SHARE
COPY LINK

TOURISM

OPINION: Italy must update its image if it wants a new kind of tourism

Italian tourism marketing is stuck in the past and needs a revamp if the country is serious about leaving mass tourism behind for a greener, more sustainable model, says Silvia Marchetti.

Italy aims to use EU funds to boost eco-conscious tourism and change the way it is perceived globally.
Mask rules have been eased in Italy except for on public transport - though they remain recommended in crowded places. Photo by Vincenzo PINTO / AFP

Italy is a beautiful country, loved by tourists who returned this summer after the pandemic had pressed pause on global travel.

But the art, the churches, the monuments, the beaches and the food aren’t enough to keep the industry going in the long run if not supported by a strong marketing strategy – particularly in the post-pandemic world.

Italians have a saying: “Campare di rendita” – meaning ‘to live off the assets one already has without doing any extra work’. Like an aristocrat who survives on his family’s money without lifting a finger (until the day he realizes it’s all gone), Italy’s rich heritage requires a modern, efficient communication campaign to sustain it. 

Many foreigners I have spoken to complain they can’t find much help at local tourist offices, particularly in smaller towns and rural areas. Tourist information is often poor, outdated and consists of sketchy handouts and pamphlets only in Italian. What’s provided isn’t appealing: a list of fairs, religious parades, endless churches, museums and archaeological sites. 

READ ALSO: Why Italy urgently needs to hike entry prices to monuments and make people pay to visit churches

To lure curious visitors you need to feed them intriguing stories and blend the past with the present through legends, outdoor activities, interesting guided tours and experiences. Meeting locals who have a story to share or are doing something fantastic for the local community makes it all the more exciting: the Neapolitan pastry chef who makes the largest sfogliatella, a chili-pepper eating marathon in Calabria, the salami battle between neighboring towns, or Milan’s ‘mad hatter’ who designs tailored hats.

Will Italy see a return of pre-pandemic levels of mass tourism? File photo: Andreas SOLARO/AFP

I tend not to join guided tours because when I do I always end up wandering off. The last time was in Sicily, inside a stunning, spooky old fortress where it is said a princess was walled in alive in one of the turrets and the ghost of a knight in shining armor attempts to rescue her every fortnight. I just felt like strangling the guide. She made us stand for 1.5 hours under the scorching sun, without walking, just to listen to her narration of the historical facts and dates. It was boring.

All this reflects on travel journalism. The media can be a powerful tool in promoting destinations and yet such potential is not always grasped.

As a reporter when I need to source photos and turn to tourist boards they either have none or send black and white ones dating back to the 1960’s, or shots of a corner of an alley. Let alone high-res photos. Irritated, my question to them is always the same: ‘how can you promote the beauty and plus points of your territory if you have no alluring images to show people?’. Silence follows. 

Tourism marketing should be sexed up, but I think this is still not seen as a priority because tourists will come anyway to Italy to enjoy the views and wonders. And everyone knows it. 

MORE OPINION:

However, more dynamic and tailored campaigns focused on sustainability, green lifestyles and off-beat destinations could affect the type of incoming tourism by raising the quality and making it more niche. 

Italy’s post-Covid recovery plan has earmarked roughly 2.4 billion euros to revamp the sector, partly by boosting digital services through the creation of a new online platform.

Investments will also be made to support rural communities, upgrade accommodation, create new itineraries, hire new ‘professionals’ (perhaps in communication?) and promote under-the-radar, alternative destinations that offer a slow-pace experience. 

How all this will translate into concrete measures is still unclear.

The goal is to boost eco-conscious tourism and change the way Italy is perceived globally – not just as the cradle of art and history but also as an innovative, high-tech destination with modern, green infrastructure.

READ ALSO:

In a post-Covid world, mass tourism will no longer be the norm while remote, idyllic spots are bound to lure travelers looking for a knowledge jolt and fewer crowds. 

The rebirth of rural Italy will be at the core of the tourism revamp – provided the funds are efficiently deployed. 

Photo: Filippo MONTEFORTE / AFP

But first, the way Italy thinks about tourism and the way it is promoted must change. The fact that Italians have adopted an English word – ‘marketing’ – just shows how such strategic skills have never quite been their forte. 

A couple of years ago the British Museum made global headlines by organizing a fabulous exhibition on the wonders of Pompeii in London, while back in Italy the archaeological site just kept falling to pieces. One could argue that it would have been preposterous to stage an interactive show amid the ruins given Pompeii is a UNESCO-listed World Heritage site. But at the end of the day the UK basked in the reflected glory of an asset held in Italy. 

Italy’s problem is that it has been naturally gifted with too much beauty and art, and thinks that, just because it is Italy, it needs no advertising. 

Marketing campaigns are not seen as important, and when they are launched there’s often nothing new, sexy or surprising about them

I hate to be pessimistic but I think that without a ‘cultural revolution’ changing the messaging around tourism, and the approach towards territorial marketing, the recovery fund won’t be able to work miracles.

Member comments

  1. Italy sells itself. The varying landscape from region to region, the people, the food, the numerous historic sites and the art. If people arrive in a small village and expect all the bells and whistles of a tourism office in a large city, that is asking a lot. The internet is at everyone’s figure tips who can afford to travel and is a great tool for research before leaving your own country. It’s pure laziness, when people complain there is no help when arriving in smaller places.

    Would say, it would benefit for some smaller places to keep their comune websites updated, with tourist sites, opening hours and map of the village.

    1. I agree that Italy mostly sells itself (to some tourists) yet there are so many missed opportunities for a broader, smart marketing campaign to highlight. A curious and thoughtful visitor can scour the internet to find what they think they want, but how many places and activities might they never find or consider?

      If Italy wants to revamp its tourist industry – to take pressure off the most visited places and to showcase the lesser-known – then I think they shouldn’t leave it up to tourists to figure it all out. A good marketing campaign could build interest and excitement by highlighting geographic areas, industries, sites, themed itineraries, transportation options, etc.

      Here are 2 examples from my own travels:
      For my second trip to Italy, quite by accident I found a Vespa tour of Rome’s street art. It turned out to be one of the most fun, interesting and memorable things I’ve ever done. I wouldn’t have known to look for it except for finding a reference to it in an article I stumbled upon.

      I’ve also visited Japan. On my first trip there I saw the popular tourist places. On my second trip, I chose a tour offered by a company that focuses on less-visited areas that are hurting for economic activity. It was a brilliant themed tour in an area I’d never visit on my own, and about which I knew nothing. I was so happy to be in uncrowded places where I didn’t see a single tour group.

      A good marketing campaign in Italy could direct a tourist’s attention to activities and places like these. It could open up more possibilities for tourists and for locals alike.

  2. Robert, while I concur that a new way of marketing would benefit Italy down the road, we are now in Italy – enjoying the art, the wine, food, scenery immensely. We plan our own trips, & primarily stay at B&Bs. We visit some of the less popular places (Le Marche – Urbino & Ascoli Piceno), & Basilicata. The one thing we would like is better internet access in some places – outside of that, we just dig into the real Italy that doesn’t really need a lot of marketing…at least for us.

  3. It’s tempting to encourage Italy to use marketing for improving its tourist services etc but frankly, the beauty of Italy resides in it’s amateurism and reluctance to comply with slick anglo-saxon marketing and advertising campaigns! It’s so much more satisfying to discover places and experiences that haven’t been trampled to dust by millions of other punters.

Log in here to leave a comment.
Become a Member to leave a comment.
For members

TRAVEL NEWS

Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Almost 800,000 fewer UK holidaymakers have visited Spain in 2023 when compared to 2019. What’s behind this big drop?

Why are fewer British tourists visiting Spain this year?

Spain welcomed 12.2 million UK tourists between January and July 2023, 6 percent less when compared to the same period in 2019, according to data released on Monday by Spanish tourism association Turespaña.

This represents a decrease of 793,260 British holidaymakers for Spain so far this year.

Conversely, the number of Italian (+8 percent), Irish (+15.3 percent), Portuguese (+24.8 percent), Dutch (+4 percent) and French tourists (+5 percent) visiting España in 2023 are all above the rates in 2019, the last pre-pandemic year. 

German holidaymakers are together with their British counterparts the two main nationalities showing less interest in coming to Spanish shores.

Britons still represent the biggest tourist group that comes to Spain, but it’s undergoing a slump, with another recent study by Caixabank Research suggesting numbers fell particularly in June 2023 (-12.5 percent of the usual rate). 

READ ALSO: Spain fully booked for summer despite most expensive holiday prices ever

So are some Britons falling out of love with Spain? Are there clear reasons why a holiday on the Spanish coast is on fewer British holiday itineraries?

According to Caixabank Research’s report, the main reasons are “the poor macroeconomic performance of the United Kingdom, the sharp rise in rates and the weakness of the pound”.

This is evidenced in the results of a survey by British market research company Savanta, which found that one in six Britons are not going on a summer holiday this year due to the UK’s cost-of-living crisis.

Practically everything, everywhere has become more expensive, and that includes holidays in Spain: hotel stays are up 44 percent, eating out is 13 percent pricier, and flights are 40 percent more on average. 

READ ALSO: How much more expensive is it to holiday in Spain this summer?

Caixabank stressed that another reason for the drop in British holidaymakers heading to Spain is that those who can afford a holiday abroad are choosing “more competitive markets” such as Turkey, Greece and Portugal. 

And there’s no doubt that the insufferably hot summer that Spain is having, with four heatwaves so far, has also dissuaded many holidaymakers from Blighty from overcooking in the Spanish sun. 

With headlines such as “This area of Spain could become too hot for tourists” or “tourists say it’s too hot to see any sights” featuring in the UK press, budding British holidaymakers are all too aware of the suffocating weather conditions Spain and other Mediterranean countries are enduring. 

Other UK outlets have urged travellers to try out the cooler Spanish north rather than the usual piping hot Costa Blanca and Costa del Sol destinations.

Another UK poll by InsureandGo found that 71 percent of the 2,000+ British respondents thought that parts of Europe such as Spain, Greece and Turkey will be too hot to visit over summer by 2027.

There’s further concern that the introduction in 2024 of the new (and delayed) ETIAS visa for non-EU visitors, which of course now also applies to UK nationals, could further compel British tourists to choose countries to holiday in rather than Spain.

READ MORE: Will British tourists need to pay for a visa waiver to enter Spain?

However, a drop in the number of British holidaymakers may not be all that bad for Spain, even though they did spend over €17 billion on their Spanish vacations in 2022. 

Towns, cities and islands across the country have been grappling with the problem of overtourism and the consequences it has on everything from quality of life for locals to rent prices. 

READ ALSO: ‘Beach closed’ – Fake signs put up in Spain’s Mallorca to dissuade tourists

The overcrowded nature of Spain’s beaches and most beautiful holiday hotspots appears to be one of the reasons why Germans are visiting Spain in far fewer numbers. A recent report in the country’s most read magazine Stern asked “if the dream is over” in their beloved Mallorca.

Spanish authorities are also seeking to overhaul the cheaper holiday package-driven model that dominates many resorts, which includes moving away from the boozy antics of young British and other European revellers.

Fewer tourists who spend more are what Spain is theoretically now looking for, and the rise in American, Japanese and European tourists other than Brits signify less of a dependence on the British market, one which tends to maintain the country’s tourism status quo for better or for worse.

SHOW COMMENTS