Sicily tourist pullers showcased

(ANSA) - MILAN, JULY 1 - A meeting between "the culture and identity of the Sicilian people" and "culinary and agricultural tradition", turning them into a "tourist driving force": this is the objective of a recent conference called 'Island Tourism: Sicily Unesco mediterranean diet', which took place at Expo's Palazzo Italia, according to the deputy president of Unioncamere Sicilia, Vittorio Messina. The Mediterranean diet, in particular the Sicilian one, as an incentive to promote tourism in Sicily was the central theme running through the conference.
    "We want to strengthen the relationship between culture-art-food and agriculture because we are confident are products are second to none - explained Messina - In Sicily there are 478,000 companies: more than one third operate in the agricultural field and we have many PGI (protected Geographical Indication and PDO (protected denomination of origin) products.
    Often production is not industrial and we are proud of this 'limit' because it ensures the quality of the product itself. "At this time of crisis, we can certainly restart from our food and agriculture because they represent the identity of our people".
    The conference also represented the chance to talk about the potential of tourism in Sicily and the uniqueness of UNESCO sites. "Sicily it the Italian region with the highest number of Unesco world heritage sites, but this potential is yet to be fully exploited, mainly because of the inability to make good use of networking- stressed former Unesco ambassador and Malta permanent delegate Raymond Bondin. However, I am sure that many more acknowledgements will come, especially with regard to naturalistic heritage. I am persuaded that Sicily could easily live of tourism and agriculture alone".