Ιtalian cities and regions are sending delegations of tourism promoters to London in June in a bid to attract visitors. For the first time, they will be attending the City Fair 2013 workshop, organised by the European Tour Operators Association (ETOA), where they will have the opportunity to present their destinations to tour operators in a series of one-to-one meetings.
Data from the Italian National Institute of Statistics shows a 5.7% decrease in domestic trips in 2012. This trend is reflected in regions across Italy and shows a need to attract foreign visitors to compensate for a faltering domestic market. With the most recent UNWTO Tourism Highlights report confirming Italy’s 21% share of overseas visitors to Europe, this is a realistic objective.
Toscana Promozione noted: ‘In terms of city tourism, an increase in arrivals from foreign markets has helped balance the decrease from the Italian market, keeping the total number of visitors stable at 2011 levels. For the first time foreign markets make up 52.2% of the overall tourism arrivals in Tuscany.’
Highlighting the importance of engaging with foreign markets, Genoa saw a slight decrease in foreign visitor arrivals between 2011/12 (-0.79%) compared to a much larger decrease in domestic arrivals (-7.6%). The relative resilience of the foreign market is especially important considering that the average daily expenditure of a foreign visitor to the city is €350 compared to €185 for an Italian visitor.
Visitors to Italy from traditional origin markets such as France, Germany, USA and UK remain stable, whilst arrivals from emerging markets China, India and Russia demonstrate particular growth.
Some Italian destinations are working hard to ensure they are accessible and appeal to overseas visitors. For example, new flight connections have helped boost overseas arrivals to Puglia with an increase in arrivals of almost 85% from the UK. The region is actively targeting foreign visitors by promoting lesser-known areas such as Valle D’Itria, Cisternino, Martina Franca and Locorotondo, as well as focussing on providing value for money and developing better tourism services.
ETOA’s Executive Director, Tom Jenkins said: “No destination sells itself. By attending City Fair, the Italian buyers are appealing to a range of operators who bring clients in from throughout the world”.
