Protesta d'agències de viatges: la declaració del ministre de Turisme d'Itàlia és enganyosa

1. Using words like wonderful, peaceful, and positive was not what the travel agents in Italy wanted to hear from their Tourism Minister.
2. After the Minister ushered forth his positive outlook on the tourism industry in his country, travel agencies had heard enough and sent a letter of protest.
3. In a nutshell, the Italian Travel Agencies Autonomous Movement told the Tourism Minister, “This is not the truth.”

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“Historically,” added the Minister, “Tourism is worth 14% of GDP, but it can reach 20%. It is not madness. We have great potential. But we require some things: for example, a general plan for food and wine. Then we must aim to have 60 ITS (Higher Technical Institute for students of Tourism) like Spain. With a minimum of organization we can gain market share.”

The protest of MAAVI, (Italian Travel Agencies Autonomous Movement)

In view of the third D-Day, the umpteenth day of dignity, convened on September 8 at 10:30 in Piazza del Popolo in Rome, the President of the Association of Travel Agencies, Enrica Montanucci, sent a formal protest to Turisme d'Itàlia Minister Massimo, who was a guest at the Rimini 2021 meeting and who celebrated the Italian tourist summer as a record season.

The letter to the Minister from Ms. Montanucci reads as follows:

“Dear Minister Garavaglia:

“What you declared in Rimini is absolutely unacceptable for the entire category of Italian travel agents. If by ‘season almost at the levels of 2019’ you are referring to the people who, unable to go elsewhere, have poured into the Italy tourist resorts, giving, at least on a first analysis, the impression that everything had returned to apparent normal, then we might as well agree with you. Full beaches, full hotels, people around… in a colorful imitation of nonchalant summer cheer.

“This is not the truth.

“Whoever works as a travel agent by trade has seen so many people pass through their offices, sold (badly and with difficulties due to distrust and lack of clarity of information) a lot of Italian destinations fighting with online reservations, with crafty hoteliers who have often tried to reach the customer directly, scared and unconvinced customers, prices pumped to the extreme, and more. Full hotels does not mean tourism is in recovery.

“Our world, that of travel agencies employing 80,000 people, who for years has paid taxes silently and has never asked for anything, is at the end of the line. We experienced a summer that lacking of extra-European destinations, saw volumes equal to 35% over 2019, referring only to the high-season months. Taking … January/July, the average drop is 90%. Basically, nothing has changed.

“We believe in your enthusiasm, but we also believe that the future that we are facing requires important support that must be allocated with the utmost urgency. For this reason, it is perhaps risky and not very useful to divulge false statements.

“From MAAVI, therefore, is conveyed to you the request to limit the harmful and misleading use of the media, to listen to the scream of ‘pain and despair’ of travel agents and, to colleagues, the appeal to return to the streets compact on September 8. More numerous and more combative than the last time against the bla bla bla shouting of the institutions, ‘Enough words. It’s time for facts.’”

#reconstruirviatges