THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT AS TOURISTIC SUSTAINABILITY INDEX. THE CASE OF “RIVIERA DI ULISSE” NATURAL PARK REGION 
The Ecological Footprint (EF), developed by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees at the beginning of the Nineties of the past century, obtain an immediate success and wide diffusion. The EF measures the total amount of ecologically productive land required to support the consumption of a given population in a sustainable manner. In this work we propose a practical application of EF to an area with an high tourist presence as the region of the Natural Park of Riviera di Ulisse, in an attempt to test this indicator especially in its territorial features. In particular, we will try to evaluate its ability to measure the environmental impact of tourism in the study area, with particular reference to the land use and cover. 
Keywords: ecological footprint, tourism, environmental impact, natural parks.