Strategies for territorial development and tourism against the depopulation of rural areas in Sardinia (Italy)

Abstract

The depopulation of rural areas is a problem for many European regions, including Sardinia (Italy), where several villages are in danger of disappearing. Different policies are being implemented to strengthen their competitiveness, and this paper aims to highlight the opportunities offered using various strategies. Therefore, the main territorial development projects promoted in Sardinia and the role of tourism in the search to make rural areas more attractive will be analysed. All the data will be treated with the Geographic Information Systems (GIS). Research confirms that rural areas, despite being rich in cultural, en-vironmental and historical resources, have been unable to exploit them as well as they could for tourism purposes. However, there are several funds that can be used, and, in the conclusions, some useful considerations are given to make these areas more attractive to tourists and try to halt the demographic decline.