So Reggio Calabria is preparing to welcome Marseille

Riace Bronzes, Lungomare, Bergamotto, typical products and more. Reggio Calabria the joker is played to make a good impression on Marseilleone of the 5 international routes connected toStrait Airport through Ryanair, which in a few days will start flying to and from the “Tito Minniti” airport. In addition to the French stage there will be Manchester, Barcelona, ​​Tirana and Berlin as regards the European routes; then Venice, Turin and Bologna as regards the national ones.

The Reggio Calabria Chamber of Commerce was in Marseille yesterday, at the Novotel Marseille Vieux Port, to promote the city of the Strait and make it known to a selected audience of stakeholders and French tourism operators, anticipating some of the beauties that they will find in the city and that they will be able to convey to citizens from beyond the Alps on holiday in Reggio. The tourist offer was the protagonist of the workshop promoted by the Chamber of Commerce in collaboration with the Ccifm – Italian Chamber of Commerce for France of Marseille.

An event which saw the participation of numerous French operators (travel agencies, tour operators and tourist promotion associations), who showed great interest and appreciation both for the beauty of the territory and its attractors, and for the tourist offer that was presented by the operators from Reggio Calabria present in Marseille. The workshop was opened by greetings from the President of the CCIFM Domenico Bascianowho said he was pleasantly impressed by the discovery of a wonderful territory and enormous tourist potential, and of the Consul General of Italy in Marseille Fabio Monacowho expressed great appreciation for the initiative and full availability for the activation of not only tourist and commercial but also cultural relations between the two metropolitan areas.

Tramontana’s intervention

A hope fully shared by President of the Reggio Calabria Chamber of Commerce Antonino Tramontana, who expressed his thanks to President Basciano for the organizational support, to the Consul Monaco for his contribution and to the French and Reggio tourist operators for their presence. President Tramontana then underlined the ancient bond that unites Reggio Calabria and Marseille and which dates back to the trade of oil coming from the Palm plain, now the Gioia Tauro plain, and directed to Marseille, probably destined for the production of soap.

A link now extended to France thanks to another Reggio product, bergamot, whose essence is an essential ingredient of the perfume industry. But Reggio and Marseille are also united by the presence of the sea, which represents an important resource from a commercial point of view and which from a tourist point of view gives visitors the opportunity to live unique experiences, also for example through the practice of sporting activities such as kite surfing. Outdoor and sports tourism and cultural tourism are in fact the two levers on which the “Reggio Calabria Welcome” project moves, launched by the Chamber of Commerce in 2019 with the aim of organizing and promoting tourist products and facilitating the creation of a network of operators from Reggio adhering to the collective brand “Reggio Calabria Welcome”.

For the occasion, President Tramontana illustrated the chamber project and presented the French version of the portal www.reggiocalabriawelcome.com, which offers tourists and visitors different travel experiences and information on network operators. Precisely because of the success achieved by the initiative, the two Chambers are already working on the development of the next steps, which include the organization of: B2B meetings between French buyers and Reggio operators as early as next May so that this promotional activity can translate into concrete commercial opportunities; a week dedicated to the promotion of excellent products from the Reggio area in French restaurants; an incoming mission and educational tour activity to be carried out on the occasion of the 2024 edition of the Bergarè event, in order to raise awareness not only of the territory but also of the great resource represented by the Bergamot of Reggio Calabria.

“The archives of our Chamber of Commerce contain evidence of the trade of oil coming from the Palm plain, now the Gioia Tauro plain, and directed to Marseille, probably destined for the production of soap. And Reggio Calabria is also linked to France for another Reggio product, bergamot, whose essence is an essential ingredient of the perfume industry. Today we have the opportunity to renew this bond, thanks to the air connections that will be activated shortly between our two cities and which can represent a new starting point for activating and consolidating tourist interactions and commercial collaborations between the two metropolitan areas”, Tramontana’s words.

The workshop ended with tasting of the highly appreciated menu based on typical products of the Reggio areadeveloped by chef Natale Romeo, originally from Reggio Calabria and winner in 2023 of the title of best emerging chef of Italian cuisine in France.