An Integrated Analysis of Sustainable Tourism in Sicily (Italy)

Sustainable development is the driving force for social, ecological, economic, and durable development, as prescribed by the UN Agenda 2030 to spur economic growth and tackle climate change. Similarly, sustainable tourism requires an integrated approach in the surrounding area; local policies have a crucial role in planning and managing the tourist destination in several aspects. The lack of those policies may leave the management of touristification to private businesses, causing progressive deterioration of the assets such as environmental impact; for instance, it could overload the carrying capacity. Italy has the highest number of UNESCO acknowledgments in the world. Thanks to the brand UNESCO contains, the prominent acknowledgment can attract more tourists than heritage would do without the acknowledgment. On the other hand, to guarantee the durability of the heritage without compromising the sites, UNESCO requires adopting a management plan for the sustainable development of the local area. Policymakers, citizens, and private businesses should consider the management plan for a stable economy and society structured in a healthy environment. Still, the implementation of those politics and tourism management is limited. This work aims to explore the pathway for sustainable development in Sicily (Italy) by analyzing the weakness and strengths of local policy adopted in the theoretical framework of sustainability and will explore the state of the art of sustainable tourism implemented to identify further steps toward Sicily’s transformation. The considerable offer of the cultural attractions and natural beauty of Sicily embodies a vital development potential that would offer an opportunity for sustainable development in terms of jobs in hospitality and its spin-off by reducing the unemployment rate. But the multiple heritage with the brand UNESCO and the other heritage occurred in Sicily would not allow alone adequate progress of the region; it is necessary to have the adoption of a common and integrated strategy for policymakers regarding (a) education and training strategy to have high-qualified workers, (b) the development infrastructure and sharing mobility, (c) service and facility for vulnerable visitors such as disabled or elderly people, (d) reinforcement of the local economy, local food, and traditional handcraft. This research contributes to defining how to implement sustainable development at the territorial or regional level following an integrated and strategic policy, supporting strategy of growth, overcoming single and restricted development policies that appear to be blaze for economies and communities. The SDGs of the UN Agenda 2030 represent a milestone for sustainable tourism by enforcing environmental and cultural heritage.