Italica

Italian Roots Tourism Workshop

Venice 23-24 November 2023

 

For Italian tourism, 2024 has been designated the Year of Tourism of the Roots, with a package of tourist initiatives and offers dedicated to the descendants of Italian migrants living abroad, interested in visiting the places of origin of their fathers and grandparents . In support of the government initiative, tenders included in the PNRR have already been published, reserved for operators in the sector.

With these assumptions, Turismo delle Radici is a great opportunity for the development of tourism in the territories, because it allows the expansion of the international reference market towards a target of around 80 million people.

To encourage the promo-marketing of operators connected to Roots Tourism, we organized the Italica, the Italian Roots Tourism Exchange. The workshop will take place in Venice on 23 and 24 November.

The workshop will allow Italian Suppliers (accomodations, travel agency, hotels, country village) and International Buyers (tour operator, travel agency) who operate in countries affected by the phenomenon of Italian migration and who are interested in commercial partnerships to encourage travel to discover their roots. The workshop will be organized through an agenda of fixed appointments.

Travel to discover the countries of origin

We report some specific characteristics of Roots Tourism which represent its commercial advantages.

– Tourism sustainability: it is tourism that generates positive effects on the entire economic fabric of the territory, also involving other economic activities.
– Longer stays: statistics confirm that this type of tourist stays longer on average, even reaching 3 weeks.
– Tourist seasonal adjustment: this segment of tourists travels in periods other than the high season and, for some countries of origin, the seasons are opposite to ours.
– Interest in buying typical local products: local tourists greatly appreciate food and wine and typical local products.
– Interest in country villages and minor destinations: this type of tourist is not only interested in the most famous destinations, but travels to see places and small villages linked to the memory of their ancestors,
– It involves other types of experiential tourism: weddings, food and wine tourism, cultural tourism, parties, festivals, outdoor tourism, craft tourism, etc.

Main motivations of the Roots Tourist

  • visit the countries village of origin of their ancestors and retrace the places of memory.
  • meet any relatives and acquaintances
  • participate in the traditional events of the towns (parties, festivals, religious rites, etc.)
  • participate in the experiential activities of typical productions, oil, wine, cheese, etc.
  • taste the specialties of Italian cuisine and buy typical products
  • interest in culture, traditions, uses and customs, know the Italian language.