Italy Update, October 2020

News 5 October 2020

WHERE ITALIANS CAN TRAVEL

SURVEYS & TRENDS

During mid-August holidays (Ferragosto), Italy was almost sold out: 79% of online vacation offers are sold out, with good results especially for destinations on the seaside and around the Alps. According to the latest bulletin of the Italian National Tourism Agency (ENIT), Italy is reacting better than other countries and forecasts are showing good expectations also for Autumn with 58% of Italians planning a trip in that period. They will still be holidays by the sea (57%) or in the mountains (48%), but there will also be a return to the cities of art (42%). 33% of Italians are already thinking about Christmas holidays, 92% in Italy, especially in Lombardy, Sicily, Piedmont and Campania. Abroad, Northern Europe is on the top. Autumn and Winter trips will also be supported by the Holiday Bonus introduced by the Government in Summer to support domestic tourism, which has now been extended to the end of the year.

The balance sheet for the summer holidays shows that 59% of the population has spent at least 1 period away from home, with holidays lasting an average of 7 nights. Most Italians (97%) stayed in the country, preferring destinations such as Emilia Romagna, Puglia and Sicily, all on the podium of the period chosen by 9% of Italian holidaymakers. The mountains also performed well with Trentino Alto Adige (8%), but also Tuscany (8%), Piedmont (7%) and Lombardy (7%). Abroad (3%), Italians remained in Mediterranean Europe (35%), Northern Europe (24%) or Eastern Europe (14%). More info

According to Coldiretti research, this year 93% of Italians who are going on vacation decided to stay within the national borders with 1 Italian out of 4 (25%) who chose a destination close to home, within their region of residence. The majority of Italians traveling have chosen to go to their second homes or stay in those of relatives and friends or rent an house; aslo campers and camping are among top preferences.

There are positive signs for the more than 24 thousand Italian agritourism farms that, often located in isolated areas of the countryside in family facilities with a limited number of beds and table and with large outdoor spaces, are perhaps the places where it is easier to ensure compliance with security measures, as affirmed by Terranostra and Campagna Amica. The trend is a rediscovery of a national food and wine heritage that has no rivals in the world with the search for local food and wine that has become the real added value of Made in Italy vacations in 2020 with about 1/3 of the budget allocated to food for consumption in restaurants or for the purchase of souvenirs. More info

DESTINATIONS

Centro Interpretativo da historia do bacalhau is Lisbon‘s newest attraction, in Terreiro do Paço, where one of Portugal’s most epic stories is told: the discovery of Terra Nova and the adventure in the frozen seas with cod fishing (bacalhau in Portuguese); It is a tribute to a symbol of Portuguese gastronomy, popular culture and Portuguese national identity. More info

The Maldives celebrated the reopening of the borders to visitors of all nationalities, and launched a new communication campaign “Rediscover Maldives…the sunny side of life”: the marketing activity aims to strengthen the presence of the Maldives in the markets to return to welcome tourists. With the restart of tourism, which adapts to the “new normality” and in safe conditions by taking the necessary precautions, Maldives Marketing & Public Relations Corporation already planned a series of activities for this year, with the President of the Maldives announcing the objective of welcoming 850,000 visitors by the end of 2020. More info

Dominican Republic launched a new initiative to discover the country before visiting it: the interactive platform Dominican Republic Virtual Country , where visitors can be inspired for their next trip to the Caribbean island and find information, activities, as well as recipes for typical Dominican cuisine, merengue and bachata lessons and many other experiences. More info

South Africa is starting to work for the future and is preparing the launch of a new app, which will have a double function: to provide information and training to stakeholders in the sector to prepare for the relaunch phase; at the same time it will become a tool for tourists, primarily domestic tourists and, when the country reopens to international flows, the rest of the world. The country also reopened its borders to foreign travellers. More info

Japan is focusing on the Harry Potter magic world to push and recover the tourism industry with the opening of The ‘Warner Bros. Studio Tour Tokyo – The Making of Harry Potter’ expected in 2023, making it the second theme park on the subject after the one already existing in Great Britain. More info

HOSPITALITY

Airbnb also reflects the unusual trend of this strange Summer: it shows that, for the first time, the 10 preferred houses by Italian customers are located in Italy, reflecting the propensity for internal tourism that has emerged in recent months. More info

Following reopenings in May, June and July, Marriott International is preparing to start the Autumn season in the best way, with long-awaited reopenings, unmissable debuts, unique experiences and tailor-made offers. In Italy, in particular, after the summer reopening of the hotels in Rome, Milan, Venice, Florence and Cortina, from September also The Westin Excelsior Rome, The Westin Palace and Sheraton Diana Majestic in Milan are ready to welcome their guests again. Among the new features on a global level, the partnership with Quintessentially, the world’s leading luxury concierge company, to offer even more exclusive experiences to guests of luxury brands such as The Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis Hotels & Resorts, The Luxury Collection, EDITION and W Hotels. More info

Accor French group would be investigating the possibility of acquiring the InterContinental group (Ihg) to create the largest hotel company in the world. More info

Trentino Dashboard is a new, constantly updated tool proposed by local institutions that collects some of the main indicators relating to its structure and its online presence and allows you to check the checklist of the tools you are using so that hotel managers can improve and check their services. More info

TRANSPORTS

Omio received $100 million in funding to strengthen its position as a global travel platform; the amount will enable Omio to pursue its vision of unifying global transport by providing users with a comprehensive travel experience. The investments will be aimed at fueling organic growth and appropriate M&A activities as well as strengthening the uniqueness of the product and services offered. More info

Milan Bergamo airport is a candidate to become ‘bike friendly’: in addition to the railway connection with the air terminal, Sacbo is also planning to extend the cycle paths. More info

As travel restriction is limiting people’s desire to move, Qantas airline proposed an innovative and interesting initiative: the very first journey to nowhere. The airline has scheduled a flight departing on 10 October and returning again the same day; the plan never stops, it takes off and flies over Australia, to admire the country’s main attractions from a more unusual point of view than ever before. An undoubtedly winning move considering that the tickets were literally sold out in a matter of minutes. More info

Oktoberfest will not take place this year for the first time in 70 years of history. But not everyone is giving up: Lufthansa will take the Oktoberfest into the air as it has done in previous years. The German airline renews the appointment with the traditional Bavarian kermesse and on some selected flights passengers will be able to taste the typical products served at the tables in Munich as well as beer. Also the crew will wear traditional costumes. More info

Ryanair relaunches on Capodichino following the increase in demand from Italian customers with a total of 17 new flights per week to Naples, connected to 5 airports in the Peninsula: Cagliari, Genoa, Palermo, Trieste and Turin. More info

Leonardo Massa, MSC managing director in Italy, highlighted the success of the seven-night cruise carried out by Msc Grandiosa. It is a great signal of restart for the market and gives positive hopes for the upcoming season. More info

BROWSING

Finland implements an innovative “keyboard” that stops bullying and offensive language: if any student feels like typing bad words towards a classmate, here comes the keyboard that recognizes and turns the hate word into something different and less “painful”. More info

WTM 2020 gets virtual: all the events will take place online from November 9th to 11th following the English time zone; the fair will offer the same networking and training opportunities as the physical event, but without the clutter of having to run between the pavilions. More info

Booking decided to adapt its offer now proposing rates for long stays, with a minimum of 28 nights. This initiative is designed to develop the activity of houses and flats, which has represented a growing share of Ota’s bookings after the pandemic. More info

Back to the 90s with Airbnb and the Fresh Prince: to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the popular TV series, Will Smith is offering on the platform for a limited time the opportunity to overnight in the iconic house of the show. More info