Distribuzione e Revenue

💍 CartOrange, a honeymoon travel company, reported a 16% increase in turnover before the financial year closed on August 31. A survey of 2,000 clients revealed that 22% of honeymooners are over 50, and 0.5% are over 70. Couples now often travel with children or extended family, reflecting later marriages and second weddings. Furthermore, 33% of honeymoon trips no longer include a beach stay, with itinerant and experiential trips taking the lead.

🏦 In Italy, luxury serviced apartments offer potential for growth and attract international investors. Deloitte's Benedetto Puglisi highlighted the sector's appeal to high spenders, confirming Italy leads Europe with a 21% market share in hotel structures. In 2023 alone, the country saw €1.6 billion invested in hospitality, nearly 45% targeting luxury. Italy ranks fifth in Europe's serviced apartment sector, generating over €2.4 billion annually. The luxury segment is dynamic, with 30 new establishments yearly since 2017, totaling 710 five-star hotels and 47,300 rooms.

✈ Italian airports experienced an unprecedented August in air traffic, surpassing 2019 figures by more than 15 percentage points. Assaeroporti reports a total of 23.5 million passengers in the month, a 10.9% increase from the previous year. Rome Fiumicino led the growth with a 21.4% increase, serving 5.1 million passengers. By August 2024, passenger traffic approached 150 million, with 33 million at Rome Fiumicino and 19 million at Milan Malpensa, accounting for over 33% of national traffic.

💸 From July to September 2024, direct bookings saw a 6% increase over Q3 2023, with revenue from those bookings up by 5%; ADR remained stable. The United States remained the top country of origin, followed by domestic and key European markets (Germany, UK, France), with American bookings made 87 days in advance on average, down from 94 days. Advertising traffic grew by 25% from 2023, with Digital Advertising revenue up 26%, representing 36% of total direct sales. Online advertising ROI was consistent at 8x, reaching 13x when including offline contacts. Google Ads dominated with a 53% sales distribution share, Price Advertising (Metasearch) at 36%, and Bing Microsoft Ads at 6%.

🌍 Space Hotels, under new president Beniamino Tomasoni, reports a 22.5% revenue increase from January to August 2024 compared to the same period in 2023. The company, founded in 1974, celebrates its 50th year with 45 hotels in key Italian destinations. Main markets include the US, Germany, France, Spain, and a returning Australian clientele. Popular locations are Rome, Milan, and Turin. Space Hotels will be present at World Travel Market in London from November 5-7.

🚩 Danilo Curzi, CEO of Idee per Viaggiare, raised concerns about international destinations at a recent fair. Jordan's tourism potential has been impacted by regional conflict and international situations. Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates face noticeable booking difficulties, influenced by the conflict and psychological barriers related to warzone flyovers. Additionally, the Maldives experienced a slowdown in tourism in late 2024.

🏖 Roberta Possenti, vice president of Preferred Hotels & Resorts, unveils insights into attracting, seducing, and retaining guests for the brand's 600+ upper-level global properties. Key markets for Italian venues prioritize hyper-personalized experiences, blending large and small art cities for culture and the Italian way of life, including starred dining to cooking classes. U.S. clients, crucial for Italy, research via travel agents or OTAs and social media, but book through agents, OTAs, or hotel loyalty programs, seeking added value like bike rentals, welcome cocktails, and museum bookings.

🍷 Sandro Bottega unveiled the "Prosecco Premium Vintage Collection" in Milan, featuring select single-vineyard grapes from Unesco Heritage Hills, sustainable viticulture, and a patented cork from Sardinian cork to signal off-flavors. With up to 12 months of fermentation, prices range from €35 to €250 per bottle, limited to 50,000 bottles worldwide. Bottega S.p.A.'s turnover for 2023 was over €91 million (+6.5% from 2022), with exports exceeding 80% and a presence in 165 countries. The company forecasts nearly €100 million in revenue by the end of 2024.

💱 Italy-China commercial exchange hit €73.9 billion in 2022, with Italian exports at a record €16.4 billion and imports at €57.5 billion. In the first eight months of 2023, trade was around €45.7 billion, down 7.9% from 2022, due to an 18% drop in Chinese exports to Italy. However, Italian exports to China increased 30% to €13.6 billion. On October 11, 2024, China will require EU spirit importers to retain deposits for anti-dumping duties in response to EU's definitive compensatory duties on Chinese electric vehicles. China imported 43.31 million liters of brandy in 2023.

🏕 In Austria, the tourism sector is gearing up to surpass pre-pandemic levels with a record 115.6 million overnight stays in the first eight months of 2024, marking a 3% increase in attendance and a 9.6% surge in arrivals for August compared to 2023. Tobias Thomas, the director of the Austrian Federal Statistical Office, reported these figures, which exceeded the 115.3 million overnights of January-August 2019. Factors contributing to this achievement include Austria's rich cultural offerings, scenic landscapes, and popular tourist attractions, with Vienna, Innsbruck, Salzburg, and alpine regions drawing both domestic and international visitors.