Letter from Sardinia: Exploring International Summer Week’s Exchange Program

International Summer Week brings more than 150 people from all over world to Sardinia for a week to promote cultural exchange and help travelers learn more about the Sardinian culture.

This article is written by Sofia chapter leader Maria Stoyanova. 

Here is my story from a week on Sardinia…

I found out about the event in the beginning of 2018 when I got invited to join the cultural exchange by the organizers. I thought it sounded exciting, so I decided to attend to learn about Sardinia and its culture. The exchange is open to people young at heart, passionate to explore new cultures and to share their own. It costs 280 Euro (early bird price) to participate – including accommodation for seven days, breakfasts and dinners, transportation to all planned events, boat tours, and program with various activities.

The project – called International Summer Week – is organized every year in August by the non-profit organization TDM 2000. International Summer Week started as an event for university students from different countries and went on to become a big “festival of cultures” involving people from different backgrounds, countries, ages, and experiences.

What International Summer Week is all about

The Summer Week has been organized since the year 2000. Participants join from many nearby and distant countries for a week of exploring Sardinia. The program includes cultural activities, interaction with local businesses, visiting beaches and other natural spots, and mostly – connecting with people from all over the world.

This year, there were people from Spain, the Czech Republic, Romania, Macedonia, Greece, Bulgaria, Denmark, Sweden, France, UK, Germany, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Australia, Jordan, Slovakia, and many more.

The main goals of Summer Week are to promote Sardinia, its territory, culture, nature, and traditions, and to facilitate a dialogue among people from different countries in an informal setting, through what we know as “Intercultural Tourism”.

The tourism scene in Sardinia

Sardinia is well known for its secluded beaches and is a perfect summer escape for many Europeans. The summer season still makes the main part of tourism in Sardinia. In recent years, a range of other opportunities such as eco or gastronomical tourism, archaeology and cultural exploration, and more have emerged.

“I can say that there are a lot of expectations towards the tourism sector and the benefits it can bring to local communities. But sometimes, the idea of how to use tourism in a productive and sustainable way is missing in the planning process”, said Federico Gaviano, who is part of the non-profit organization behind International Summer Week.

According to Federico, opinions among the local industry professionals vary. Some think that Sardinia should continue to focus on its current strengths – sun, sea and sand vacations. Others think that Sardinia should go towards a “recreation of a cultural image” and the focus should shift in another direction. The challenge is to find a way to combine those two ideas in a sustainable tourism development plan for Sardinia.

International Summer Week and the tourism industry

As an event organized by a non-profit organization, International Summer Week doesn’t promote the products of tour operators in Sardinia. However, the event brings participants that are not the typical travelers that would otherwise visit Sardinia.

Through International Summer Week, organizers are also able to make people “fall in love” with the region. There are many cases of participants that decide to come back to Sardinia over and over again in other periods of the year as well. That way the event benefits the tourism industry in an indirect way.

Federico also points out that the publicity that participants make also generates (by word of mouth) an increase of popularity and the good image of Sardinia, prompting their families, parents, friends, and circle of acquaintances to visit the island.

Last but not least, the event generates profit for all other service providers involved in the project – the ones that provide food, accommodation, transport, excursions, and so on. In certain cases, this also results in a good publicity for them.

I really enjoyed my experience and being a part of the cultural exchange, and I encourage members to participate in these kinds of events! Get in touch with me if you’d like to learn more about the exchange.

Connect with Maria on Travel Massive and follow International Summer Week on Facebook for news and updates.