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Verona considers charging tourists to see Romeo and Juliet’s famous balcony
DestinationsVerona, the city of Romeo and Juliet, is hoping to cash in on the enduring appeal of Shakespeare’s “star-cross’d lovers”, by charging two euros (£1.68) per head to see the famous balcony. Tourists who want to enter the courtyard to see the balcony from where Juliet was supposedly wooed by Romeo could soon have to [...]
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Rome tour boat operators won’t cruise this summer: Tiber too dirty
TransportVisitors to Rome this year won’t be able to cruise along the Tiber River, which weaves through the city, because it has become “strewn with rubbish,” according to a representative of Rome Boats, the company that controls the river tours. In an interview with AFP, Rome Boats’ Mauro Pica Villa said there would be no [...]
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Kayak strengthens branding abroad with first global ad campaign
DigitalFor the first time, Kayak is airing the same ad in four destinations and four languages. Kayak launched a global ad campaign yesterday that builds brand awareness in Spain, France, Italy, and of course, the U.S. The campaign launched with a different ad in the U.S. than in France, Italy, and Spain, but both videos [...]
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The Germans snapping up vacation homes in Italy that Italians can’t afford
DestinationsYasemin Rosenmaier has been selling homes in northern Italy since 2005 and she’s finding that there’s never been a better time to work for a German broker. “I’d say 60 percent of our closings are with Germans, which is much higher than in previous years,” Rosenmaier said by telephone from her Engel & Voelkers office [...]
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The Italian island where the Concordia capsized wants €80m from Costa
TransportThe Italian island of Giglio has asked for at least €80m (£68m) in compensation for “irreparable damages” done to its economy and image by the Costa Concordia grounding off its coast. At the beginning of preliminary hearings held in the Tuscan town of Grosseto, a lawyer for Giglio’s council said it had formally requested compensation [...]
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Italian prosecutors turn their interest to Costa Concordia’s officers
TransportItalian prosecutors on Monday launched a case to put officers of the Costa Concordia on trial for the accident in which the giant cruise ship ran aground and capsized off the coast of Tuscany last year, killing 32 people. Prosecutors argued at a preliminary hearing that ex-captain Francesco Schettino should be tried on charges including [...]
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Italy leases abandoned castles to luxury hoteliers for cash
DestinationsDisused castles, fortresses, prisons and islands in Italy are to be converted into luxury hotels in a bid to boost tourism and fill the coffers of the debt-laden country. The initiative is being modelled on Spain’s Paradores, luxury retreats located in monasteries, castles and other historic buildings, and could help chip away at Italy’s 1.9 [...]
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Emirates launches first transatlantic flight direct from Italy to New York
TransportDubai-based airline Emirates says it will start its first direct flights connecting Europe and the U.S. later this year. The planned Milan-New York route marks another effort by the fast-growing carrier to expand into new markets. Currently, all Emirates flights across the Atlantic start in Dubai. Emirates said Monday the new service will begin Oct. [...]
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EasyJet continues move into European business routes with Rome-Milan launch
TransportAlitalia SpA’s monopoly over flights linking Rome Fiumicino and Milan Linate airports ends today as discount operator EasyJet Plc commences services between Italy’s capital city and its biggest financial center. Europe’s second-largest low-cost carrier will offer five daily services with a lead-in fare of 59.50 euros ($77.19) per round-trip. Alitalia averages 60 weekday connections, every [...]
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SkiftStats: The troubled travel industries of Italy and Spain, in numbers
DestinationsSome more country data goodness, this time returning to WTTC for the health of tourism economies of two of the traditional giants of European and indeed the World tourism: Italy and Spain. Both of these countries, like many others in Europe, had gone through the worst during the 2008-2009 recession, and came out on the [...]
