In the gold hall of the Regional Citadel, tourism operators, the Tourism Councillor Giovanni Calabrese, the general manager of the Tourism Department Raffaele Rio, and sector managers met to prepare in the most functional way possible for upcoming participation in national and international fairs. A meeting to understand which direction to take in choosing the fairs.
Fairs to be chosen in agreement with those directly involved. Choose a fair not because it is well-known or because it is a showcase, but because it is truly an opportunity for those who participate.
The operators present expressed their preferences and thanked for being able to play a leading role in choices that will inevitably affect their work. Unexpected and very welcome operational involvement for them, in a perspective of change that, from their point of view, is already being felt. Preferences that they also expressed by responding to a survey, with real-time results.
“I heard in your speeches about a new phase of tourism in Calabria,” said Councillor Calabrese, “and it is true that with President Occhiuto much has changed. We have opened up to dialogue, which is fundamental for building something shared, but above all lasting over time. We are discussing to understand what the tourism model should be to enhance Calabria, and today we are in the construction phase, shaping tourism for the Calabrian territory in light of the investments that the regional government has put in place: from new routes, to the modernization of airports, to the decision to take on the additional tax to encourage airlines to prefer our region, to the 50 million euros allocated for tourism infrastructure. In our vision for the future of the territory, tourism has a fundamental role,” continued Councillor Calabrese, “and the numbers presented a few days ago are a base from which to proceed and plan. A fundamental part of this planning process is to identify the fairs to invest in and from which to obtain concrete feedback. We want to spend resources well, but also get the right return. There are difficulties, but we are working to minimize their impact. We are lucky, we have everything: mountains, sea, culture, we can count on an invaluable heritage and it would be a shame not to take advantage of this moment in which Calabria is finally being talked about in positive terms. Let’s build this second phase, let’s try to improve by focusing on quality, but greater responsibility is needed from everyone. Internal connections are a problem we are trying to improve, we are considering on-demand transport, to be shared with local authorities to connect the tourism heritage. We are working and welcome suggestions to connect all areas and not make tourists feel isolated. The data speaks clearly, we are moving towards the deseasonalization of the tourism offer and this has been possible thanks to the promotion of the Calabrian mountains, cycle routes, and many internationally oriented events. We must,” concluded the Councillor, “prepare a tourism model for Calabria that looks far ahead, through which we can plan at least the next ten years, finally talking about tourism seriously today starting from solid foundations.”