Fusioni & Acquisizioni

✈ Lufthansa aims to close 2024 with a double acquisition, potentially adding 10% of airBaltic to its portfolio by year-end, following the Ita Airways deal. The German airline's expansion through corporate acquisitions continues, although the airBaltic agreement is not yet signed, and a recent wet lease contract has been extended between the two airlines.

📍 Trenitalia and ITA Airways launched a status match campaign starting from October 22 for a duration of two weeks. Eligible members of CartaFRECCIA and Volare loyalty programs can request equivalent status recognition valid until December 31, 2025. CartaFRECCIA has over 10 million members, while Volare, launched over two years ago, boasts 2.5 million members and 35 commercial partners, including a new subprogram for children and teens launched in March 2024.

🎭 Associazione Parchi Permanenti Italiani announces a €450 million investment over the next three years. Luciano Pareschi, the association's president, outlines 4 macro intervention areas: safety, sustainability, smile, and service, leveraging new technologies including artificial intelligence. Tourism Minister Daniela Santanché highlights the economic impact of amusement parks. Secretary Maurizio Crisanti confirms parks are central to tourism, with promising data for 2024 and positive expectations for year-end, boosted by Halloween and Christmas seasons.

🏡 The Grand Hotel Imperiale in Forte dei Marmi, a luxury 5-star property with around 45 rooms, was sold by Luxury Hotel Development to Emaar Properties, a leading global real estate company known for the Burj Khalifa and the Dubai Mall. The deal was valued at €40 million and includes Remo beach. Mohamed Ali Alabbar, a prominent UAE businessman, is behind the acquisition. Minor modifications are planned before a more radical overhaul of the suites.

🗿 Naar Bespoke Travel enters exclusive partnership with Atmosphere Core to market Atmosphere Kanifushi Maldives as the sole Italian player. The 5-star resort located in the Lhaviyani Atoll aims to make Italy a top 10 market by year-end. A 19-stop roadshow across Italy from October 23 to November 7 involves 700 agencies to promote the partnership. Atmosphere Kanifushi features 162 beach villas, a 2-kilometer beach, and the Maldives' first gourmet vegetarian restaurant, Just Veg, by chef Fabrizio Marino.

🏨 Radisson Hotel Group plans 7 new hotel openings in Italy by 2025, targeting 30 Italian properties by 2027. Newly signed hotels in the past year total 5, with 2025 openings in Bergamo, Pisa, Como, Florence, Rome (Piazza Sallustio - art’otel brand debut), Naples, and another in Rome. Chema Basterrechea and Valerie Schuermans confirm Italy as central to growth strategy, highlighting the country's dynamic market and potential for hospitality sector expansion.

🏦 Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group, under Group Chief Executive Laurent Kleitman for a year, aims to double its portfolio in ten years; it now has 28 hotels/resorts and 18 developing residences. Focused on the Middle East, Japan, North America, and major European capitals, the expansion includes a trio of boutique hotels in Japan's Setouchi, restoration/rebranding of Budapest's historic Hotel Gellért, ten villas in Rome, a Bali southern coast resort, and a Riviera Maya resort in Mexico. A new app is launching next year for guest experience and privacy. Mandarin is globalizing its patisseries and introducing a holistic Wellness 2.0 concept.

🏖️ Jamaica is set to allocate $6.3 million to tourism marketing initiatives, announced during the 63rd Annual General Meeting of the Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association by Tourism Minister Edmund Bartlett. Motivated by a surge in travelers, the plan includes new air links from South America starting December 1st with Latam flights from Peru, and negotiations with Azul Airlines and Avianca to introduce flights from Brazil and connect other South American regions, respectively. Marketing campaigns in India and targeted promotions in Eastern Europe and the Schengen area are also planned.

✈ Rome Fiumicino Airport leads Italy's record-setting 2024 airport system with a 12.9% passenger increase over pre-Covid 2019, based on January-August data. Italian airports grew above the European average in 2023 with 3.3 million more passengers (+1.7%), ranking Italy third in Europe with 197.2 million passengers, after Spain (281.6 million) and the UK (274.4 million). Low-cost airlines contributed significantly to the growth of 18 out of 20 minor airports in Italy.

🏡 Domestic flight bookings within Italy for Christmas show a 39% decrease compared to 2023. European travelers flying to Italy dropped by 14%. Italy's domestic market, with a 19.4% search share, remains the largest for tourism. The US, constituting 17.7%, is the second-largest market for Christmas 2024 holiday searches in Italy, followed by the UK at 9.5%. Hotel search data places Americans at the top with 33.8% share, and Italians at 19.1%. Rome leads in flight booking preferences at 32.8%, with Milan (27.4%) and Venice (6.7%) following. Sicily, with Catania at 5.6%, benefits from a tourism boost. For hotel choices at Christmas, Rome garners 48.4%, ahead of Milan, Florence, and Venice. In a broader European and Middle Eastern context, London, Dubai, and Paris are the top city destinations, with Milan and Rome at tenth and eleventh.