Page 5 - EAI-4_2015_9_11

related to the proximity of the islands to
the coast with a tourist flow, often only
daily, from the centers of Trapani, Marsala
and Palermo.
FIGURE 2 Tourist presence 2003-2011
The city of Favignana has had a strong
growth in tourism over the past decades
(Figure 2). Consider that it has gone from
23 years in the sector “hotel-restaurants”
(with 33 employees) in 1971 to 81 stores
and 364 employees in 2012 for the same
sector. The tourist flow in the Municipality
of Favignana is concentrated in a few
months of the year, causing great pressure
on the environment. The main form of
hospitality that has been developed on the
three islands, especially in recent years, is
in private homes given for rent in the whole
season summer (only in Favignana there
are about 1,600 dwellings used especially
for seasonal stays, bot by the owners of the
houses and by seasonal tourists).
This kind of hospitality is particularly
developed in Levanzo and Marettimo, which
have a limited number of residences or hotels.
The recent“Report on Tourism in the Province
of Trapani period 2012-2013” of the Province
of Trapani also reports the data of 2011 and
estimates for 2012, highlighting the growth of
tourism that seems enhanced in the following
years (2013 and early 2014). This growth is
particularly significant in terms of arrivals
(+7% in 2009-2012) and much less in terms
of attendance (only 0.8% increase over the
same period) because of a reduction of the
average stay (which decreased by 5.8%
in the period 2009-2012). The presence of
foreigners has increased by 48.9% in terms of
arrivals and 45.7% in terms of attendance,and
has compensated for the decrease of Italian
tourists in terms of attendance (-2% between
2009 and 2012). As already stated elsewhere
above, the primary concern of local tourism
is related to the high concentration of flows,as
shown in the graph (Figure 3).
FIGURE 3 Data tourist arrivals in 2013 (ENEA
processing data APT Trapani)
This concentration exerts the strongest
tourist-related pressures on the environment
(waste, water consumption, waste water,
traffic, etc.) and promotes depopulation.
Exacerbated by territorial discontinuity
which involves a huge increase in marine
traffic, especially in the case of Favignana
and Levanzo (closer to the coast), the
tourist impact is worsened by the presence
of numerous boats that come daily from
cities and seaside resorts nearby with
heavy consequences affecting a sea
of extraordinary merit but also highly
vulnerable, that is rightly protected by the
presence of the largest marine protected
area in Europe ever.
11EAI Energia, Ambiente e Innovazione 4/2015