The Sicilian Saga of Rocco Forte Hotels: When Environmentalism Is Used Unscrupulously and the New Sounds Like Old Story in Sicily
I live in the United States and have been hearing for a couple of years now that Rocco Forte Hotels has a serious interested in building a luxury resort with a golf course in Verdura, a village nearby Sciacca (Agrigento province in Sicily). It also says so on Rocco Forte Hotels’ web site. As a matter of fact, I remember that the group was going to open the hotel in December 2006, then the date was postponed to December 2007 and on… I was scratching my head and trying to figure out what was going on. I was welcoming positively that a group like Rocco Forte Hotels was interested in Sicily and interpreting this as a signal of a new page for the island’s tourism. Now, nobody knows if this is ever going to happen.
I am reading that the resort is going to require a total investment of about € 130 million (€ 40 million would be covered by the Italian government with a project called Sviluppo Italia and aimed to sustain tourist developments in depressed economic areas). Apparently, the project is put on hold because of the fiery protest of environmental groups: they think that the golf course is going to alter the natural system of the area. I do not know all the details and I am not going to argue about the right of these protesters to express their fears. I think it is right to do so. However, it seems to be a trend in Italy these days to block everything that is new in the name of environmental causes, even more so in Sicily (but with not the same fanfare, of course). I am an environmentalist and I think that agreements can be found. I come from Sicily and I know how beautiful Sicily can be, but reality is that it is not many times. It is good sustainable tourism gets more attention these days, but I wonder about the role of politics played in the decision of stopping Rocco Forte Hotels from building.
From an economic point of view, golf could be practiced all year-round in Sicily and attract that type of clientele that does not stay in hostels and always looks for the cheapest deal. Attracting business investments is not a Sicilian forte; it has always been the opposite unfortunately. I hope this is not the case once again and common sense is going to enlighten Sicilian people.
Technorati Tags [ sicily | rocco forte | rocco forte hotels | verdura resort | sciacca | sviluppo italia ]
