Tourism has always been associated with beauty, tradition, elegance, quality and professionalism, it summarizes the identity and richness of our territory and represents a key to the future development of the sector. With Ludovico Scortichini, president of Confindustria Marche Nord Gruppo Turismo, we outline a picture of the tourism sector in 2023. “The balance has been very positive. We have abandoned the negative values of Covid and the post-pandemic – underlines Scortichini –. Tourism has grown in terms of turnover, but above all the margins increased. In 2023, there was the so-called ‘rebound’, however, it was affected by the difficulties that tourists encountered in reaching our country, as some destinations were still. closed.”
The Marche district is increasingly characterized by sustainable tourism. Is the goal to give new experiences to visitors?
“Tourism in the Marche region must certainly be characterized by sustainability. Unfortunately up to now we have proceeded by inertia. The flow of tourists who choose the Marche region as a holiday destination is made up of 86% of Italians, while 14% come from from abroad. It is necessary, in my opinion, to reverse this trend. A strategic lever could be that of sustainability. Clearly, sustainable tourism has become an essential element. This must involve the supply chain, from hotels to the preparation of ad hoc packages. In this case, communication is fundamental. Until now it has been thought that ‘we have to sell everything to everyone’ and communication has been carried out aimed at all targets, therefore with packages for sports, sea, mountains, trekking, etc. to religious tourism. In reality we should make strategic choices, that is, identify four or five objectives and also operate from the aspect of sustainable tourism. As regards the experiential part, a recent report revealed that tourists are looking for new ones experiences during the holiday period and only 22% are more interested in the cultural aspect”.
Marche tourism is increasingly characterized by a responsible management strategy aimed at promoting cultural heritage.
“One tourist in five chooses their holiday destination on the basis of the cultural offering. But to fully seize this opportunity we must be smarter and more daring. Our museums earn too little, while with the involvement of private individuals we can guarantee greater resources for to increase the added value and to increase the margins it will be possible to implement a program aimed at recovering our assets”. What are the strategies that will characterize the 2024 season?
“The strategies are obviously conditioned by the geopolitical situation. We are all trying to understand what could happen on the global stage. Previously we could count on a reservoir like that of tourists from Russia. Now we rely on Chinese tourists, who are moving again. Imported opportunities come from the United States. In this context, however, planning is fundamental, which must be at least three-yearly, even if the best condition should be guaranteed by a five-year strategy which would allow us to better identify the targets on which to focus decisively “.
What are the predictions for next season?
“I am quite optimistic, I believe that the mood is positive. Tourism in the Marche is conditioned by exogenous variables that must be taken into consideration in this period, such as those linked to the geopolitical situation. For Italian tourists who choose the Marche, however, decisions are influenced by the weather. It is regrettable that effective deseasonalization policies have not been implemented. Overall, however, I predict that it will be an extremely good year.”
