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

Source: 699pic.com

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.

Going all out to impress their Chinese customers, Italian tourism personnel eye greater opportunities in closer Italy-China commercial and tourism exchanges.

In 2017, Italy registered some 1.5 million Chinese tourists, according to the Chinese Tourism Academy, a public entity under the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

Altogether, they generated in 2017 over 5 million overnight stays, up 12.4 percent year-on-year, according to Italy's National Institute of Statistics.

Industrial personnel are working head over heels to enhance their services and adjust to the changing tourism market, especially the changing appetite of Chinese visitors.

"The profile of Chinese tourists has changed in latest years, in line with the rapid evolution of the Chinese population, and of its average income," Jacopo Sertoli, president of Shanghai-based Welcome Chinese Company, said, adding that recreation is becoming more important for Chinese.

Meanwhile, "the interest of Italians toward China has evolved and partially changed in recent years, and our offer has adjusted accordingly," said Laura Grassi, chief manager of Italian tour operator Chinasia, the first and the oldest Italian operator to manage outbound flows to China since the early 1980s.

Chinasia has gathered much expertise over more than three decades. "At the beginning, China tours mostly attracted Italian people from the middle-high class, well educated, and with an average age of 40," Grassi said.

Today, clients have various profiles. "We have the young student, who is possibly able to speak a little Chinese and wants to have an experience; we have many couples, and families with children as well," she said.

Not surprisingly, Italy is stepping up education to train personnel for the tertiary