ROME - A lot of work to do but also some positive news for Italian tourism that Minister Massimo Garavaglia announced by exposing the programmatic lines of his department at a hearing before the Production Activities Commission of the Chamber and Senate.
The sector, which before the Covid crisis was worth 13% of GDP and 223 billion and 4.2 million employees, is now dealing with the most ruinous crisis in its history with thousands of companies gasping and Garavaglia immediately clarifies that it will not "vain promises" but will only declare things "when they are actually done more than feasible".
Also because the newborn ministry, "something not taken for granted - he says - but definitely important", is fully operational.
"We have already done - explains Garavaglia - a sort of due diligence of the existing to understand what is in this new ministry, which we drag on from previous experiences. We have found important resources, even huge ones, many resources that are still to be distributed. This may be due to the lack of regulations or the very complication of existing regulations, either because of the smallness of the apparatus that so far follows tourism (about twenty people in a sector that hides 13% of GDP, objectively underpowered), or because of the normal bureaucracy in the worst sense of the word. We have these resources and our goal is to distribute them as quickly as possible and as fairly as possible. "
There are also other money on which it is necessary to "put one's head": that is, all the European funds that are regional but with the Regions - underlines the minister - "we want to start a dialogue with a view to loyal collaboration to make spending these resources as effective as possible from the point of view of creating GDP and jobs "and" as quickly as possible ".
"The general objective - continues the minister - is to strengthen the production capacity of the tourism industry which at this moment needs a very simple thing: to buy time. Draghi also said so and it is everyone's conviction. starts again, the first thing that will start again will be tourism ".
And he adds: "In this difficult moment, therefore, our goal is to keep as many companies alive as possible and strengthen our companies also from a financial point of view, not only with debt financial interventions".
However, Garavaglia invites everyone to look to the future.
"We still have this period that takes us up to Easter and then things will necessarily improve. Let's use it then to improve and refine the existing security protocols.
We have listened to the suggestions of all categories and we are having meetings with Ministers Giovannini and Speranza. . then Transport and Health, to better refine the existing protocols for safe mobility. The important thing is that we move serenely towards a tourism that reopens and never closes ".
The first goal is just around the corner and it's summer.
"Our main task for the 2021 season is to be effectively involved immediately to restart all possible domestic and international tourist flows".
According to the minister, the positive signs can already be seen: "This year there will still be a lot of Italian tourism in Italy, but there is also some recovery also from the point of view of international tourism: today is the news that Ryanair expects 1 million passengers in Italy. Compared to last year nothing, it means that we are starting again. Easyjet + 250% ".
Garavaglia then passes the unitary promotion of the Italy brand.
"It is no longer enough to say Italy is the most beautiful country in the world but we must ensure that everyone comes. In 2026 there are the Olympics but we must start working already now. And above all to think that not only the 2300 municipalities of the basin but all the Italian municipalities according to a protocol between the Milan Cortina and the Anci which already starting from this year foresees events throughout the country system. Another example is the Jubilee of 2025.
It seems far away but it really is not ".
Then there is the great work to be done on digital: "If one thinks that e-commerce on digital - he explains - is worth 50%, one realizes the potential there is in digitizing the entire supply chain. digital ecosystem (to say portal is an understatement) which then becomes the aggregator of everything ".
Finally, it is absolutely necessary to overcome fragmentation: "The institution of the ministry actually surpasses the horizontal one of the competences scattered in the various ministries, tourism is a bit of everything, it is not just going to the sea or to the mountains, it is also mobility, services, obviously culture ... So the ministry guarantees a single point of coordination. The other fragmentation is from the vertical point of view with the regions. But here too we can give good news: we found ourselves in agreement with all the exponents of the regions on the key points and that is the digitization and the unitary promotion of the brand ".
