Xinhua Silk Road - Belt and Road Portal, China's silk road economic belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Website Xinhua Silk Road - Belt and Road Portal, China's silk road economic belt and 21st Century Maritime Silk Road Website
Subscribe CustomBlackClose

Belt & Road Weekly Subscription Form

download_pop

Research ReportCustomBlackClose

The full edition of the report is available at Xinhua Silk Road Database. You can click the “Table of Content” to have a general understanding of it.

Click on the button below to create your account and get immediate access to thousands of articles.

Start a Free Trial

Xinhua Silk Road Database
CLASS

Food and Tourism: Grand Tour of Italy to attract China

April 17, 2019


Abstract : The use rural areas and Italian food and wine heritage to attract tourists on the territories: is the renewed Grand tour of Italy, which proposes alternative opportunities to tour operators, compared to the routes in the already...

MILAN, Apr 15 (Class Editori) – The use rural areas and Italian food and wine heritage to attract tourists on the territories: is the renewed Grand tour of Italy, which proposes alternative opportunities to tour operators, compared to the routes in the already overflowing art cities, so as to increase tourist flows in the Bel paese. This is the fundamental vision of the Minister of Agricultural, Food and Forestry Policies as well as Tourism, Gian Marco Centinaio. A strategy that starts from an observation: The combination of agrifood and tourism is a keystone to Italian growth. Together they represent between 20% and 30% of the country's GDP", said Centinaio at the first edition of the Milan Agrifood & Travel Global Summit (MAT). Adding that: "At the last G20 of agriculture of last year, the most important ministers of the world pointed out tourism as to develop rural areas". This driving direction, the heart of the initiative organized by Class Editori and Gambero Rosso, is also a market first need. Especially for the Chinese one. To explain this, the minister highlighted that: "We need to start from the assumption that the Chinese need to know a different Italy from the one that is now overrated. They want alternative solutions and live unique sensations. Venice, Pompeii and Rome, by now, are well known by the high-spending tourism. This is why we think of food and wine as the new country attraction". 

In this regard, wine tourism plays a fundamental role; it is an economic activity to which the government intended to dignify, including an ad hoc definition in the 2019 budget law. And through the launch of an implementing decree containing the guidelines for accommodation facilities and the conduct of wine tourism. In relation to the Chinese market, Centinaio warned that: "The market share of Italian wines in China today is only 7% and is quite far from France, which occupies 50% of the market. But, 2020 is the year of Italy-China tourism; we have to work a lot to reduce the gap". Therefore, he has widened the net: "Many Italians travel for wine tourism in France, California, Australia, New Zealand or Africa. In Italy, instead, we limit ourselves to a few trips out of town. For this reason, the new wine tourism discipline is important: we must structure the phenomenon and change the perspective; behind a glass of Italian wine there is a family, a cellar, a vineyard, a territory, local food and wine, landscapes, history, culture, castles. In short: dreams to tell. Tour packages, emotions, splendours can surround the glass of wine. All it takes is to know how to tell those dreams," the minister remarked.

His vision has important similarities with that of the Lombardy Region president, Attilio Fontana, who also spoke during the MAT. The governor urged to think of "an Olympic route between places, food and wine" in view of the candidacy of Lombardy at the 2026 Winter Olympics. "Last week some IOC representatives came to Milan and Valtellina to evaluate the candidacy," Fontana revealed; if Lombardy were awarded: "I think it would be nice to create an 'Olympic route' able to link various sites. And to link wine and food to those places. Beautiful things can be done" Finally, he added that: "In the past few hours I have signed an agreement to clean up the Varese Lake. We want to make it more attractive and revive the lake culture that inspired Stendhal. Lombardy has great development possibilities, for its unique foods and sites, still not exploited enough".

(Source:Class Editori)

Notice: No person, organization and/or company shall disseminate or broadcast the above article on Xinhua Silk Road website without prior permission by Xinhua Silk Road.


Scan the QR code and push it to your mobile phone

Keyword: class international cooperation

Write to Us belt & road login close

Do you want to be a contributor to Xinhua Silk Road and tell us your Belt & Road story? Send your articles to [email protected] and share your stories with more people.

Click on the button below to create your account and get im http://img.silkroad.news.cn/templates/silkroad/en2017te access to thousands of articles.

Start a Free Trial

Ask Us A Question belt & road login close

If you have any questions, please enter them in the box below.

Identifying code Reload

Write to Us belt & road login close

Do you want to be a contributor to Xinhua Silk Road and tell us your Belt & Road story? Send your articles to silkroadweekly@xinhua.org and share your stories with more people.

Click on the button below to create your account and get im http://img.silkroad.news.cn/templates/silkroad/en2017te access to thousands of articles.

Start a Free Trial