Sardinia is the richest island of all with its heritage that extends from the sea to the inland areas. It is precisely from here that a project was born that aims to be a tool for the promotion and development of the Sardinian hinterland, starting from their cultural specificities. The program in question is called “Sardinia – Il Cuore”, born from the synergy of the GAL BMG and Barigadu Guilcer and the Sarcidano Barbagia Mountain Community of Seulo. An initiative that is gaining ground and is gaining consensus following the latest results obtained: a quality and service charter to guarantee minimum reception standards; and a promotion app that should be available starting this year. In addition, “Sardinia – Il Cuore” carried out 94 local meetings with more than 100 actors involved including businesses, accommodation facilities, restaurants, guides, artisans, tourist services and transport. The team is growing as demonstrated not only by the agreement between the two LAGs but also by the arrival of another important member such as the LAG Barbagia Sarcidano di Seulo which has signed a strategic memorandum of understanding for the five-year period 2023 – 2027.
The area is that of the three Barbagie – Ollolai, Belvì and Seulo -, Mandrolisai, Gennargentu, Sarcidano, Guilcier and Barigadu. Among the main objectives, the aim is to increase the membership of new operators to the network (there are now 92), and to expand the services from the translation of contents into English and Sardinian, the increase in new functions of the digital app and participation in international fairs to promote the territory.
Ilenia Vacca, president of Gal Bmg, believes in the project to «converge one’s strategies on common objectives by capitalizing on the path already undertaken with mutual satisfaction is already an extraordinary result. In addition to having the conditions to look together in the same direction, we are already working to expand the network of local operators who want to actively contribute to shaping the products and networking.”
At the moment, in addition to three LAGs, there are strategic partners participating in the program: the Sarcidano Barbagia Mountain Community of Seulo, the Nuoro Chamber of Commerce, the Oristano-Cagliari Chamber of Commerce, the Gennargentu Mandrolisai Mountain Community, the Province of Oristano, the Province of Southern Sardinia, the Province of Nuoro and the Union of Barbagia Municipalities.
The first result of this was the establishment of the Quality Charter for tourist services, created together with around a hundred tourist operators to increase the standards of hospitality for visitors in Sardinia. The agreement will in fact define minimum quality requirements for the different categories that intend to join the project. Each element will be divided into three groups: those common to all categories, specific ones mandatory for each category and the requirements that serve to increase the quality of services. We talk about a foreign language for the accommodation facilities, controlled supply chain products, and a reading corner to consult books and local guides.
