(Teleborsa) – Good food, high quality wine, the excellence of “Made in Italy”the belief that enhance the territory both a mission for operators in this sector and a pinch of the magical timeless appeal of Fellini’s Dolce Vita: here are the secret ingredients at the base of the first edition of the GEM Island Festival which will involve far and wide the Island of Elba between July and August, transforming it into an open-air stage for those who want to get to know the island in an original way and outside the usual tourist circuits, allowing themselves to be directed towards new places in search of the best cocktails, wines and gourmet foods for a perfect evening.
Producer and artistic director of the GEM Festival is Davide Ambrogino stranger to challenges in thecultural innovation and artistic planning: it has already brought to Italy the Fringe Festival, was part of the World Fringe network and now puts his creative and innovative spirit at the service of the Island of Elba, now his second home. Davide Ambrogi organizes in technical collaboration with Davide Zangaaward-winning barman with long international experience and numerous awards in the mixology sector.
The GEM Island Festival is a transversal opportunity aimed both at those who live on the island 365 days a year and at those who discover it for the first time to enter a vortex of food and wine and mixology events which revolves around the presentation of the best cocktails in the most fascinating locations on the Island of Elba among music, art, excellent brands, local craftsmanship and typical local products. The purpose of the summer event is to further develop the tourism sector of the Tuscan island through a project that looks at the valorisation of its important food and wine heritage, the innovation of the cultural offer, the strengthening of the territory and all its resources: natural, artistic, food and human.
2023 has been a fruitful year for the tourism in Tuscany. According to what emerged from the report “Flows in accommodation establishments in Tuscany: 2023 data” developed and published by the “Digital Services and Data Integration Sector. Regional Statistics Office” of the Region on the basis of provisional Istat data, arrivals they touched the 15 million units (+13% compared to 2022) While attendance they stood at a total of 46 million (+7%). In particular, Florence, the Etruscan Coast, Pisa, the Maremma, Elba and the other islands were the most popular destinations with approximately 62% of the presences registered in Tuscany last year.
Another fundamental driving force for the regional and national economy is represented by the sector agri-food: with a turnover that reached 586.9 billion euros in 2022, the supply chain recorded an increase of 8.4% compared to 2021 and 29% from 2015. added value generated stands at almost 335 billion euroswhich even represents 19% of Italian GDPor. These data were presented by The European House – Ambrosetti during the eighth edition of the forum “The Roadmap of the Future for Food & Beverage: what evolutions and what challenges for the next few years” which will be held in Bormio on the 7th and 8th next June.
The level of exports concerning the agri-food sector is crucial: the food and beverage in fact it contributes with 53.4 billion of euros, while the the agricultural sector is worth 8.8 billion; and wine remains the best-selling Italian agri-food product abroad with a turnover of 7.8 billion euros and a 12.5% share of total agri-food exports.
