The vision and the strategies of Smeralda Holding
The strengths of QIA’s leadership in Costa Smeralda, as told by Smeralda Holding’s CEO, Mario Ferraro
The vision and the strategies of Smeralda Holding - the company owning the most important hotels and tourism businesses on the Costa Smeralda - in the words of the CEO Mario Ferraro.
Over the last ten years, we have seen the Costa Smeralda undergo significant evolution, further bolstering its popularity on a global scale; tell us about this evolution.
Ever since the acquisition, QIA, the sovereign wealth fund of Qatar, has proven to be an investor with a long-term vision, making significant investments that have enhanced and diversified the tourism proposition of Costa Smeralda, assuring its strategic development and creating value, also to the benefit of the local community and economy. The excellent results achieved over the years attest to the effectiveness of this vision and the solidity of the development model adopted.
Tell us more about the projects and how you are bringing to life the new Costa Smeralda vision.
The journey began with the redevelopment of the hotels. The Cala di Volpe has now been completely refurbished, evolving into a true “destination within a destination”, while the Romazzino and Pitrizza are currently subject to a restyling that will be completed in 2027. This overhaul is not only on a design level but also includes the management of the hotels as we have rebranded the Romazzino in 2024 to a Belmond Hotel and the Pitrizza will soon become a Cheval Blanc. Both brands belonging to the LVMH group. It is a move that enables us to give the Costa Smeralda brand a much more global dimension, associating it with the most exclusive hotel groups in the world. At the same time, we have created a collection of world class branded restaurants and beach clubs to complement our legendary Sardinian and Italian culinary offering. We have also invested in wellness and sports facilities, as well as those for families and children, creating an unmatched overall offer to satisfy all expectations, even those of the most demanding travellers, and even in periods that were once considered to be low season. All these investments have contributed to significantly increasing the attractiveness of Costa Smeralda, which is now seen as the most exclusive destination in the world, every year, from April to October, welcoming the international jet set.
Mario FerraroThe medium- to long-term vision of the future and the possibilities for development of the destination.
Our strategic plan is constantly evolving, with the aim of adapting our value proposition to ever changing demands and trends. This means that every year we present new features, and the appeal of Costa Smeralda is, consequently, constantly renewing. Next year, we will further increase the range of restaurants with the opening of Langosteria, as well as a new restaurant at the Romazzino, where we will also be inaugurating 40 new rooms, while 2027 will see the completion of the restyling with renovated public areas and the opening of a second restaurant and a Guerlain SPA. The same year will also see the finalisation of the Pitrizza, which will be featuring a Christian Dior SPA. And the innovations continue. We are also working on the refurbishment of the Cervo Hotel and the opening of a lifestyle hotel in the centre of Porto Cervo, which will allow us to enter a new market segment and further diversify our customer base.
Sustainability has always been a core element of the Costa Smeralda: what does this mean now, in terms of the management of the destination?
Due to the growing phenomenon of overtourism, the last ten years has seen the decline of many popular tourist destinations. All our efforts and strategies are aimed at not suffering the same fate, and our vision for the Costa Smeralda is extremely simple: we are a small place, and we want to remain so, with manageable tourist flows in line with the space and the carrying capacities of the destination. In practical terms, this means two things: on the one hand, controlling the growth of the demand, spreading it over a longer period instead of concentrating it in peak periods, and on the other, mitigating the impact through the constant adaptation of our infrastructures. We have the most beautiful beaches in the world and the least developed coastline in the whole Mediterranean, all set in unspoiled and predominant nature: our priority is to preserve and safeguard this heritage, which represents the cornerstone of our success.
What concrete ESG initiatives have been undertaken or are in the pipeline?
We are pursuing a responsible growth strategy, which focuses on three areas: Environment, Community and People. These are the pillars of our ESG Manifesto, which is an expression of our Group values and that defines the way in which we implement them. Based on this framework, we have created initiatives for the environment, for example the reforestation of Posidonia in the Cala di Volpe bay, the protection of the dunes on the Grande Pevero beach or the Sea Bins which collect microplastics in Porto Cervo Marina. In addition, we dedicate significant attention to the community that lives here all year round: we support many local associations, we also invest in learning and social activities, offering language courses, health prevention programmes and free tennis and golf lessons. We also support economic growth in the area, favouring partnerships and supply agreements with local companies and professionals. The third pillar concerns the people who work with us; we offer them attractive working conditions, opportunities for professional development, benefits that exceed industry standards, comfortable staff accommodations with gyms and pools, and many other incentives that see us ranked as the “employer of choice” in Sardinia. Our approach to create value for all our stakeholders is significantly contributing to the success story of our Company.
