Olbia – A (very) short history of tourist expansion

The area of Olbia has been inhabited since the beginning of the 8^thCentury by the Cartagenas. From the very beginning the port has been at the very heart of the economy of the city, especially the exportation of corn which made up the lion share of the GDP.  The origins of the word ‘Olbia’ roughly translates to the meaning of “happy town” despite its history suggesting something to the contrary. For instance the city of Olbia has been completely destroyed and reconstructed during its history. Now I am sure you would agree there is nothing to happy about having your home destroyed J

Things really started to change during the 1960’s and this is when we can start to chart the modern evolution of Olbia.  This is when people started flocking to Olbia as a bona fide tourist destination.  Nowadays the city boasts a population of over 50 000 people and is in fact bigger than the city of Sassari– the capital of province. This has continued in modern times partly thanks to low cost airlines like easyJet and Ryan air but also that the port is still very significant in terms of international shipping.   Combine this with the number of car hire companies in the city alone (Hertz, Avis, Holiday Autos etc) and it is easy to see why people fly here, hire a car and discover the whole area in a few days or a couple of weeks.