the Guidelines for Sustainable International Tourism of the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Purpose

To provide key information on:

  • Tourism supply (accommodation capacity) to assess the size of the tourism sector in a location.
  • Tourism demand (tourism flows) to understand the pressure on the territory and infrastructure.
Policy relevance and utility for users
It is able to describe the trend without necessarily providing an evaluation of it.
It is simple and easy to interpret.
It provides a representative overview of environmental conditions, environmental pressures, and societal responses.
It provides a basis for international comparisons
Analytical soundness
Be theoretically well founded in technical and scientific terms
Temporal comparability
Spatial comparability
Measurability (data)
Adequately documented and of known quality
An “adequate” spatial coverage
An “appropriate” temporal coverage
Main regulatory references and objectives

There are no specific regulatory references or targets for this indicator.
DPSIR
Driving force
State
Indicator type
Descriptive (A)
References

www.parks.it http://demo.istat.it/
Data source

www.parks.it
Data collection frequency
Yearly
Data availabilty

www.parks.it

www.istat.it
Spatial coverage

National, Regional
Time coverage

2017-2022
Processing methodology
  • Data includes total numbers, percentages, and ratios.
  • Regional parks that include provincial capitals are excluded, as tourism in these cities is not solely linked to parks.
  • 143 regional parks are analyzed instead of 146 (as per www.parks.it).
Update frequency
Year
Data quality

This indicator is highly relevant as it allows in-depth analysis of key tourism indicators in environmentally significant areas such as national and regional parks.

The data sources ensure good accuracy and comparability over time and space.

Status
Medium
Trend
Negative
State assessment/description

In 2022, Italian parks hosted:

  • 45,391 total accommodation establishments.
  • 1,274,918 total beds (Tables 1 and 2).

The European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas (ECST) was awarded to:

  • 80% of national parks (20 out of 25).
  • Approximately 11.2% of regional parks (Table 5).
Trend assessment/description

Between 2017 and 2019, tourism pressure increased, measured as the ratio of overnight stays to the resident population.

This trend was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but in 2022, values returned close to 2017 levels (Figure 2).

Between 2017 and 2022, the average number of beds per municipality in national and regional parks showed continuous growth (Figure 1).
Comments

Italy currently has 25 national parks and 146 regional parks, with regional parks primarily concentrated in:

  • Lombardy (16.8% of the total).
  • Piedmont (15.4%).
  • Emilia-Romagna (9.8%).
  • Lazio (9.8%) (Table 2, Figure 3).

The highest number of accommodation establishments in regional parks is located in Trentino-Alto Adige (17.7%), which also has:

  • The highest total number of beds (17.1%).
  • The highest tourism intensity (overnight stays per inhabitant), reaching 124.1.
  • Other high-ranking regions include Emilia-Romagna (13.9%), Veneto (10.8%), and Puglia (10.7%) (Tables 2, 4, Figures 4 and 5).

In the 143 regional parks, the average number of accommodation establishments per municipality is 25.5, while the average number of beds is approximately 663.4 (Table 2).

Among the 25 national parks, the largest number of accommodation establishments is found in:

  • Stelvio National Park (15.2%).
  • Cilento, Vallo di Diano, and Alburni National Park (12.5%).
  • Gargano National Park (10.7%).
  • Tuscan Archipelago National Park (8.1%) (Table 1).

The average number of establishments per municipality in national parks is 20.8, with the highest density recorded in Cinque Terre National Park (188 accommodation establishments per municipality in 2022).

Cinque Terre also had the highest tourism intensity (overnight stays per inhabitant), reaching 119.7 (Table 3).

Regarding bed capacity, the average number of beds per municipality in national parks is approximately 726.1.

In terms of both percentage of total beds in the 25 national parks and average number of beds per municipality, Gargano National Park ranks highest (Table 1).
Data
Data
Tabella 1 capacita ricettiva parchirev.xlsx (15.916 KB)
Headline

Table 1: Accommodation capacity in national parks (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT and www.parks.it data
Tabella 2_capacita ricettiva regionale parchirev.xlsx (16.965 KB)
Headline

Table 2: Accommodation capacity in regional parks (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT and www.parks.it data

Note

For some municipalities, the number of arrivals and overnight stays has been estimated based on the percentage distribution of beds.
a On the Parks.it website, the number of regional parks is 146. For processing purposes, 3 parks were excluded according to the applied methodology, as they include provincial capital municipalities:

  • The "Rauccio Forest and Marshes Regional Natural Park", which includes only the capital municipality of Lecce;

  • The "Bosco Incoronata Regional Natural Park", which includes only the capital municipality of Foggia;

  • The "Punta Contessa Salt Pan Regional Park", which includes only the capital municipality of Brindisi.
Tabella 3_parchi_ADA23 (1).xlsx (16.462 KB)
Headline

Table 3: Tourism intensity in national parks (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT and www.parks.it data

 

Note

For some municipalities, the number of arrivals and overnight stays has been estimated based on the percentage distribution of beds.
Tabella 4_intensita turistica parchi regionalirev.xlsx (16.202 KB)
Headline

Table 4: Tourism intensity in regional parks (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT and www.parks.it data

Note

a On the Parks.it website, the number of regional parks is 146. In this case, 143 are considered, since 3 parks were excluded as they include provincial capital municipalities (excluded from the applied methodology):

  • The "Rauccio Forest and Marshes Regional Natural Park" includes only the capital municipality of Lecce;

  • The "Bosco Incoronata Regional Natural Park" includes only the capital municipality of Foggia;

  • The "Punta Contessa Salt Pan Regional Park" includes only the capital municipality of Brindisi.
Tabella5_parchi_ADA2023 certificazione def.xlsx (12.664 KB)
Headline

Table 5: Italian parks with CTES certification “European Charter for Sustainable Tourism in Protected Areas” (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on www.parks.it and www.federparchi.it data
Headline

Figure 1: Distribution of the average municipal number of beds in regional and national parks

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT.it and parks.it data
Headline

Figure 2: Distribution of the presence/resident population ratio by type of natural park

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT.it and parks.it data
Headline

Figure 3: Total number of regional parks by region (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT.it and parks.it data
Headline

Figure 4: Percentage distribution of accommodation establishments in regional parks in Italy (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT.it and parks.it data
Headline

Figure 5: Tourism intensity in regional parks (2022)

Data source

ISPRA processing on ISTAT.it and parks.it data