Giuridico e Amministrativo

📍 Key facts from the article: Starting tomorrow, only licensed tour guides are allowed to conduct guided tours. Non-licensed individuals face fines ranging from €3,000 to €12,000 if caught practicing illegally. Tourism intermediaries, both online and offline, Italian or foreign, can be fined €5,000 to €15,000 if they do not employ a licensed tour guide. Cultural institutions failing to use a licensed guide or hindering their entry could face the same penalties. Micol Caramello, president of Federagit, has been advocating for this reform for over ten years and now urges municipalities to implement and enforce these new regulations. Local authorities have the necessary tools to combat the issue of unlicensed guides.

📌 The Italian Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, highlighted the government's efforts to regulate short-term rentals. A reform initiated in early June requires all properties used for such rentals to have a National Identification Code (Codice Identificativo Nazionale) and to be included in the Tourism Ministry's database by the end of the year. Penalties for non-compliance include sanctions on online platforms. Over 10,000 codes have been issued in seven leading regions, adding to the existing regional identification codes being converted. The reform aims to protect private property, tourists, and combat unfair competition and illegal rentals.

✈️ Iberia expresses optimism following the European Commission's authorization of Lufthansa's acquisition of Ita Airways. Iberia anticipates a similar approval for the integration of Air Europa into its parent company IAG. To meet Brussels' demands, Iberia has offered to cede up to 52% of Air Europa's routes in 2023, an increase from the initial 40%. The EU has set August 20 as the deadline to decide on the operation, with a possibility of further delay.

The tourist tax in Italy varies by region and type of property, with rates ranging from €3 to €7 per night in Rome, €0.70 to €5 in Venice, and a consistent tax in Milan. Automated software like Chekin simplifies tax calculation and compliance for property managers, integrating with existing systems and enhancing guest experience with transparent communication and efficient operations.

🏖️ Starting July 1, 2024, access to the Sustainable Tourism Fund 2024 is available, covering up to 50% of eligible project expenses, with a minimum amount of 50,000 euros and a maximum of 300,000 euros.

The President of Assomarinas, Roberto Perocchio, expressed satisfaction with the State Council's positive ruling (number 5805-2024) on the appeal filed against the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport regarding an erroneous 25.15% ISTAT index adjustment for maritime concession fees for 2023. The ruling, issued in Rome on July 2, 2024, supports Assomarinas's stance against the improper indexation method that did not follow the legal requirement to average two specific ISTAT indices, leading to potentially unsustainable costs for Italian tourist port companies already affected by a decade of financial crisis from 2010-2020.

Despite complex geopolitical and economic contexts, travel demand remains high with 80% of Italians happy to travel, matching the European average, and about 70% planning at least one summer vacation, while over half (39%) plan multiple. The UNWTO predicts 2024 to be a record year for international tourism, fully recovering to pre-pandemic levels with a 2% increase over 2019, though persistent inflation, high interest rates, volatile oil prices, and geopolitical tensions present ongoing challenges.

Calabria has become the fourth Italian region, after Puglia, Veneto, and Abruzzo, to join the experimental phase of the Hospitality Database (BDSR), with citizens able to request the National Identification Code (CIN) for accommodation services starting June 26 via an online platform using SPID or CIE. This system will be mandatory after 60 days following its official publication, which is expected by September 1, 2024, but currently, no penalties are applied for non-compliance.

Enrique “Kike” Sarasola, a former Olympic equestrian for Spain, founded Room Mate Hotels in 2005 which now operates with the US-based Angelo Gordon fund and Westmont Hospitality. With a philosophy of guest-centric design and personal experience, he emphasizes the importance of staff staying in their hotels and aims for an online reputation of over 9 and 85-90% occupancy, while planning future expansion in Italy and possibly Asia.