2023 promises to be the year of return to pre-pandemic levels for the tourism industry. The confirmation comes from the presentation of the BIT and from the annual meeting of the Organized Tourism Federation (FTO). “If 2022 was the year of the restart in 2023 the forecasts speak of a +30% for international tourism”, says Luca Palermo, at Fiera Milano presenting the next edition of Bit, which will be held from 12 to 14 February 2023 For her part Daniela Santanchè, minister of tourism, adds: «We must be ready to do better in 2023 and take advantage of all the tourist offers. We have recorded an increase in US tourism but lost Russian tourists, high-end tourism, losing a lot of revenue. I have the great ambition that tourism becomes Italy’s leading industry”.
Sustainability and resilience
The main Italian regions and foreign destinations will be present at the Bit in Milan. «The keywords seem to be sustainability, awareness and resilience – underlines Palermo -. Tourists want to be sustainable, they seek and choose and in choosing they choose attractions and locations that are able to respect what are new trends in a way».
Territory, art and culture, 55 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, food and wine tourism, villages as well as business travel. What you will see at BIT is an Italy with thousands of opportunities to exploit without forgetting the strength of the Made in Italy brand and major events such as the ATP Finals, the Milan-Cortina 2026 Olympics, Rome’s candidacy to host Expo 2030. A heterogeneous offer and the minister adds: “I asked the Regions to communicate using a single hat, Italy”.
Too few funds from the Pnrr
The FTO national assembly was also held on 28 November where the president Franco Gattinoni reiterated that it is “fundamental to give tourism a central role, even in the Pnrr: we have been given a crumb of what was necessary”. In short, the 2.3 billion Pnrr earmarked for the hospitality industry are considered too little for a sector that is worth 13.7% of GDP and 15% of employment.
«Organized tourism can play a role in directing the supply chain, regulating flows and effectively promoting the Italian product in the world – says Gattinoni -. Our sector needs a decisive cut in the tax wedge to allow us to recover the human resources lost in these 30 months and to revive investments. We need a reform of the shock absorbers that makes the system suitable for small and micro-enterprises. But above all we need programming and planning, which is why we cannot remain hostage to an air transport market dominated by low-cost carriers that do not interact with the rest of the supply chain and change their offer continuously and without warning”.