Italy is top of a new ranking for overall reputation as a European tourist destination but it needs to improve on its institutional use of social media, the market research company Demoskopika said on Saturday.
Italy comes top of the new European Tourism Reputation Index at 109.1 points, followed by Spain at 105.3 points and Germany at 101.6 points.
The country ranks first in three out of five indicators used by Demoskopika to draw up the table, namely online research destination, popularity and Tripadvisor confidence, and second in its evaluation of the accommodation system.
However, it drops to fifth place in the ranking for socialreputation, behind Spain, Portugal, Greece and Germany, due to the alleged inadequate use of social media by the Italiannational tourist board ENIT and Italia.it.
"The study highlights the need for Italy to align itself with the strategies of its main European competitors in the use of social media by implementing more incisive actions to promote the Italian tourism offer," said Demoskopika president Raffaele Rio.
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè hailed the results but said they are "not enough".
"We must aspire to make Italy capable of presenting the best tourist offer in terms of richness, depth and quality, so it is not only the sexiest destination online, but also the one that is chosen most," she told ANSA.
"In short, we must continue along a path of building quality tourism proposals and strengthening brand reputation," continued the minister, adding that the new digital tourism hub that is under development will be an important part of this process.
Photo: Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè.
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