The 2024 tourist season seems to be less complex than the previous one as regards hiring in the catering sector, even if there are still some difficulties. If the topic shifts to welcoming and overcoming linguistic barriers with foreign tourists, it should be noted that both the dining room staff and the restaurateurs have made giant strides, because attention and awareness have increased on both sides. Tourism observed through the eyes of the restaurant industry is thriving and growing but there is no shortage of concerns if we think about traditional trade. Finally, as restaurateurs ask, the historic center should not be compared to a “manger” because behind the plate there are those who are committed and offer a service to the hundreds of holiday rooms and bed and breakfasts present in the area.
The picture just described emerged in the words of Confcommercio La Spezia and the Councilor for Commerce Marco Frascatore who this morning, at the headquarters in Via Fontevivo in La Spezia, presented the Catering Day which will be held on 18 May and will involve around ninety activities of the province. The issues of growing catering and traditional commerce in difficulty are struggling to fade and present an undeniable fact: the area is in full transition and the radical change has arrived in about ten years.
Moving in order, on the topic of employment, the director of Confcommercio Roberto Martini explained: “It is not possible to give a complete answer but things are going a little better and we are trying to make numerous agreements with the schools to find solutions also to allow the younger to grow up. There is still a lot to do but there is improvement.” Lorenzo Servadei of Fipe Confcommercio added: “Our companies have problems finding staff in general but also qualified ones. It is not just a matter of the lack of the person but also of those who would know how to carry out a specific task. In this regard, we have a project in mind, shared with the tourism department which will deal with training in the world of hotel hospitality. Some topics will be specific to improve the quality of reception.”
One step at a time, therefore, La Spezia seeks to grow in every sense in the tourism sector. One of the greatest difficulties in the past was represented by the lack of knowledge of foreign languages, starting with English. An element that, if we talk about hospitality and with thousands of tourists arriving from all over the world, can be a difficult step to overcome. Martina Riolino of Fipe Confcommercio Giovani said: “There is much more awareness on the part of companies, also thanks to the work of the trade association. At a national level we are working, I am on the Confcommercio youth table, on the ‘Fipe sala’ project to hold training courses for staff. It is not simply a matter of explaining the traditional knowledge of what a waiter must do, such as pouring wine for example, but also working on the soft skills (relational skills, Ed). Attention is high but we are witnessing a real change, not to be underestimated is the generational change in the opening of new businesses led by younger people who have a different idea and have experienced the arrival of so much tourism”.
It is a fact that the city is changing and councilor Frascatore believes it would be a shame to define the historic center as “a manger”: “The philosophy of the approach to hospitality must also change but this transition that is developing is difficult to grasp with hand because it takes time. My hope is that we can understand this ongoing change more and more: there are more events, activities. Let’s clearly not forget the closures but there are also numerous openings. Looking at the pre-Covid numbers, the data remains in line. The term ‘manger’ that is often used must end: behind catering there is work, commitment, research, the desire to offer well-being to those who sit down for a plate”. On this passage Riolino added: “Manger is a denigrating term. In La Spezia, catering is growing and changing thanks to tourism, tourists have needs that we didn’t ask ourselves before. The fact that there are many openings in the restaurant sector also depends on the particular hotel conformation of the area. Here there aren’t many hotels with restaurants, most of them are guest houses and bed and breakfasts: what the restaurateurs offer fills a void. It’s an adaptation that we don’t know how long it will last, with new hotel openings perhaps the situation will stabilize but we don’t know when.”
In light of all this, however, our eyes must remain open to everything else and to what makes up the fabric of a city. Martini added: “The city has taken a good channel represented by tourism. It cannot be denied that the one who is suffering the most in the entrepreneurial issue is commerce: it is clear for all to see, where a ‘hole’ opens up there tends to be something that gives a certain satisfaction to the tourist, because unfortunately many activities in the commercial sector are they find it everywhere. The liberalization that was carried out in his time allowed large groups to ‘take over’ the cities, consequently the classic trader no longer exists. Today this is no longer the case and it is generating big problems. It is clear that those who try to improve themselves manage to stay afloat and open further businesses, while others still suffer thee-commerce. However, it is clear that a city needs both catering and commerce. We realize that it is a sector that is struggling.” In short, the concern on this issue is central and as Riolino suggested in closing: “We need protection for historic shops and for those businesses that sell particular products for a quality trade”.
