MILAN - Italy is at the top of the desires of many travelers from all over the world, but many Italians also want to travel and discover not only their own country but also foreign territories.
The president of Astoi Confindustria Viaggi Pier Ezhaya outlines the state of mind of the organized tourism operators at Bit: "The tourism exchange in Milan - he says in an interview with ANSA - is a bit like the opening of the season tourism 2024 and the very first signs are of great optimism and positivity".
And with a total and vigorous recovery now compared to the period of the pandemic which brought all tourism to its knees but in particular organized tourism.
"The beauty of this year that has just begun - notes Ezhaya - is that we will finally stop comparing ourselves with 2019 as we have been forced to do so far and we will compare ourselves with 2023.
Everything makes us think that we will be able to go 10% above the last year".
The first test will be Easter.
"It's the first so-called "technical" window where we measure the trends. We already see good forecasts even if there are a couple of months left and we expect a very tonic February and March with fast departures."
Inflation and war certainly have an impact on tourism to foreign destinations.
"We are recording - says Ezhaya - a "Red Sea effect" which undoubtedly slows down demand a bit but it is not a collapse, it is a drop of 10-12%. Furthermore we see that there is a relaunch on other destinations, both medium-range and like the Canary Islands and Cape Verde is also long-haul. So people also take advantage of this small break to grab a few more days and perhaps take a slightly longer holiday."
According to the president of Astoi, long-haul holidays are precisely those with the greatest added value.
"We have good results from East Africa (Kenya, Tanzania, Madagascar), from South East Asia (Thailand, Indonesia but also Japan which had already done very well in 2023 but seems to be improving further) and from Northern Europe which previously perhaps passed less organized tourism but now it is planned by many operators. In short, good demand for both the Scandinavian countries and Iceland, even if the latter has little accommodation capacity. Cruises are also doing well but for the summer we see them very toned and ready to do well both Italy, both Greece and Spain. It's an encouraging sign."
Of course, the problem of flights remains: "Many airplanes are being delivered - he says - and therefore some airlines have carried out aircraft operations in the hope of delivery. If they do not arrive on time, as I believe will happen because they are very late, there could be problems , a turbulence or operational fluidity".
Finally an appeal to politics.
"What we ask the government - concludes Ezhaya - is to see now that we have emerged from the pandemic crisis the implementation of the strategic plan for tourism announced a year ago with great fanfare. Frankly we would like to see a few landings with something concrete.
We believe that the country still has a lot to do to make tourism a real industry, as it deserves to be."
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