by Sandro Franceschetti
Boris Rapa, regional secretary of the PSI and, above all, hotel entrepreneur (he has a hotel in Torrette di Fano and was also regional tourism councilor during the mandate of Luca Ceriscioli), speaks of a promising start to the season and, at the same time, asks the municipal administration of Mondolfo “to make more courageous choices, capable of attracting tourist flows”.
Turnip, what does 2024 look like?
“The signs are encouraging. Compared to last year I am recording an 8% increase in bookings for the entire June-September period and similar numbers are also confirmed to me by Marotta’s colleagues. What regrets me, however, is that we are experiencing of ‘reflected light'”.
What do you mean?
“What makes the difference are undoubtedly the great events which see Fano and Senigallia as protagonists. For the night between 15 and 16 May, the day on which the Giro d’Italia will arrive in the city of Fortuna, I already have all the 50 rooms of the hotel are booked and I’m going to be sold out also for the period from 6 to 9 June, when the Harley Davidson rally will be held in Senigallia. These are events that really attract people, as does the ‘Summer Jamboree’ which will also take place in Senigallia from 27 July to 4 August, and the same ‘Passaggi Festival’ scheduled for 26 to 30 June. People call and make express reference to these events which then contribute to making us known, producing effects positive also in the rest of the season”.
It must be taken into account, however, that municipalities such as Fano and Senigallia, compared to Marotta, are larger entities with greater investment capacity.
“It’s true, but courage is needed. We can no longer be satisfied with initiatives that are merely ‘welcoming’, which brighten the days of holidaymakers, but certainly do not have the necessary appeal to generate flows of people. We need at least a great event that makes people say ‘I’m going to Marotta'”.
Okay, but what for example?
“Marotta is the ‘City of the Sea in Winter’. Let’s make sure that it isn’t just a slogan written on street signs. Let’s build a project around it, for example an important music festival, which characterizes this location and is truly attractive. I assure you that in the face of an important event we entrepreneurs would also be available to make our economic contribution. Tourism is a market and to stay on the market we also need constant analysis on the part of those administers the territories”.
What do you mean?
“The municipalities must create an operational unit together with the Region, which monitors all aspects of the sector. The annual report on presences is not enough. We must study how tourists arrive, through which channels, and also carry out checks on price trends of Ancona airport and intervene if necessary. It is absurd that it costs less for an Englishman to reach Sicily than the Marche”.
