Ecotourism in Italy proved itself to be stronger than the crisis and could boost Italy's sluggish economy, fresh data released at a conference held in Palermo on October 30 showed.

Natural reserves and parks have hosted more than 101 million visitors throughout 2012, with a 2-percent increase compared to the previous year, according to the Ecotur Report issued by Aaster Research Institute.

The global revenue of ecotourism rose 3 percent and reached 10.9 billion euros, and it grew twice as much as the tourism sector as a whole, the same report revealed.

"Our natural parks are like a laboratory where Italy could develop a new model of economic and social growth,"Minister for Environment Andrea Orlando said during the conference, stressing the importance of these positive results.

"Ecotourism economic and employment figures are successful and this is essential, considering that the country is gripped by a deep crisis," the Minister added.

According to the Ecotur Report, the most visited reserves were the national parks of Abruzzo, Gran Paradiso and Stelvio, along with the parks of Cinque Terre and Dolomiti Bellunesi. These last two destinations were the most favored by foreign tour operators.

Revenue generated by ecotourism has grown slowly but steadily from 2008 to 2012. The positive trend may suggest that it could have a "flywheel effect" on national economy, the report said.

"It is surely a strong point of Italy, whose range of benefits could be wider than expected," environmental journalist and analyst Marco Gisotti said, "Sustainable tourism gives benefits and protection not only to the environment but to the whole 'chain' of tourism in Italy."

People in search of ecological holidays are a growing reality, the analyst said. Ecotourism tries to attract and satisfy this target audience, offering them new lines of eco-friendly products, the best of Italian natural resources and detailed sustainable tours around the country.

To do this, it mainly relies on local communities both in terms of authorities' initiatives and small- and medium-sized firms' work.