Sustainable Destination Management
Strategies in the OIC Member Countries
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collection, sustainable mobility, flow management, and lease regulation. The main aims are to
achieve a better management of flow of tourists in some of the most important destinations, to
monitor flows in real time, and to offer smart mobility services for tourists and residents alike.298
MiBACT created FactorYmpresa Turismo, a national program to support and reward innovative
business ideas in the tourism sector. It offers small businesses and aspiring entrepreneurs the
opportunity to access tutoring services and funding, with the aim of providing appropriate tools
to grasp the new market trends, favoring repositioning, innovation, and specialization.299
In 2015, Italy introduced a tax credit system to incentivize the renovation and upgrading of
hotels and other tourism accommodation establishments. The tax credit covers between 30%
and 65% of the cost and focuses on energy efficiency and anti-seismic measures. Since the year
2018, it also benefits renovation projects in green tourism such as campsites and agritourism.
The initial budget allocated for the period 2015-2017 was €170 million, but the program has
been extended until 2020 and the budget increased to €240 million. Alongside this measure,
another tax credit was introduced to support digital technology in tourism.300
To further help tourism businesses to stay competitive, the Ministry published in 2014 the so-
called “Art Bonus Decree”, with a budget of €460million until 2020 allocated to urgent measures
and incentives to help fund the restoration of public cultural patrimony, including digital
tourism activities. The decree includes a tax credit measure to support the restoration and
upgrading of tourism structures to create more efficient and sustainable buildings as well as a
30% tax credit to support digitalization of tourism activities.301
Stakeholder Engagement
In an attempt to coordinate strategies and activities in the Italian tourism industry, public and
private stakeholders came together in 2016 to produce the National Strategic Plan for Tourism
for the period 2017-2022. The Strategic Plan involves all tourism stakeholders and operators
and is the result of a joint effort to counter the somewhat fragmented approach existing until
recently. It provides a clear structure through which the different bodies and stakeholder relate
to improve decision making and policy development. The plan focuses on capacity building,
service quality, and technological and organizational innovation, among other key drivers, which
are integrated in all objectives to favor sustainability in tourism, especially with regards to the
environment and cultural heritage. The plan promotes an integrated and participative
governance and encourages stakeholders to make choices with a view to sustainability.
Ultimately, the plan aims to revitalize Italy’s tourism industry, once again placing the country in
a leading position in the market and strengthening sustainable social and economic
development. It focuses on four major areas: 1) territory and heritage, 2) competitiveness and
employment, 3) putting the tourist at the center, and 4) integration and interoperability. The
298 Directorate-General for Tourism. (2018). Town Meeting: 6 milioni per le grandi destinazioni turistiche. Retrieved from
299 Directorate-General for Tourism. (2017). Factory Tourism. Retrieved from
300 OECD. (2018). Tourism trends and policies 2018. Retrieved from
en.pdf?expires=1540143519&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=89293B789E485F9A785A8768B7ED5241.
301 Directorate-General for Tourism. (2017). Tax credit digitization. Retrieved from