Laura Alese - Federturismo Confindustria

📌 On October 2, the CDM approved changes to the Migrant Decree reform for better employer accountability to prevent fraud and digital simplification of procedures, streamlining the process for employers and foreign workers. Two "click days" are planned for 2025 to address the shortage of seasonal workers in tourism. For summer, the click day is in February with 70% of the quotas, pre-filling starting in November. For winter, the click day is in October covering the remaining 30%, with pre-filling in July. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè highlights these measures as a way to protect businesses and foreign workers, ensuring legal and safe immigration, and benefit the national economy, including tourism reliant on foreign labor. More info at www.ministeroturismo.gov.it.

🏖 Osservatorio Turismo Internazionale Cashless 2024 reports cashless transactions in tourism sector up by +24.5% in summer 2024, but international card usage dropped -10% from the previous year to 15%. Top cashless spending tourists hail from the USA (13.9%), UK (10.3%), France (10.2%), with nearly 1 in 10 international card transactions over 100 euros, compared to 3.3% for Italian cards. High spending (over 200 euros) is 3.8% for international cards versus 1% for Italian. Ancona leads the growth in cashless payments with +76.4%, followed by Piacenza (+42.1%) and Rovigo (+39.1%).

🛫 Over 45% of flights from Italy between June and August experienced issues, affecting more than 928,000 travelers. During the summer, over 32 million passengers flew from Italian airports, a 3.2% increase from the previous year. Out of 213,834 total flights, 97,581 faced disruptions. Across Europe, over 38% of flights were delayed or canceled, impacting over 7.4 million passengers eligible for compensation. Globally, the number of passengers affected by flight problems reached 12.8 million. London Heathrow saw the most affected passengers in Europe with 263,000, followed by Frankfurt (249,000) and Paris Charles de Gaulle (245,000). In Italy, Rome Fiumicino had over 218,000 affected passengers, Milan Malpensa (133,000), and Bergamo Orio al Serio (79,000). Under EC261/2004 and UK261, passengers can receive compensation between €250-€600 for delays over 3 hours, cancellations, or denied boarding.