The key points
- The scenery
- The critical factors
- The strategies
Asians are (still) absent, forced to stay at home by the pandemic, but after two years of suffering, luxury Italian hospitality has learned to replace them, and so will it also in the upcoming season. It will be a spring-summer of good recovery, despite the war in Ukraine that spreads fears (and wipes out Russian customers), according to sector operators.
The Duco review
Much of the high-level Italian offer (230 between five-star hotels and incoming tour operators) has recently gathered in Florence for Duco, the b2b meeting review that brings about 200 American, Canadian and Canadian travel consultants to the beautiful country. Australians, strategic figures for the luxury market because they recommend structures and destinations to wealthy customers and families who perhaps want to bring together several generations in a dazzling location.
Italy at the top of the choices
The English-speaking travel advisors did not skip the Florentine appointment (“we must set an example for our customers, otherwise how can we convince them to book in Italy?”) And, above all, they have not changed their minds compared to pre-Covid: l Italy remains at the top of the luxury market holiday choices. “The trend in bookings is extremely positive – explains Robert Koren, Emea vice president of the Belmond hotel group who in Italy owns nine hotels from the Cipriani in Venice to the Splendido in Portofino, from Villa San Michele in Florence to the Caruso on the Amalfi Coast – and the summer 2022 could be even better than 2019 thanks to the American and European clientele.
Food and wine and art
The war in Ukraine? Belmond has never had a large presence of Russians. For the rest, there is a lot of curiosity on the part of the market, we are investing in gastronomy and art and we are organizing events with major fashion brands, to ensure that the journey becomes an engaging experience “. Massimiliano Musto, director of the Four Seasons in Florence, considered one of the most beautiful hotels of the brand, also returns to smile: “A summer of the highest level is announced – he says – after two years in which customers have remained close to home, now they have a great desire to travel: I am referring to the American market, but also the United Kingdom, France, Switzerland, Germany.
Good estimates for May and June
We will not yet reach the record levels of 2019, which perhaps we will recover in 2024, but the months of May and June have a similar occupation to three years ago and bode well “. The war in Ukraine brought some setbacks: “We lost 120 nights from the Russian market – adds Musto – but we immediately replaced them with other markets”. Filippo Curinga, owner of the destination management company (Dmc) Idi Travel of Mogliano Veneto (Treviso), specialized in the incoming of American customers, sees great effervescence: “When the war broke out in Ukraine, reservations stopped – he explains – but after a few days they left at a more intense pace than before, outlining a real summer ‘invasion’. Australians are also awakening and, compared to the past, we are seeing more last minute bookings, choice of superior rooms and longer stays ».