Salento protagonist of regenerative tourism: Travel Hashtag 2025 lands in Martano
On May 13 and 14, 2025, the heart of Salento will host an international event of great significance: the first Italian edition of Travel Hashtag, the traveling format that for the past six years has made stops in some of the world’s most iconic destinations to explore new tourism trends.
This twentieth edition will take place in the stunning setting of an exclusive resort in Martano—an authentic masseria (traditional farmhouse) nestled in nature, a symbol of discreet luxury and deep respect for the land. The location was chosen deliberately to focus on rural, regenerative, and sustainable tourism, with notable guests from both Italy and abroad. The event is held in media partnership with DOVE and under the patronage of ENIT, Pugliapromozione, the Province of Lecce, the Municipality of Martano, and the Italian Ministry of Tourism.
Rural Tourism and Real Estate: New Opportunities for Salento
The event aims to showcase Salento as a model of regenerative tourism—one that enhances the identity of places and creates well-being for both travelers and local communities. This approach has direct benefits for the real estate sector, as demand increases for masserie, rural homes, historic dwellings, and countryside properties renovated with authenticity and sustainability in mind.
More and more investors, both Italian and international, are looking for properties in Salento to turn into experiential tourism residences, charming agritourism spots, boutique hotels, or prestigious private homes. This trend aligns perfectly with the Travel Hashtag philosophy: authentic, land-connected experiences, far from mass tourism.
An Event Focused on the Future of Tourism (and Living)
The two-day program will include themed conferences, talks, networking sessions, and testimonials from those who have already made Salento a premier destination.
Among the expected guests: prominent institutional figures, representatives from travel media, business executives, university professors, tourism marketing experts, hospitality consultants, destination managers specializing in inland areas, and professionals in wellness, digital detox, and territorial development.
Key topics:
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“Return to the Essentials” – regenerating places and people
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“Respect the Land, Cultivate the Future” – agriculture and tourism as allies
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“Disconnection Tourism” – reconnecting with yourself in nature’s silence
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“Rural Tourism: Valuable and Authentic Experiences” – a winning model for Salento
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“Puglia: Territory, Opportunity, Attractiveness” – perspectives on local development
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“Regenerative Tourism for a New Social Wellbeing” – the role of quality hospitality
Why This Event Also Matters to Homebuyers and Investors
Travel Hashtag 2025 shines a light on a new way of living, inhabiting, and investing in Salento. It's not just about traveling—but about building meaningful connections with the land, choosing properties that tell a story, that respect the environment, and that offer authentic experiences.Whether you're looking for a second home surrounded by greenery, dreaming of opening a charming hospitality business, or simply wanting to live closer to nature—Salento today is fertile ground, in every sense of the word.
The growing attention to regenerative tourism and rural area promotion is making this region increasingly attractive from a real estate investment perspective as well. A home here is not merely a material asset—it’s a cultural, social, and human value.
Conclusion
Travel Hashtag 2025 is a key moment to reflect on the future of tourism—and of living—in Italy. And it does so by choosing Salento: a land of tradition and innovation, of authentic beauty and genuine hospitality. A territory that once again proves to be at the center of the map for those looking ahead.To explore our real estate offerings in the heart of Salento, contact us: whether you want to live here, invest, or simply slow down, we can help you find the perfect place to call home.
Another Salento: The Ionian Salento Cycle Path, Between Nature and Sustainability
Salento is not just mass tourism, crowded beaches and summer nightlife. There is another Salento, authentic and sustainable, which invites you to a slow and conscious travel experience. This is the message that Vivilitalia, a company specialized in environmental tourism, wants to convey through the Green Community Ionico-Adriatica project and the creation of the Salento Ionico cycle path.
A Sustainability Project: The Green Community Ionico-Adriatica
The Green Community Ionico-Adriatica project promotes sustainable development in the Ionian-Adriatic area, aiming to integrate environmental protection with economic and social growth. The initiative has the following main objectives:
Spread practices of circular and sustainable economy.
Implement projects for the production of green energy.
Requalify degraded areas.
Promote cycle tourism as a sustainable alternative to traditional tourism.
Among the concrete results, the creation of the Salento Ionico cycle path stands out: a cycle-tourist route of about 305 kilometers, divided into five rings that can be traveled in a day, which passes through farms, wild beaches and historic villages. A dedicated app has also been developed to support travelers, which facilitates navigation along the cycle path, indicating paths, points of interest and bike-friendly facilities.
The Salento Ionico Cycle Path: A Route Between the Sea and Villages
The route winds mainly on secondary roads with low traffic intensity and is divided into five main rings:
- Ugento-Racale: It crosses wetlands of great naturalistic value and coastal areas such as Capilungo and Punta della Suina, famous for their pristine beauty.
- Gallipoli-Racale: An itinerary that touches suggestive places such as the Punta Pizzo Regional Park and the Island of Sant’Andrea.
- Nardò-Gallipoli: Here you will find the villas of Santa Maria al Bagno and the breathtaking panorama of Porto Selvaggio, with its crystalline sea and wild nature.
- Porto Cesareo-Nardò: Between medieval coastal towers and coastlines of rare beauty.
- Manduria-Torre Lapillo: A journey through history and tradition, up to the land of Primitivo, the symbolic wine of the area.
A Journey through Nature, Culture and Identity
The complete route starts from Lecce, a city with baroque charm, and passes through some of the most beautiful villages in Salento.
Among these, Galatina, famous for the Basilica of Santa Caterina d’Alessandria, and Ugento, with its unique ecosystems. From Nardò, the journey continues towards the Taranto side, passing through Torre Lapillo and Torre Colimena, where you can admire the medieval coastal towers. Finally, we reach Manduria, land of the famous Primitivo wine.
Roberto Guido, creator of the route, describes it as “an extraordinary travel experience in Salento that brings together the treasures of the hinterland with the sea, but above all with nature, going beyond the clichés of seaside tourism”.
A Community Network for Sustainable Tourism
The project was made possible thanks to the collaboration between municipal administrations, associations and local economic operators, coordinated under the Memorandum of Understanding of the Ionian-Adriatic Green Community. Among the participating municipalities: Alliste, Avetrana, Galatone, Gallipoli, Manduria, Nardò, Porto Cesareo, Racale, Taviano and Ugento.
“The Salento Ionian cycle path is the icing on the cake of the Green Community”, says the mayor of Nardò, Pippi Mellone. “For years we have been working on a slow tourism offer, which focuses on the experiential and identity factor”.
Alternative Tourism on the Rise
According to Sebastiano Venneri, president of Vivilitalia, “cycle tourism is a rapidly growing market, with a turnover of 5.5 billion euros in the last year”. The Salento Ionico cycle route represents a further opportunity for the area to deseasonalise the tourist offer, offering accessible and immersive routes even in spring and autumn, when temperatures are ideal for cycling.
Discovering Salento by Bike
From today, exploring Salento means choosing slow, sustainable and environmentally friendly tourism, fully experiencing the area with all your senses. A bike trip through farms, parks, villages and breathtaking coasts, rediscovering the authentic soul of a Salento that goes beyond mass tourism.
The Salento Ionico cycle route is a unique opportunity for those who want a true and profound experience, cycling through history, culture and uncontaminated nature.
Smart Working, Workation and Slow Life: Salento as a New Home
In recent years, Salento has established itself not only as one of the most sought-after holiday destinations, but also as an ideal destination for those seeking a change of life. Post-
pandemic housing trends, together with the growing popularity of remote working, have redefined the needs of those looking for a home, making Salento a perfect place to live. In this article, we explore how this region responds to the new demands of the real estate market, with a focus on spaces for smart working, a return to nature, and luxury housing solutions.
Remote working: the ideal home in Salento
With the development of smart working, many professionals are choosing to move to places that combine high quality of life and excellent digital connections. Salento, with its natural beauty, a mild climate and a competitive cost of living, is confirmed as one of the most interesting choices.
Ideal characteristics of homes for remote working in Salento:
- Spaces dedicated to the home office: Villas in Nardò or Galatina offer large, bright studios overlooking centuries-old olive groves, creating an environment that stimulates productivity and concentration.
High-speed internet connections: Many places such as Lecce and Gallipoli are investing in digital infrastructure. Even villages such as Specchia and Presicce have equipped themselves with fiber optics, making online work possible even in more remote areas.
Relaxing settings: Villas in Porto Cesareo or Santa Caterina, equipped with panoramic terraces and gardens, allow you to balance working hours with moments of relaxation, perhaps with a breathtaking view of the sea.
The return to greenery: living in the villages and countryside of Salento
The pandemic has rekindled the desire to live in open spaces and immersed in nature, leading to a rebirth of the villages and countryside of Salento.
What buyers are looking for in this area:
- Private gardens and vegetable gardens: Renovated farmhouses near Otranto offer hectares of land where you can grow an organic vegetable garden, for a sustainable lifestyle.
Traditional architecture and modern comforts: In Santa Maria di Leuca, you can find renovated trulli and pajare, often equipped with infinity pools and photovoltaic systems.
Authentic communities: Living in villages like Borgagne or Specchia means rediscovering the value of authentic relationships and a slower lifestyle. These places offer affordable properties, often with large outdoor spaces and panoramic terraces.
Urban luxury: condos with exclusive amenities in Lecce
For those who prefer city life without sacrificing comfort, Lecce represents a new frontier of urban luxury. Known for its baroque architecture, the city is seeing an increase in high-end residential projects.
What the new luxury complexes in Lecce offer:
- Exclusive amenities: Residential complexes in the Mazzini neighborhood include spas, private gyms, condominium pools and roof gardens with city views.
Sustainability: Buildings constructed with eco-friendly materials and equipped with advanced energy-saving technologies, such as solar panels and water recovery systems.
Strategic locations: Penthouses in the historic center of Lecce combine modern design with breathtaking views of the baroque churches, offering the possibility of living near theaters, international schools and starred restaurants.
Workation and Southworking: new opportunities to live and work in Salento
The spread of remote working has made possible a new lifestyle called "workation", a combination of work and vacation. Salento is one of the most popular destinations for this experience, thanks to its ability to combine stimulating environments and relaxation.
An example is the startup Holiwork, founded in Lecce by Chiara Oliva and Georg Sauter. Holiwork offers a unique experience that combines luxury accommodation, nature, culture and gastronomy for those who want to work remotely in Salento. It is a new vision of the territory, no longer just as a tourist destination, but also as a place for professional growth and personal well-being.
Conclusions: Salento as a place of future living
Whether it is living in a masseria surrounded by greenery, working remotely with a sea view or choosing a luxury penthouse in Lecce, Salento offers housing solutions that meet the needs of the new living. This territory is the emblem of an authentic, sustainable and well-being-oriented lifestyle.
If you are looking for your ideal home, rely on real estate professionals to explore the opportunities that Salento has to offer. The future of modern living is here, between the beauty of nature and the innovation of new technologies. Don't miss the opportunity to turn your dream into reality.
The best routes in Salento: trekking, walking, cycling, motorbike or other First itinerary: Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca coast road
The recent success of Salento as a tourist destination is mainly due to the splendor of its coast and the beauty of the capital Lecce, but there is much more to discover: archaeological, naturalistic, landscape and food and wine treasures are widespread throughout the Salento peninsula. A great way to discover them all is to pack your backpack and set off on an adventure, along itineraries, to be covered on foot, by bike, by motorbike or by car, which are a journey in stages between the pleasures of nature, food, culture and local history, let's see some of them in this and in the next posts on our blog.
We begin our journey by car or motorbike, on the magnificent coast road Otranto - Santa Maria di Leuca, undoubtedly one of the most fascinating tours of Salento, as well as one of the most beautiful panoramic roads in Italy. While skirting the Adriatic, the jewels of the Salento coast follow one after the other: on one side the cliffs overlooking the sea, the ancient defense towers, the caves and inlets, on the other side the centuries-old olive trees, the typical dry stone walls, many small town halls rich in history and artistic beauties, with their bars overlooking the historic centers, where you can stop to cool off with a pasticciotto and an ice coffee.
It starts from Otranto, after visiting the city center and walking on the ramparts, continue towards the south and entering the vegetation you can admire an unusual sight: an emerald green lake in a hollow of the intense red soil, surrounded by the green of the marsh vegetation, the result of a disused bauxite quarry where nature has magically created a new ecosystem. A few kilometers and another spectacle awaits us, the Punta Palascia Lighthouse, the easternmost place in Italy, from which you can admire a breathtaking panorama. Continuing to drive always keeping the sea on the left, we continue to admire the ever new views that the cliff and the vegetation create at every turn. A few more kilometers and we arrive in Porto Badisco, where we can admire the bay (one of Enea's possible first landings in Italy) and, if the season permits, indulge in an unmissable lunch based on the freshest sea urchins. After this tasty lunch break we leave again, we cross the pretty Santa Cesarea Terme, which, as the name suggests, is also a renowned spa. Immediately behind Santa Cesarea, we find the beauty of Porto Miggiano, a rocky cove with a sandy bottom, located in an inlet overlooking the sea, protected by an ancient watchtower, it is one of the most spectacular beaches of the Puglia, sheltered from the winds; the natural play of lights, colors and the turquoise sea make it the ideal place for snorkeling. We still follow the road and we find the suggestive Zinzulusa cave, created in prehistoric times by marine erosion, is a spectacle of stalactites and stalagmites that are reflected in the turquoise water inside a majestic cavity. We continue through Castro and from here we reach the marina of Marittima, where there is another beautiful inlet, that of Acquaviva, so called because of the cold water springs that flow from the rock. Immediately after there is the marina of Andrano, with the unmissable seaside resorts, such as the Green Grotto, after that there is the splendid Tricase Porto, one of the most evocative and elegant holiday resorts of the entire eastern coast of Puglia. Here we can choose whether to continue along the sea or to allow ourselves a detour towards the interior of the territory, where there are many municipalities that are certainly worth a visit, such as Specchia, surrounded by centuries-old olive trees, and recently inserted among the most beautiful villages in Italy. Among pretty alleys and stairways stand out the sixteenth-century Risolo palace and the fifteenth-century cathedral in Piazza del Popolo; not far away the Baronial Palace, the Byzantine Church of Santa Eufemia and that of the Black Franciscans, adorned with valuable frescoes. It is also worth giving yourself a visit to the ancient underground oil mills of the town, restored and open to the public, where you can often and willingly also make deserving tastings of local products.
If, on the other hand, we have chosen to continue along the coast, the last kilometers of the coastal road start from Marina Serra, to the end of the earth, in the middle of the Ciolo bridge, which dominates one of the most loved and photographed inlets of the entire Salento coast.
The time for a last look at the enchanting coast of Salento and we arrived in Santa Maria di Leuca: in front of us all that remains is the blue of the sea.
We visit the Sanctuary on the promontory, the very high lighthouse, the aqueduct waterfall and the eclectic style villas, built by local nobles in a competition of luxury and eccentricity. Time to have dinner and we can enjoy the night on the bustling promenade.