by InTrieste
Friuli Venezia Giulia has seen a surge in foreign tourists, going back to pre-pademic levels, as in the first nine months of the year, the regional capital reached 1 million and 200 thousand tourists, according to a new report by the FVG government presented on Wednesday.
“We have seen the increase of 32% of visits than at this time last year and we’ve had more than one million tourists in the past 3 months pass through Trieste,” said the president of FVG, Massimiliano Fedriga. “We are happy and excited about it.”
US tourists are driving the recovery, thanks also to a strong dollar, the report said. About 2.2 million Americans vacationed in Italy this summer, many passing through Trieste, generating an estimated €2.1 billion – 20 per cent more than the same period in 2019.
There has also been a surge of Australians, Canadians and South Africans, as well as a “good performance” from British visitors and pre-pandemic numbers of Spanish tourists.
Foreign tourists contributed significantly to these results, as we were saying. Their presence recorded an increase of 6.8% compared to the previous summer, with 2.3 million Austrian and German tourists. Furthermore, an increase of 25% in tourists from Eastern Europe and 28% from English-speaking countries: +62.1% in arrivals from Ireland and +29.3% from the United Kingdom, «thanks to the flight that was launched in March and connects Trieste to Dublin – indicated Bini – and the presentation of the English guide to Friuli Venezia Giulia published by the Lonely Planet and presented in London”.
“Arrivals from Austria and Germany are also continuing to increase – added the councilor –, which represent the backbone of tourism for our region.”
In illustrating the strategies for promoting the territory, regional councilor for tourism, Sergio Bini spoke of an “increasingly social” Fvg, also making use of the collaboration of professionals at a national level.
”We have started a very intensive media campaign on the main national newspapers and on television, and we are planning other interventions on the Rai and Mediaset networks.”
Looking at the visibility achieved by the Region with its social channels, there are 11 million users with 38 million views. Then there is the “Io sono Friuli Venezia Giulia” brand, which has become the main sponsor of Udinese and Triestina, and the protagonist of merchandising. An operation, that of promoting the brand, which Fedriga cares a lot about “because it manages to keep two aspects together: the promotion of the territory and the pride of belonging”, he explained.
Thanks to the allocations of the Film Fund (2,367,500 euros between 2021 and 2022), the region attracted 21 productions this summer, with a direct expenditure of productions on the Fvg of 19,922,000 euros, and overall returns of more than 35 million. The most viewed production was “Flowers Above Hell” with 4.8 million viewers
Separately, more than 20,000 travelers passed through Trieste airport this summer, Aeroporto di Ronchi Legionari announced.
