BRI spurs Italy to embrace China

Tourists from China are greeted with welcome signs in their own language upon landing at Rome s Fiumicino Airport, the largest and most dynamic air hub in Italy.

Release time : 2019-04-08 14:31:32

source : ECNS

sector.

At the European University located in the northwest of the Italian capital, the bachelor's and master's degrees in tourism management constitute key educational offers, with special emphasis on Chinese culture-related education.

"Our graduate school students must take cultural anthropology, because it is crucial for them to learn about habits, traditions, and tastes of emerging tourism inflows," said Alessandra Romano, director of European University's Master's in Tourism Management program.

The master's program focuses more on "market niches" than mass tourism, as explained by the professor, "where high-level professionals and managerial roles are more required".

He said: "Yet, we do believe there is already a 'niche' of very high-level Chinese travelers, who have higher needs, and this is a crucial opportunity we cannot miss."

Italy's hopes in the sector are high in terms of growth and of employment, especially considering the sluggish domestic economy lately.

Tourism contributed some 13 percent to the Italian gross domestic product in 2017, according to a February report by a branch of the National Research Center.

People employed in the industry comprised about 14.7 percent of Italy's workforce in 2017, and some 250,000 new jobs are expected by 2023, according to a recent survey by Florence-based Center for Tourism Studies.

However, industry experts are not yet satisfied, and are expecting to unleash greater potential through the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative.

"This (the BRI) is something we really should concentrate on doing well," said Marina Lalli, head of the tourism branch of Italy's major business group Confindustria.

"Up to now, we have mainly drawn tourists from Asia - and from China especially - who wanted to see Italy for its way of life and style, but this is not enough anymore.

"We cannot just count on the fact that we