TOP NEWS

🍳 Gennaro Esposito hosted the 22nd "Festa a Vico" festival from June 9-11 in Vico Equense. The event raised €280,000 for charity and included over 180 chefs. Highlights included a gala dinner with famous chefs like Massimo Bottura and Carlo Cracco, and a new "Sostanza" award for Italian artisans. Key events: "Bites of Italy" dinner, wine pairing experiences, and a focus on young culinary talents. A scenic "Cammino di Seiano" concluded the festival.

🧀 Consorzio del Parmigiano Reggiano debuts as official cheese partner at The World’s 50 Best Restaurants 2025, held in Turin, Italy from June 17-20. The event includes 350 chefs, and showcases award-winning Parmigiano Reggiano 24-month cheeses. A scholarship supports an emerging chef among 480 candidates, with finalists from Nigeria, Colombia, and France. Training will be at El Celler de Can Roca, Spain, and SingleThread, USA, emphasizing the cheese's global culinary role.

🍺 Valerio Izzo won the 2025 Art of ITALICUS Aperitivo Challenge in Italy with his "House of ITALICUS" cocktail, earning a spot at the global final on July 7 in Monaco. Over 600 bartenders worldwide competed, showcasing ITALICUS Rosolio di Bergamotto. Izzo's drink, inspired by Southern Italian hospitality, features ITALICUS, Champagne di Percoche, and peach. The Italian podium included Nausica Vitali and Vincenzo Palumbo. The finale will feature judges Giuseppe Gallo, Lorenzo Antinori, and Paloma Difford.

💰 Napoli, 2027: L'America's Cup genererà un impatto economico di circa 690 milioni di euro a breve termine e oltre 1,2 miliardi a lungo termine. Il rapporto presentato da Daniela Santanchè a Genova stima una spesa turistica diretta di 370 milioni di euro con 1,5-1,7 milioni di visitatori. L'organizzazione dell'evento costerà 100 milioni di euro, creando circa 11.000 posti di lavoro. Si prevede un incremento del 5-10% del flusso di visitatori post-evento.

🌍 15.7 million Italians plan summer vacations after school closures, with 90.6% staying in Italy and 9.4% opting for European capitals, Croatia, or Spain, according to Federalberghi's Tecnè survey. Departures peak on Fridays and Saturdays in June, with 4.6 million travelers. Vacation durations shorten to 7 days, averaging €463 per person, totaling €7.3 billion in spending. This trend opens opportunities for service diversification, with 200,000 grandparents joining family trips.

💰 Ezio Barroero, 75, leads Lab Travel, ending 2024 with €62 million and 146 personal voyagers, 120 of whom are women. Despite global challenges, 2025 is projected to grow by 15%. Co-owner Franco Gattinoni holds 30%. Barroero, not considering himself a tourism expert, has been in the industry for 40 years. With daughters in the company, he plans to step back in 3-4 years. Barroero values Cuneo's work environment and aims not to exceed 500 personal voyagers.

🗺 Lombardia projects over 25.257 million overnight stays from June to September 2025, a 5.11% increase from 2024. This growth surpasses the national average of 2.1%, with foreign tourists accounting for 74.7% of stays. The Milano-Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics are expected to attract nearly 2 million additional tourists. These events emphasize Lombardy’s preparedness and potential for sustainable tourism development, with contributions from various local tourism operators.

🏖 Italian open-air vacations in 2024 saw approximately 11 million arrivals, with 52% from abroad, and over 72 million presences. Average stays were 6.5 nights, with expectations to exceed 73 million presences. Booking trends show a 1.3% increase in arrivals and a 1.4% rise in presences. Revenue grew by 1.2% despite a 2.4% tariff hike. Coastal regions anticipate almost a 2% flow increase, while mountain dwellings see a 1.5% revenue rise. Occupancy peaks at 66% in August.

🌍 Ramon Parisi, business development manager at InViaggi, outlines strategies amidst market challenges. Summer 2025 sees a market influenced by inflation, particularly affecting family travel. Key destinations include Tunisia, Turkey, Egypt, and Italy, with a rise in customized travel demand. InViaggi adapts with early booking offers and flexible options. Travelers seek experiential and personalized trips. InViaggi aims for a €7 million revenue, focusing on product, digitalization, and agency network training.

🌍 Italy is set to welcome 18.6 million international airport passengers and 27 million tourists this summer, according to Enit. The country ranks second globally as a vacation destination, trailing only Spain. Pier Ezhaya, president of Astoi, notes that long-haul bookings are up by 14%, with Egypt and East Africa seeing strong demand. June sees a 15.7 million increase in Italian domestic vacationers as school ends, growing by 600,000 from 2020, says Federalberghi’s Bernabò Bocca.