TOP NEWS

🏖️ Elisabetta Faggiana and Salvo Losito launched the app "Unexpected Italy" aiming to combat overtourism by suggesting less visited yet captivating itineraries and locations. Data from corriere.it shows 70% of tourists see only 1% of Italy, causing overcrowding in certain areas. Introduced in early August, the app allows users to create customized paths featuring places, shops, and accommodations curated by the founders and experts. Currently features four destinations—Vicenza, Bassano del Grappa, Rome, and Venice—with plans to expand nationwide.

♈ Cancro individuals, ruled by the Moon, exhibit high emotional sensitivity but can become detached when hurt. Aquarius, driven by Uranus, prioritizes intellect over emotional connections. Capricorns, influenced by Saturn, suppress emotions for the sake of efficiency. Virgos, guided by Mercury, favor logic and precision over emotional responses. Gemini, also ruled by Mercury, can shift from warmth to coldness unpredictably, highlighting the diverse emotional management across these zodiac signs.

💸 In Italy, tax-exempt tips average 943 euros annually per worker in the tourism sector, with Lombardy (1,569 euros) and Liguria (1,082 euros) having the highest averages. A favorable 5% tax rate on these tips benefits 88.2% of workers earning under 30,000 euros yearly. Minister Daniela Santanchè highlights that approximately 60,000 workers, or 3.3% of those in accommodation and food services, benefit from this, urging a review of Article 146 of the CCNL to further protect workers' rights to tips.

🌏 Travel destinations beyond Italy and the Mediterranean are gaining popularity, with the Orient, including Vietnam, Indocina, Indonesia, and Japan, leading the way, and new emerging destinations like Bali, Saudi Arabia, and Uzbekistan, which is seen as a safe destination. The positive trend for Korea continues, and China is experiencing excellent booking trends. These insights come from a TTG Italia survey, which sets the stage for the TTG Travel Experience event by Italian Exhibition Group, taking place from October 9 to 11 at the Fiera di Rimini. Building on the growth in tourism exchange between Italy, Mediterranean countries, and the rest of the world, TTG Travel Experience started an internationalization process a year ago through TTG Med. The 2024 edition will introduce "Programma The World," a matching system for international buyers and sellers, evolving the event into a global B2B affair, as described by Gloria Armiri, Group Exhibition Manager Tourism & Hospitality Division of IEG.

💸 Minor Hotels Europe & Americas reported €1.15 billion in revenues for the first half of 2024, a +11.5% increase over €1.03 billion in H1 2023. The company's net profit soared by +57.4% to €71 million. Daily rates averaged €143, with RevPAR growing from €90 to €96, and occupancy reaching 67.6%. EBITDA rose by 11.4% to €298 million, and the firm reduced its debt by €24 million to €241 million. Liquidity stood at €537 million as of June 30, 2024. Italy saw +4% revenue growth, with occupancy at 67% and ADR at €185. Fitch upgraded the company's credit rating from B to BB- in April 2024.

🇳🇱 In Venice, a 5€ entry fee collected 2.425.310€ over 29 days between April and July 2024, surpassing the targeted 700,000€. Of the 3,618,114 bookings, 1.4 million were hotel guests, 1 million for work/study, and 400,000 were residents/relatives, all exempt. Visitor numbers stayed below 2023 levels, indicating lower congestion. Future plans include increasing fee days and potentially raising the fee to 10€ in 2025. Mixed international media reactions highlighted local resident satisfaction and critic skepticism. Funds will support city maintenance and restoration.

✈ Swiss Group International AG, in partnership with GSA Rep Air, has increased flight frequency between Naples and Sharm El-Sheikh for the tourist season peak. Star East Airlines has flights on August 5, 12, 19, 26, and September 2, departing Naples at 13:15 and arriving at 12:15. Red Sea Airlines operates on August 4, 11, 18 with departures at 20:40, arrivals at 19:40, and on August 25 and September 1, flights leave at 19:35, arriving at 18:35.

📖 The Italian Ministry of Tourism is creating a national database of accommodation facilities, including non-hotel lodgings and short-term rental apartments. Gianluca Caramanna, National Head of the Tourism Department, highlighted that short-term rentals make up nearly 50% of Italy's accommodation capacity, proving vital for the economy in 2023. The experimental phase of the "Cin" identifier began in June 2024, with 20,000 out of 276,000 registered facilities receiving it. By September 2024, all facilities must comply, facing fines from €800 to €8,000 for non-compliance, with additional fines for failure to display the required badge. This initiative aims to fight illegal accommodation and unfair competition.

🏖 Destination Italia is investing over €3 million in IT development, specifically in the Hubcore platform for tourism operators, over a three-year period. The all-in-one technology is designed for OTA, hotel businesses, and DMC/DMO. The investment focuses on improving booking processes through Artificial Intelligence (AI), aiming at efficiency and responsiveness. Migration of Destination Italia's data to Hubcore has begun, and various tourism operators are already using the platform. Dina Ravera, the company's president, emphasizes the importance of IT investment in tourism for the country's economic growth and the integration of AI to save time on repetitive tasks.

🏠 Milan is the most sought-after Italian destination by British travelers, second for Spaniards, Dutch, and Portuguese, fourth for the French, and sixth for Germans as of August 2024, according to www.jetcost.it. Italy ranks as the second most searched country for vacations after Portugal. Leading holiday spots for Italian tourists include the Canary Islands and major European capitals. Tenerife tops the list, followed by Catania, Palermo, Barcelona, Palma de Mallorca, Olbia, Corfu, and Ibiza rounding out the top ten. Jetcost's marketing director, Ignazio Ciarmoli, noted a record surge in vacation searches, surpassing the previous year.