If you say Sardinia, you say Porto Cervo. And so Sardinia Resorts of the Smeralda Holding group of Tamin bin Hamad Al-Thani, sovereign of the richest country in the world, Qatar. For four years the fund of the ruling family is the dominus of tourism in Sardinia and in particular of the Costa Smeralda with its 4 hotels among the most luxurious in the world including the famous Cala di Volpe. The heritage also consists of the Porto Cervo marina and the renowned Pevero Golf Club, as well as 2,300 hectares of immaculate land overlooking the sea. After a period of settling, the sovereigns of Qatar have identified the right man to entrust the helm of a crazy heritage and responds to the name of Mario Ferraro.
After a first period as general manager, last May he was appointed CEO of the group. Ferraro is the new face of Sardinia, has a great experience having held prestigious positions as a manager of luxury hotels, including the revival of the Molino Stucky in Venice, reopened by the Hilton after a dramatic fire. But where it is highlighted in the Emirates, with the inauguration of a Conrad in Dubai. It is here that the sovereign family realizes that he is the right man to give a course and a new face to that treasure called Costa Smeralda. Ferraro now talks to Nautical Trends, he does it in this interview by drawing balance sheets, but above all by offering a vision of what will or should be the future of Sardinia and the Costa Smeralda.
Dr. Ferraro, to begin with, the summer season 2016 has just been sent to the archives, what is the budget that you draw from your privileged observatory?
“Certainly an extraordinary season: for a series of factors, in fact, ranging from geopolitics that has severely penalized many countries in Europe, primarily France, and in the world to glamor trends and lifestyle of the moment that have brought top-class guests to choose Italy for the holidays in the summer months, the coasts and the cities of the Belpaese are back to being destination and destination of a very high number of Italian and international tourists. Specifically, the Costa Smeralda has ended a more than positive season, with a + 18% and an expected + 12% for 2017, and Sardinia in general which, as stated by the Regional Tourism Councilor, has increased in the last two years incoming flows of about 20% and this year the per capita spending capacity on the island has also increased “.
Starting with the mayor of Arzachena, Ragnedda, to continue with the Tourism Councilor of the Sardinia Region, Morandi and end with what was said by Minister Franceschini, the central theme of the debate on island tourism seems to be to understand
how to lengthen tourist seasonality. Do you think Sardinia has the potential to be a tourist 365 days a year? And if so, what should be done to make it attractive in the 12 months?
“I believe that Sardinia, as well as the Costa Smeralda, have great potential to build, over time, an offer that aims to involve
tourists over 12 months. As for the lengthening of the season, I think it is necessary to give life to a diversification of the offer
to attract new segments and customers in other seasons:
I think of wellness centers or spas, hotels suitable for congresses, golf and others, all elements that contribute to the deseasonalisation of tourist flows.
Closely connected and not less important is the improvement of infrastructures and services:
from the equipped beaches, to the roads and parking lots.
To increase the numbers, it is necessary to study new forms of accessibility, with the creation of new routes and an increase of existing national ones and European, not only in the high season, but above all mid-season: in this sense I believe that the arrival of the new partner for the main carrier in Sardinia, can bring new scenarios of network development, Italian and European connections. Finally we must think and create a rich calendar of events, with different offers and aimed at multiple targets. We can not however think that it is an immediate process, it is clearly to be carried out in phases and degrees, proceeding almost month after month “.
Several times you have declared that Sardinia Resorts and more generally Qatar Holding are ready to play their role because Costa Smeralda and Porto Cervo can have a further moment of growth, what are the projects and initiatives included in your five-year program?
“Our business plan proceeds exactly in the direction of product diversification and innovation: for the medium term and in the coming years we aim to enrich the offer of our four hotels, creating a SPA, a cooking school and other services, renewing the food and beverage proposal
and enhancing existing sports facilities; we also aim to involve an audience and a young target, through targeted partnerships, to the conception and organization of multidisciplinary and very transversal events (music, art, sports) in the off season. Differentiation and innovation become keywords
also in the food & beverage, introducing the major international catering brands in Costa Smeralda, such as Novikov, opened this year at Cala di Volpe. Among our projects there will be the redevelopment and diversification of the structure of the Cervo Tennis Club, which from a simple tennis club will propose itself as a key component, in its own right, of the Costa Smeralda destination, as a center for sporting activities and events, where will find spaces, innovative, dedicated to catering. Some of these strategic choices are obviously also oriented towards the challenge of lengthening our tourist season “.
With regards to Porto Cervo, in the last issue of Nautical Trends, the president of Nautica Italiana, Lamberto Tacoli, said that the Costa Smeralda could be one of the possible locations to create a new big nautical event. What do you think?
“The Costa Smeralda is one of the most exclusive destinations in the world, which already hosts important sporting events related to the sea: I believe that there is space to devise and promote, even at international level, an event as proposed by President Tacoli. In general, I believe that any initiative that, shared with local institutions and administrations and institutions, goes in the direction of enhancing this marvelous territory without distorting it, will be welcome “.
In terms of real estate investments, you have always said to wait for the new urban planning law of the Sardinia Region. What do you expect and what would the new law require to design the urban future of the island?
“We do not expect anything, in the sense that we are interested only in the certainty of the rules, in order to define, subsequently and consequently, with the shareholder the interventions in our business plan. Our company is interested in investing in long-term development plans and development of the Costa Smeralda, based on three essential principles:
respect for laws, the environment and local identity. The investments in Costa Smeralda want, and will have to give, a contribution to the growth of the local economy and to create opportunities, entrepreneurial and professional, with priority for the municipalities of the Costa Smeralda and the Sardinian territory in general “.
Waiting for the new law to be a reality, what investments have you put in place since now?
“We have focused a lot on the hotels, which represent the supporting structures of the Costa Smeralda: a revival of the destination must also pass from the enhancement of the existing and from the strengthening of the tourist offer. Renovation and modernization of real estate assets, in full harmony and the utmost respect for the territory, traditions and the Sardinian population, which with great care and attention has always guarded the beautiful natural heritage of the Costa Smeralda and in line with the highest standards of environmental sustainability, which characterize everywhere in the world investments of the sovereign fund of Qatar “.
Will the Starwood-Marriot merger change anything in the management and strategy of the four Sardinia Resorts hotels? If so, what?
“There are opportunities for the owner (the owner, ed) and for the diversification of the brand. Property and manager as always work in synergy to maximize the full potential of the resort and destination, and together seek new growth opportunities for our activities. The figures of these last years, with revenues in constant growth, confirm that we are proceeding in the right direction ”
(Nautical Trend, November 2016)