Active Italy: The Manifesto for Active and Sustainable Tourism in Italy

Active Italy promotes responsible and active tourism that respects the environment and traditions.

At the end of May, we told you about Active Italy, a working group of tour operators and companies operating in the active and sustainable tourism sector, which we decided to establish during the lockdown period to formalize a national trade association.

According to Active Italy, "Active and sustainable tourism combines physical or sports activities of any level of difficulty with the travel experience, the knowledge and care of the territory traversed, its culture, and the people who live there, improving the psycho-physical condition of the participants and the life of the communities involved."

The standstill we found ourselves in last spring and the subsequent sharp decline in our sector's economy made us find alternative ways to move forward. We networked, began working on this project with many other organizations that shared our need to create a network capable of representing the sector to the institutions, despite the current historical moment.

Since then, we've made great strides, and this journey is becoming increasingly exciting! On July 30th, we officially formalized the business network in Faenza; today, there are 24 founding companies and tour operators, including us, Verticalife. Last week, at the TTG in Rimini, Italy's most important tourism trade fair for industry professionals, we officially presented the Active Italy network and the Manifesto for Active and Sustainable Tourism.

At the core of the Manifesto are several considerations. Tourism can be a powerful tool to ensure peace, cultural exchange, intellectual and spiritual growth of individuals, and prosperity for peoples. At the same time, tourism is also one of the main causes of environmental and, in some cases, social degradation.

The Manifesto represents a statement of intent that aims to promote a form of tourism that takes all of this into account and encourages, among other things, the preservation of ecosystems and biodiversity, sustainable mobility, local agricultural and craft production, slow tourism, and respect for local communities. All the points of the Manifesto can be found on the dedicated page.

We invite anyone who shares this vision and these intentions to sign it. We are more convinced than ever that the environmental crisis has not stopped due to the recent health crisis; on the contrary, it continues its course despite our attention being entirely focused elsewhere.

For this reason, it is more important than ever to act and think of a new way to experience tourism, creating less impact and consumption but more sustainable development that respects environmental conditions. Sustainable tourism, in our case, active and sustainable, can be the right solution for thinking about the future of tourism.
Because when we are free to travel again, it will make all the difference to do so responsibly!