Giuridico e Amministrativo

🏢 Convention Bureau Roma e Lazio has grown by 13 new associates, including AG Group Italy, ICB Allestimenti, Pepe Catering, and ten others confirmed in late January. President Onorio Rebecchini reports the network now encompasses 151 operators, including 130 members and 21 partners. Rome ranks in the top seven worldwide destinations for international events and congresses and is the leading conference destination in Italy according to the International Congress and Convention Association (Icca).

💳 Hospitality businesses are affected by the additional sickness contribution for hotel-associated restaurant, café, and bar employees. The Italian social security institute (Inps) introduced a new worker code "IA" meaning "Intermittent worker in public establishments owing an additional sickness contribution of 0.77%." Confusion arose, prompting Federalberghi and its General Director Alessandro Nucara to seek clarification. Inps clarified that establishments integral to and managed by hotels are exempt from the 0.77% contribution, while independent entities with separate licenses must pay. The exemption also applies to small boarding houses categorized as hospitality businesses, regardless of room numbers.

📂 Israel's Electronic Travel Authorisation (Eta) for visa-exempt countries will become effective on January 1, 2025. Initial Eta enforcement was planned for August 1, 2024, following a pilot period starting June 1, 2024. The pilot, initially for selected countries, was to expand to all visa-exempt nations from July 1, 2024. Due to airline requests for more preparation time for technological system integration, the Israeli Population and Immigration Authority extended the pilot by five months after a comprehensive review.

🌍 At Frankfurt Airport, eco-activists disrupted operations by gluing themselves to the runway at 5 AM, resulting in a NOTAM issuance, diversion of intercontinental flights, 140 cancellations, and significant delays. Environmental group Letzte Generation claims six activists cut through fences to gain access.

💸 Fiavet Confcommercio signed a national labor contract renewal affecting 25,000 travel and tourism agency employees, after extensive negotiations. The new contract, effective from July 1, 2024, to December 31, 2027, includes a €200 salary increase for IV level employees over four years and excludes the one-time payment for the contractual holiday period since 2020. It introduces new professional roles and emphasizes the critical role of the technical director in combating widespread unlicensed activity. President Giuseppe Ciminnisi highlighted the satisfactory clarification of the technical director's role against unfair competition.

🚨 L'aeroporto di Basilea, terzo più grande della Svizzera, evacuato per allarme bomba e chiuso temporaneamente durante attacchi alle infrastrutture ferroviarie in Francia, coincide con le Olimpiadi di Parigi 2024. Nel 2023, l'aeroporto ha superato gli 8 milioni di passeggeri, avvicinandosi al record pre-pandemico.

✈ President Pierluigi Di Palma from Italy's National Civil Aviation Authority met with Joerg Eberhart, Chief Strategy Officer of Lufthansa, following the EU's approval of the ITA-Lufthansa integration. They agreed on a common vision to support the aviation industry's growth, passenger rights, and service quality. Rome Fiumicino Airport is set to become one of Lufthansa's 6 hubs, enhancing intercontinental connections as part of the new alliance's industrial strategy.

🏖️ Italian Tourism Minister Daniela Santanché emphasizes quality over quantity in tourism, aiming to make Italy a year-round destination with policies for off-peak travel. The government has allocated nearly €20 million for the development of touristic paths and €34 million to enhance small tourism-oriented towns. Santanché plans to propose a targeted tourist tax in the next Council of Ministers, ensuring it contributes to improving tourist services.

🏠 In Barcellona, Mayor Jaume Collboni announced that as of late 2028, tourist apartment licenses will not be renewed, following protests against overtourism. In 2023, Barcellona province, with 5.5 million residents, received 26 million tourists, generating nearly €13 billion. By the start of 2029, the aim is to eliminate 10,000 short-term rented apartments, with 10,101 current licenses expiring in November 2028. Over the past decade, rents in Barcellona have soared by 68%, and property prices have almost increased by 40%.

🏠 In Venice, the Access Contribution experiment ended on July 14, with Mayor Luigi Brugnaro declaring success. It saw 485,062 people pay the fee, totaling €2,425,310 in revenue for the city. Reservations hit 3,618,114, including exempt categories such as workers and students. QR code checks from http://cda.ve.it totaled 399,030, from users in 194 countries. The initiative aims to manage tourism and respect for Venice, with further data analysis planned for September and October.