Giuridico e Amministrativo

💰 Italy's tax revenue from the tourist tax is expected to reach €976 million in 2024 and is projected to increase to nearly €1.06 billion in 2025, marking a +7.8% year-over-year growth. The increase is attributed to the Jubilee in Rome and the addition of 25 municipalities imposing the tax, totaling 1,315 municipalities. The Lazio region leads with €295 million, a +55.6% increase from 2023, followed by Lombardy (€108 million), Tuscany (€100.3 million), and Veneto (€98 million). For more information, visit: https://www.jfc.it/.

✈ A new embarkation tax of €0.50 per passenger for flights to non-EU countries will be imposed at Italian airports: Fiumicino, Malpensa, Bergamo, Napoli, Venezia, Catania, and likely Linate and Bologna by 2025. The tax applies to airports with over 10 million passengers, starting April 1 to coincide with the summer schedule. Expected revenue is over €5 million in the first year and €8 million in the second, funding infrastructure and road works in the affected cities and metropolitan areas.

❄ Employees of Swissport at Leeds airport are set to strike from December 19 to January 4, potentially suspending operations. The strike, involving 50 ramp agents, is due to a dispute over winter period payments, including de-icing duties. Ryanair flights might be the most affected.

🚤 In 2023, the nautical sector's revenue reached a historic high of €8.33 billion, a €1 billion increase from 2022, with export records at €4.23 billion. A Rome meeting on December 12, 2024, highlighted growth normalization for 2024, with positive prospects, especially for the superyacht sector. The forecast for superyachts in 2024 is 75% positive, whereas other segments up to 24 meters see a 60% contraction, with a possible market rebound in spring 2025.

🏀 United Airlines to launch flights from New Jersey to Nuuk, Greenland next spring. Greenland's airline capacity to nearly double from current year to 105,000 seats between April and August next year. Greenland's population is just over 56,000, spread across 2,166,000 square kilometers. In 2018, Greenland invested $700 million in building three airports to boost tourism. In 2023, foreign tourism brought in more than $270 million, with Nuuk offering fewer than 600 hotel rooms. A potential shortage of rooms is expected by 2027. New tourism legislation may be introduced in 2025, allowing local communities to limit tourism and ensure tour operators pay taxes in Greenland.

📌 The Italian Ministry of Interior's circular has highlighted the importance of in-person verification ("de visu") for guest identification during check-in processes. Article 109 of TULPS requires accommodation managers to identify guests with valid documents and submit data to the "Alloggiati Web" portal. OK Home offers technology that can supplement the "de visu" check, making the process more efficient without compromising safety. Their online check-in systems collect and validate guest data before arrival, employ OTP digital signature, use advanced algorithms for document-selfie verification, and offer remote verification via video call. The Ministry's circular aims to limit the misuse of unregulated methods like keyboxes and insecure document transmission via WhatsApp. OK Home's solutions maintain data safety with certified protocols and enhance the in-person recognition experience. The company suggests certification of technologies, pilot projects in hospitality facilities, and collaboration between institutions and operators to ensure security and innovation in the tourism sector. ????

💰 Aigo Confesercenti challenges a ministerial directive mandating personal recognition of vacation rental clients, urging an urgent meeting with Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi and Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè to discuss digital alternatives. Highlighting AI technology's use in airports, Aigo suggests its applicability to remote check-ins. Amidst forced key box removals in Florence, Naples, and Rome, the association seeks decorous alternatives, advocating for a fair transition period for managers.

🏘 During the national council of Fto, key issues in the tourism sector were discussed, including fair compensation, the value of organized tourism, digitalization, sustainable and quality tourism offerings in Italy, and bureaucratic challenges. President Franco Gattinoni emphasized the multitude of projects and the need for hands-on management, highlighting Fto's representation of varied tourism activities and responsiveness to individual entrepreneurs.

🚂 Trenitalia, recognized by the NGO Transport and Environment as the top Italian railway company among 27 evaluated based on price, reliability, discount programs, compensation policies, passenger experience, and night trains or bike spaces availability. Trenitalia excels in quality-price ratio, unlike Eurostar, rated as the most expensive and least reliable. Swiss SBB and RegioJet from the Czech Republic follow Trenitalia, while Austria's OBB and France's Sncf secure fourth and fifth places, respectively. Eurostar, serving England, France, and Belgium, ranks last, with prices double the European average.

✈️ Air Transat, starting May 2, 2025, will offer direct flights from 3 Italian airports to Toronto and Montreal. Summer 2025 sees 19 direct flights: 7 daily from Rome Fiumicino to both Toronto (May 3 - October 23) and Montreal (May 2 - October 24); 4 from Venice to Toronto (twice weekly, May 3 - October 25) and Montreal (twice weekly, May 5 - October 24); and 1 weekly flight from Lamezia Terme to Toronto (June 26 - September 11). Air Transat ranks 6th in Transport&Environment's airline sustainability list.