Adventure in Toscana

Toscana Promozione Turistica is a regional government agency responsible for promoting tourism. ATTA is the global leader in responsible adventure tourism development. The two agencies now established a two-year agreement to help Toscana enhance its tourism brand. They want to help trade and consumers to discover a deeper, adventurous side of the region.

One activity of collaboration in 2017 is to introduce “AdventureWeek-Tuscany” in September 2017. AdventureWeek is a specialized trade program designed to bring “A-list” international outbound tour operators, agents and travel journalists to Toscana. They will participate in an intensive familiarization journey to experience cultural and nature-based adventures.

Additionally, marketplace activities will be held in the region to connect visiting buyers, agents and journalists with local suppliers. Combining activities such as paragliding, road and mountain biking, white water sports, scuba and climbing with a rich array of cultural experiences make for powerful offerings for adventure tourism in Toscana.

Alberto Peruzzini, head of Toscana Promozione Turistica, explained that Toscana is the first Italian region to become an active member of ATTA. Also the first to develop such an initiative with the global adventure tourism trade. He said, “This is a strategic choice of ours. We will be involved with leaders of the sector of tourism most focused on responsible growth. In the field of Adventure tourism, we are not well known yet. But we have considerable room for growth, especially in rural communities throughout Toscana. We’ll work together for just the right positioning on the international stage”.

“At ATTA, our interests are in supporting communities worldwide to deliver travel experiences that protect natural and cultural capital and create shared economic value” said Chris Doyle, ATTA Executive Director-Europe. “For Tuscany, they have the chance to focus visitor attention on its exceptional adventure experiences. They will also help rural communities to realize the benefits of one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism”.

In terms of GDP, Toscana ranks 6th among Italian regions, and takes field 8×6 on the G8x8 chess board. With 110.4 billion € of goods and services produced in 2015, the region contributed 6.7 percent to the national GDP of Italy.

 

G7 Host City of 2017: Taormina, Sicilia

The historic town of Taormina, Sicilia, had the “honor” to host the G7 leaders for their annual meeting from 26 to 28 May 2017. The town was chosen to relaunch Sicily, known for high unemployment and brain drain.

This was the 6th summit under Italian presidency, with prime minister Mr. Paolo Gentiloni as the host. The other participants were Ms. Theresa May of the UK, Ms. Angela Merkel of Germany, Mr. Shinzo Abe of Japan, Mr. Emmanuel Macron of France, Mr. Justin Trudeau of Canada, Mr. Donald Trump of the USA, and two representatives of the European Union, Mr. Jean-Claude Juncker and Mr. Donald Tusk.

Here is a link to the G7 Taormina Leaders’ Communiqué, which confirms a lack of consensus between the USA and all other participants on the Paris Agreement.

This dissensus was not too helpful to improve the international business climate image of Sicilia. The main business and investment promotion site on Sicilia is at http://www.sprintsicilia.it/en/. Their English section, however, has not been updated for some time.

Sicilia (Sicily) ranks 8th among Italian administrative regions, and takes the 8×8 slot within the G8x8. With their 86.8 billion € GDP of 2015, the territory contributed 5.3 percent to the total GDP of Italy.