5 Tips On How To Be A Responsible Tourist In Italy

This is a collaborative post.

Italy is a beautiful country no doubt, both the natural wonders and the cultural heritage makes Italy one of the most travelled place on Earth. But we all know that mass tourism is very harmful for the host places and so we all need to be more mindful when it comes to travel. In fact green travel practices should become mainstream. Looks like, in Italy it’s already happening. Launched by Alfonso Pecoraro Scanio during the Green Pride of 2017, in Italy responsible tourism means not only respecting the environment, but also the promotion of local activities and services. So here are a few tips how to make your Italy holiday more sustainable.

Buy local, eat local, be Italian

Become an Italian and stop being a tourist for the time of your stay! Eat at locally owned and operated trattorias that use Italian products. It will help to the local economy to strive and you won’t add to greenhouse gas emissions. When buying souvenirs, make sure you buy from artisans and independently-owned shops – you will help keep alive centuries-old traditions.

Travel by train

Italy has a fantastic rail system. Train journeys generate about 10 times less carbon dioxide per passenger than flying plus you’ll get to see all those spectacular views from the window. If you’re travel light and accept that timetables can change is any minute (especially on the minor routes), this is a perfect way to experience slow tourism. The coastlines, especially the southern coast and Cinque Terre is can be discovered on this very romantic way.

Visit National Parks

Italy has 24 national parks throughout the country, covering 5% of the total land. These are protected natural lands so there are rules how can we visit them. These rules are to ensure that the environmental values of national parks are protected and preserved while being enjoyed. Some of the best ones in Italy are: 

• Cinque Terre National Park
• Stelvio National Park
• Gargano National Park
• National Park of Abruzzo
• Belluno Dolomites National Park

Astrotourism

New to this? Astrotourism is getting big in Italy. An Italian project, Astronomitaly, has collected a list of the perfect destinations to look at the stars in HD, including Tuscany, Abruzzi, Sicily and Umbria. As you know, for being able to see the stars you need the sky to be clear, free from light and air pollution. This is a fun and very eco-friendly way of discovering special places in Italy.

Go off the beaten path

Whilst it’s great to visit the most famous places and sites like the Colosseum and Capri – these places are already suffering from the continuous, large number of visitors. Also, often less visited places and hidden gems are more likely to make you feel less of a tourist but more of a local – this way you can really experience of being an Italian for a week or two. A few ideas for this:

• San Fruttosa
• Matera
• Trieste
• Lecce
• Lenno