MAP Technical Reports Series No. 106 UNEP

- 108 -
6.3.2 Effects on tourism in regions and subregions of the Mediterranean Sea
During the summer, the coastal areas of the Mediterranean are visited by over a
hundred million foreign visitors (one third of all international tourism), who spend their holidays
there, attracted by the natural beauty and the leisure facilities, and also to a certain extent by the
wish to admire the treasures of the ancient civilizations found throughout the Mediterranean area.
Since one of the main reasons for tourism is the promotion of health, any potential risks
to the health of tourists are immediately important.
The bacteriological quality of the coastal waters was the first alarm signal for health,
leading to plans for the study of subsequent intervention at an international level. In 1975 MED
POL Phase I was approved in the framework of the Mediterranean Action Plan prepared by the
governments of the countries which border the sea. In the context of this programme, the MED
VII project is concerned with the quality control of coastal waters, and has been implemented
in coordination with UNEP and the World Health Organization (Saliba, 1989).
The evaluation of the environmental impact of chemical pollutants has therefore
acquired great interest; in fact, current estimates attribute 80-85% of the total chemical pollution
of the Mediterranean to terrestrial sources. These chemical pollutants are today considered to
be toxic trace metals (Cd, Pb, Hg etc.), non-metals (As), synthesized organic substances (for
example DDT, PCB), hydrocarbons of petroleum origin and radionuclides, and nutrients (organic
and inorganic compounds containing nitrogen and phosphorus) (Saliba, 1989).
Of the chemical pollutants, only the nutrients responsible for eutrophication may have
a direct impact on tourism. In general there is little information for the Mediterranean on the
effects of eutrophication on tourism.
The Italian part of the North Adriatic is the only area where tourist numbers have been
monitored with some attention, because of the serious events that have occurred repeatedly
over the last fifteen years, and the importance of tourism in the economy of this region.
The linear coastal area of the Emilia-Romagna region is a continuously developed strip
of almost unprecedented compactness and uniformity. This urban agglomeration along the
Adriatic coast has grown up from a few resorts established during the last century or the early
1900s, such as Cesenatico, Rimini, Riccione etc., all existing towns which developed tourism
alongside their main activities (Chicchi, 1990; Benzi, 1990).
During the post-war years, the concomitance of mass demand for summer holidays
with plenty of accommodation and skilled labour with only limited alternative employment in
agriculture or industry, led to the gradual urbanization of the entire coastal strip, starting with
expansion around the original points and eventually saturating every available space (Giordani,
1990 a-b).
In the summers of 1975 and 1976, large numbers of dead marine fauna, mainly bottomdwelling
fish, appeared on the foreshores of this linear coastal town (Bisbini, 1976; Turci, 1976;
Viviani, 1976).