As part of activities complementary to the primary and industrial sectors, Sardinia benefits from a functional network of providers of intangible services supporting traditional sectors and nurturing the system as a whole. In particular, the service industry in the fields of trade, transport and logistics is now the largest sector on the island, with more than 33,000 companies and 67% of the total number of employees.
Banking, insurance, and health care are major sectors; education, sports and cultural activities, as well as catering and rentals, enjoy high standards. Parallel to the tourist industry, noteworthy results have been achieved by farm holiday facilities, congress services, incentives (*) and conference-related activities in general. These are closely connected to and supported by travel agencies, tour operators and different categories of tourist guides.
The advanced tertiary sector is highly developed, because in Sardinia the ICT (especially in the new media area) and R&D (especially in the processes of innovation, biotechnology and genetics) communities are the largest category of consultancy and professional activities, covering the entire range of activities in support of existing or soon-to-be-established companies. The sector is achieving noteworthy results also in the e-commerce area.
An important role is being played by the tertiary, since Sardinia has always been one of Italy’s leading regions owing to the presence of cooperatives of all kinds and a very dynamic network of voluntary services.
(*) The companies achieving or exceeding the targets of production set, offer incentives (travel bonuses) to their employees or travel agents.