Five ministries and 600 municipalities united in a project worth 20 million euros which aims to relaunch tourism in Italy,
enhancing the small villages to which second, third and fourth generation Italians abroad will be able to return to rediscover their roots and their culture.
And becoming 'ambassadors' in the countries where they live to convince foreigners to visit Italy.
This is the meaning of the project included in the Pnrr 'Tourism of roots: an integrated strategy for the recovery of the tourism sector in post Covid-19 Italy'
presented to the Farnesina
by the ministers of Foreign Affairs Antonio Tajani, of Tourism Daniela Santanchè, of Education Giuseppe Valditara and the Anna Maria Bernini University, together with the Undersecretary for Culture, Gianmarco Mazzi.
"We are aiming for the growth of tourism in our country not only by looking at large cities but also at small towns", underlined
Tajani
opening the morning to illustrate the project which is aimed at the "many Italians in the world" who want to find out where their ancestors lived.
"We have enormous potential and could double and triple tourist presences", she explained, underlining that "to bring home the best possible result we need teamwork" with the other ministries.
And the project "will work if there is effective collaboration" with the mayors.
In fact, the municipalities with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants are
the main recipients of the project
which sees a total value of 20 million euros for initiatives that aim to enhance small villages and rural areas, with the renovation and recovery of disused homes and infrastructures and suppliers of local products and services.
Roots tourism "is a crucial junction" for the sector, because "it is aimed at a catchment area estimated at around 80 million people, there are many second and third generation Italians living abroad", explained
Santanchè
.
"Before the pandemic,
then they decreased but despite everything, in 2021 there were 6 million Italians abroad who returned to our nation", with an expenditure "equal to 4.2 billion euros". Figures that Italy wants to replicate and overcome, even by doing Leverage on the Italian education system, which can "strongly support" roots tourism with schools and technical and professional institutes, according to Minister
Valditara
. Even the university is already moving in the direction of being a "channel for enhancing our roots" , highlighted
Bernini
, recalling the phenomenon as that of the brain drain, which "must not be drained, but implemented".
For the success of the strategy, then the associations, the institutions, the chambers of commerce and all the players involved are needed.
"And it is important to include businesses", stressed Foreign Undersecretary
Giorgio Silli.
The opportunity is in fact evident: in 2023 the pre-pandemic levels of the Italian tourism sector could be exceeded, according to Ivana Jelinic, CEO of Enit.
Today's event was "an important relaunch and synthesis" of a process that began some time ago.
Now "let's roll up our sleeves. Let's start with the initiatives as early as 2023 and in order to lead to the year on tourism of roots in 2024", said the director general for Italians abroad Luigi Maria
Vignali,
closing the morning.
The mayors are there and they believe in it.
As
Vincenzo Nunno
, who administers Bovino, a small village in the Foggia area.
"We want to be attractive to the youngest", who "must come and find out what grandparents, fathers, food and perfumes used to do" in the past.