While protests against mass tourism pop up in popular destinations like Venice and Barcelona, one small island proves tourism can still benefit locals if done the right way.
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00:00They are protesting against mass tourism, against rapidly rising rents on Mallorca,
00:06on the Canary Islands and Barcelona.
00:08The locals are concerned they're being left behind.
00:12They don't benefit from the billions in revenue generated by the large hotel chains.
00:17And they are afraid that more and more tourists will destroy what makes their home unique.
00:22It's just enough.
00:25Everything revolves around tourism and we're becoming impoverished and can't find a place
00:28to live.
00:31Sardinia shows that there is another way.
00:34The small Italian island is home to 1.6 million people.
00:38Last year, 7.5 million tourists vacationed here.
00:43That's a lot.
00:44But it's manageable because Sardinia has made a real effort to ensure that tourism is sustainable
00:50for the island.
00:51Together with restaurant operators, guesthouses and hotels.
00:56Some in the industry started thinking about how to save water, avoid waste and use local
01:01products more than 30 years ago.
01:05Everything that comes to the table either comes from our own garden, vegetables, tomatoes
01:09or simply has very short transportation routes and comes from the island.
01:14Of course, this also applies to fish and meat.
01:16We take whatever we can, 90% with a very short journey.
01:22Up to 1,400 guests can stay at the spacious resort.
01:25Cars are banned here.
01:27Electric buggies are used instead, powered by electricity generated from solar panels
01:32installed on roofs.
01:34Because there is more than enough sun in Sardinia.
01:37Lorenzo Giannuzzi built the resort more than 30 years ago.
01:41Even back then, he was thinking about how to minimize the impact of such a large facility
01:47on the environment.
01:49To make water consumption, for example, 1,000 cubic meters, that's one million liters, are
01:55used here every day.
01:57And drinking water is scarce in Sardinia.
02:00At the end of July, the regional government declared a water emergency on some parts of
02:04the island.
02:05Giannuzzi has his own reservoir with a capacity of 350 million liters.
02:11Normally during the winter, we accumulate enough water to fully provide.
02:17We don't need just to be with the current water.
02:23We just use our reservoir.
02:25So we are self-sufficient.
02:28The island's capital, Cagliari, is an hour's drive away.
02:32With its sights, old town and restaurant, it's a magnet for tourists and a starting
02:37point for beach excursions.
02:40The government on the autonomous region of Sardinia began limiting access to beaches
02:44and sites 10 years ago to protect nature.
02:49It was difficult at the very beginning, it's still difficult nowadays, but there's a different
02:56approach from many of our operators and enterprises to embrace such a philosophy.
03:06The concept works.
03:07The evidence can be seen in many places.
03:10Hardly any holidaymakers walk through the dunes that protect the beaches from erosion.
03:15Because there are signs explaining their function.
03:18But above all, there are large penalties.
03:21And nobody disturbs the flamingos next door either.
03:24It seems many tourists are taking a positive view of the efforts to promote sustainable
03:29tourism.
03:31Many of them come back for that very reason.