The Many Reasons that Make Sardegna One of the World’s Most Beautiful Islands
By Massimo Terracina
This “magical” big island in the Mediterranean sea is worth a visit as a tourist, but lately also as a “mice” (meeting, incentive, congress, exhibition industry).
“The issue of the seasonal adjustment -says Nicola Pala, Sardinia’s Mice Network Co-founder & Director (www.micesardinia.it)- has always been important to the regional tourism, highly dependent to the summer sea season. That is why we planned to build a network of enterprises (currently 35) able to propose a different angle to our splendid land, working on a different layer of hospitality, devoted to mice and off season products.”
A case in point is the recent educational tour realized by Sardinia Mice Network, promoted by Aeroporto di Olbia Costa Smeralda (https://www.geasar.it/) and financed by Sardinia Regional Council (www.sardegnaturismo).
This Barbagia Experience, in Sardinian dialect called the “Cortes Apertas” which means “open courtyards”, is promoted and coordinated by Nuoro Chamber of Commerce (www.nu.camcom.it) which staged also the “Binu” (www.cuoredellasardegna.it/binu) to explore the fall events in order to meet the charming inner region, Barbagia.
The Cortes Apertas offers the public the possibility to access the private courtyards of the historic houses in selected little towns. These courtyards are home to the craftsmen illustrating their work, such as the wool processing, threshing, harvesting grain, wood carving and decoration of ceramics.
“The first edition took place in Oliena in 1996 - Pala adds - and today, Cortes Apertas, involves 27 little towns in the province of Nuoro on the weekends, from September to December, an original way to celebrate the arrival of autumn.”
The inhabitants of these little towns invite tourists to learn more about the old arts and crafts passed down with great care and preciseness. Cortes Apertas are very interesting itineraries for those who want to get in touch with the authentic heart of the island, a source of beauty and charm unaltered over centuries.
“The mission of the “Sardinia Mice Network” is to coordinate the supply of its 35 members in offering the best opportunities for event’s planning and management in Sardinia island within the meeting industry.”
The network selected some categories of players - hotels with 60 to 500 rooms and congress rooms with 50 to 1000 seats, congress center with capacity from 30 to 1600 seats, historic mansions with meeting rooms (20/180 seats) and banquet capacity of up to 1000 guests, PCO and DMC, congress services, audio-video technologic tools, settings and shows, airport services, transfer companies, excursion companies, team building and entertainment.
Along with Nicola Pala, with two decades of experience in events and territorial marketing, Emanuele Cabras runs expertise in projects and European fundraising and international partnerships.
We had the pleasure to visit Oniferi where local experience gave us the privilege to live the warm hospitality of villages as Teti, Fonni, Burgos and, of course, Olbia the very gateway through the Costa Smeralda Airport (https://www.geasar.it/), an important partner, well connected via Air Italy (www.airitaly.com) to many national and international airports.
