page_title: Tourism in Sardinia
section_title: History
hierarchical_section_title: Tourism in Sardinia / History
caption_attribution_description: Sardegna - Porto Cervo By --Shardan 16:59, 14 September 2007 (UTC)
context_page_description: Sardinia is the second largest island in the Mediterranean Sea and an autonomous region of Italy. Tourism in Sardinia is one of the fastest growing sectors of the regional economy. The island attracts more than a million tourists from both Italy, from the rest of Europe, and, to a lesser degree, from the rest of the world. According to statistics, tourist arrivals in 2016 were 2.9 million people.
context_section_description: Modern tourism in Sardinia began in 1948, when the first investments and development plans were started in conjunction with the acquisition of autonomous region status and the definitive defeat of malaria along the coast. The first promotions and infrastructural achievements were implemented through the Sardinian Tourism Industries Organization (ESIT), which promoted and financed the construction of hotels, including the Miramar Hotel in Alghero (1953). 
  The growth of the tourism industry began in the early 1960s, when Porto Cervo was founded by the Aga Khan in Costa Smeralda at the municipality of Arzachena, which became the symbol of tourism development for the island. Architects such as Luigi Vietti, Michele Busiri Vici and Jacques Couelle contributed to the realization of the various developments. Porto Cervo was soon followed by Porto Rotondo, Romazzino, Cala di Volpe and Porto Raphael. As Costa Smeralda became more established among the international jet set, the race for the construction of tourist resorts began in many coastal towns on the island.
  A myriad of other nearby developments with similar offerings followed, such as Baja Sardinia and Liscia di Vacca. The sector developed in the rest of Sardinia as well, until it became one of the main sectors of the island's economic activities.
caption: View of Porto Cervo
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