ANSAmed
by Olga Piscitelli
Security is the priority number one to relaunch tourism in the Mediterranean, according to Paolo Audino, director of the business Unit for Tourism at the Rimini fair. ”The more operators will succeed in giving guarantees and reassurances, the stronger they will be. Security will be the key factor. It’s useless to lower prices. In tourism, it can actually be counterproductive in some cases”, he explained, outlining strategies.
His regard was on the Mediterranean ahead of one of the top international tourism fairs in Italy, TTG 2015, on October 8-10, when over 60,000 operators from around the world will meet in Rimini for the 52nd edition of the event.
And the trade fair takes place amid a drop in reservations across Maghreb, deserted flights, in spite of the low prices, with tourism down 7%. This has been a summer to forget after the attacks in France and especially in Tunisia and Egypt.
Audino cited the case of Morocco, a country that is ”different, has always been stable, with an incredible variety of landscapes and high-end tourism”. Nevertheless, it has been damaged by attacks in neighbouring countries and has registered, according to preliminary estimates by the Moroccan tourism observatory, a 5% drop from a 10.5 increase in 2014.
Eighth on a list of best destinations worldwide, according to travel guide Routard, with a city like Marrakech, which was awarded a top prize by TripAdvisor travelers this year, Morocco is suffering from a stalling situation; Italian tourism alone fell 22%.
”We Italians tend to simplify. The association between Islam and terrorism has become a commonplace. For buyers’ trends, today, information that can be obtained by all through television and newspapers is key. So if on one hand tools that boost the market are multiplying, like online and low-cost offers for example, on the other the world of tourism is shrinking with easy and prompt exclusions”.
The drop in reservations in Maghreb has certainly helped Italian beaches and contributed to that 4% growth registered by hoteliers’ association Federalberghi with satisfaction.
”But the Mediterranean area is vast and restricting horizons does not benefit anyone”, insisted Audino. ”If the effects of the economic crisis are added to the equation, the context becomes even more complicated. A home-made survey is sufficient: ask your closest friends, they will tell you where they went on holiday”.
In order to give a boost to destinations like Morocco, Audino said, ”the only solution is to invest in security protocols, stressing the most reassuring aspects like political stability, a country’s willingness to modernize, the many ties, including economic ones, with Italy. These are all factors that can encourage a tourist”. (ANSAmed)
