Iniziativa eco-responsabile e CSR

📈 Blastness, awarded as Best Performing Small Company 2024/25 by SDA Bocconi, stands out for ESG commitment, innovation, and economic performance. With 50% of its workforce being women and over half under 30 years old, the tech company emphasizes growth opportunities, incentivization, and profit-sharing. CEO Andrea Delfini highlights values contributing to its success and market leadership, with over 1,800 clients and a 14-year tenure as Italy's top provider of electronic distribution systems for 5-star hotels.

🏖 Travel consultant and reservation agent are the most sought-after jobs in 2025 according to LinkedIn's 2025 Job on the rise. The travel consultant, mainly in demand in Rome, Milan, and Turin, is 83% women and 17% men, with limited smart working options: 28.2% remote and 10.2% hybrid work. Following these roles are AI engineers, HR administrators, cyber security engineers, sustainability specialists, data analysts, and project planners, reflecting the need for tech innovation, personnel management, data analysis, and sustainable practices.

📍 CartOrange aims to recruit 50 new travel consultants by the end of 2025, joining over 450 existing ones. The company has updated its website, consulentediviaggio.it, in December 2024, facilitating easy applications for any specialization level. Silvia Poli, HR manager, emphasizes the value of diverse talents and the professional longevity of 70% of consultants being over 10 years. CartOrange Academy offers ongoing training without any fee for travel agents, supported by 45 staff in Milan and Florence offices. Unique benefits include covering 2/3 of the INPS contributions, ensuring long-term social security for consultants.

🌳 By 2025, sustainability becomes essential for hoteliers, driven by eco-conscious travelers demanding authentic green practices. Investing in AI-based innovative solutions can optimize energy consumption and reduce waste, with savings between 5% and 15%, and a payback period under three years. Palazzo Morosini degli Spezieri in Venice and Riviera Resort Hotel in Lignano exemplify energy efficiency with smart systems. Hotel Conca Park in Sorrento, Italy's first zero-waste hotel, uses leftovers for compost and rainwater for irrigation. AI aids in optimizing purchases and predicting guest consumption. Embracing local economies, hotels like Hotel Saturnia & International in Venice engage in community projects and prioritize local suppliers. Digital transformations, including contactless check-in and digital keys, aim to reduce guest waste which averages nearly one kilogram per night, with 50% being paper and plastics. Urban Hotels in Florence adopts a holistic approach to sustainability, considering guests, staff, suppliers, and the environment.

🍲 In Italy, Istat's 2022 report shows 10.7% of employees earn a low hourly wage of €8.9; women's average hourly pay is €15.9 versus men's €16.8. The accommodation and food services sector has the lowest average wage of €10.9 per hour. Amadeus invested in AI for meeting sales management, and OpenAI introduced a tool for autonomous travel bookings, partnering with companies like Booking.com and Uber. Ryanair reduced its investment in Rome's Fiumicino Airport by €100 million due to rising costs. Chef Felix Lo Basso left Milan for Switzerland, citing high rents and low wages. Chef Marc Veyrat banned Michelin inspectors from his French Alps restaurant.

🌊 The Caribbean Tourist Organization reported an 18% increase in arrivals to the Gulf of Mexico in 2024 over 2023. CEO Dona Regis-Prosper launched 'Sustainable Tourism in Action,' a series of educational webinars for the region's 29 countries. The initiative starts on February 17 and will focus on reducing carbon footprint. St. Kitts and Nevis saw a 14% rise in visitors from January to June 2024, while Castries, St. Lucia (+15%), Barbados (10.3%), and Dominica (14.6%) also showed growth. Flight prices dropped by up to 25% in 2024. Anguilla profited from its "ai" domain, quadrupling its registration tax earnings to $32 million (20% of government revenue). Cuba faced a 9.5% decline in arrivals in 2024 due to international sanctions.

🍝 EquoEventi, founded around 10 years ago, aims to repurpose wasted food from meetings and congresses. Carlo De Sanctis, a founder, emphasizes transforming leftovers instead of discarding them. In 2024, EquoEventi reclaimed food from 106 events, feeding almost 25,000 people in Rome, Milan, Turin, and Lecce.

🚂 Luigi Cantamessa, executive of FS Treni Turistici Italiani and Fondazione FS Italiane, discusses the rise in sustainable railway tourism in Italy, with the company having enhanced its offer with newly renovated, sustainable carriages made in Italy. The expanded service includes seasonal itineraries like Espresso Versilia, Espresso Riviera, Espresso Salento, Espresso Assisi, Espresso Langhe-Monferrato, Sicilia Express, and Treno delle Terme. These routes connect major Italian cities and regions, offering unique cultural and gastronomic experiences.

🏡 Gabriele Gneri, managing director of Hotelsdoctors, highlights a business model transformation for hotels through 'regenerative hospitality', a more ambitious and inclusive sustainability model. Regenerative hospitality aims for a tangible positive impact on local communities and ecosystems, beyond just reducing harm. Examples include a resort in Jamaica that helped start a local bottled water supply company. This approach is currently more prevalent in peripheral luxury hotels with about 30 to 40 rooms, but it is expected to be adopted by all types of hotel structures in the future.

🛍 Village Land of Fashion joins MeliáRewards program, enhancing luxury shopping with tourism experiences and benefits such as dedicated promotions, custom experiences, and points earning. Double points available on purchases until February 28. Land of Fashion Group operates five shopping centers: Franciacorta Village (BS), Valdichiana Village (AR), Mantova Village (MN), Palmanova Village (UD), and Puglia Village (BA).