ENIT, the Italian Government Tourism Board agency appointed in 2010 in the UAE, is committed to promoting Italian tourism heritage among Arab travellers and increasing the volume of tourism from the UAE to Italy.
At the recently concluded Arabian travel Market in Dubai, the agency presented the artistic and cultural excellence of its heritage to Middle Eastern operators and public and showcased a wide range of offerings from design to jewels, from precious materials to locally-made creations and luxury boats.
ENIT’s director general, Paolo Rubini said: “The Middle East is a big market for Italy and we see great potential from the region. Our focus is to develop strong tourism receipts from the Middle East region through our various marketing strategies and educate the agents about the ‘Italy brand’. With Emirates now offering direct flights to three cities in Italy, we see a high-level demand for medium- to long-term stays and Arab travellers’ high-spending habits will contribute to the growth of our tourist product. We are hoping to see the number grow with more direct flights added to new cities, specifically in the south of Italy.”
One of the key initiatives put in place last year, when the UAE office opened, was towards marketing the Veneto region in Italy. The initiative proved highly successful as tourism arrival numbers from this region saw a steady increase from 5,600 last year to 8,900 this year. “While the average number of nights for guests is around four to five, Emiratis visiting Italy chose to stay an average of seven to eight nights. So we want to continue to push this figure and to encourage visitors to raise their spending powers,” said Rubini.
“In 2010 Veneto maintained its leadership as the most visited tourism region of Italy with 14.5 million arrivals.”
And ENIT is also looking to boost new destinations across the country.
“As with most of our guests, Arab visitors are well aware of cities like Rome, Venice and Florence. But Italy is such a vast country and has so much more to offer, both in terms of destinations and product offering in these destinations. Almost every city in Italy has five-star accommodation they can offer. Together with our local culture, history and our world-famous gastronomical delights, Italy is a fascinating country to discover. And of course, shopping and luxurious spas are easily available too,” said Rubini.
ENIT is committed to exploring new ways to integrate the sea areas, mountains, spas, lakes and art and through the encouragement of equestrian tourism, visitors will be able to explore the territory on horseback, while cycling tourism promotions will help to identify the major tourist routes and hiking trails.
Other products due to be promoted include religious tourism, wine and gastronomy, which will induce both Italian and foreign visitors to discover the country’s wealth of flavours and tastes.
“We launched an ‘Italy comes to you’ educational programme for the Middle East and Asian markets to give customers an insight into what to expect in Italy before they arrive. This is our guide for them to know where to go and what to do,” he added.
While the UAE continues to be the key source market from the region into Italy, Rubini added that there is a small but significant interest from neighbouring countries including Qatar and Saudi Arabia. “We have plans to run a workshop in Dubai in the second half of the year and introduce some of these alternative destinations such as Naples and Venetia to our partners in the trade and the region,” he added.