Bit Milano 2024: Calabria goes beyond the sea and presents a new narrative to attract new tourists

This year, from 4 to 6 February at Allianz MiCo, the Region has focused on targeted promotion, presenting a varied tourist offer capable of satisfying the increasingly diversified needs of tourists from all over the world.

The busy program of events at the stand of Extraordinary Calabria, set up with a renewed and captivating graphic design, attracted significant participation from both professionals, visitors and the press present at the fair.

In addition to the renowned beaches and coasts, Calabria has enhanced protected areas by offering a wide range of activities for outdoor and relaxation lovers and highlighting the importance of environmental sustainability in tourism and protection and promotion of marine and mountain protected areas.

The presentation of the project “ITALY. The journey towards your roots” highlighted how this type of tourism can help promote a sense of belonging and cultural identity among visitors, as well as stimulate the economic and social development of local communities through the increase of sustainable and responsible tourism.

The panel dedicated to religious tourism, entitled “Between heaven and earth in the footsteps of San Francesco di Paola”, saw President Occhiuto share ideas and visions with other prominent speakers, exploring the potential of the spiritual roots of the region as a tourist attractor to be valorised.

The promotion of the Calabrian territory at International Tourism Exchange Milano was supported by a series of initiatives and strategic collaborations, among which the partnership with Rai COM stands out. This collaboration has already led to important results, such as the creation of the last RAI televised New Year's Eve event in Crotone.

“Calabria is perceived as an important tourist region only for the sea while it is a treasure chest of beauty and experiences that the country often does not know – the president of the Region Roberto Occhiuto spoke -. Calabria has extraordinary mountains, it is the region of Magna Graecia, with pieces of history and culture immersed in the sea, extraordinary food and wine itineraries, beautiful villages, and the Bit is the opportunity to bring Calabria together with operators who can give us a hand to invest in the tourism development of the Region".

“We did a project with Rai which is working very well. Rai hosts 50 productions a year, services on Calabria and its natural, landscape and cultural beauties and in the first three or four months alone we attracted around 50 million viewers", Occhiuto continued.

“So it's a way to give the country a different story, because Calabria is sometimes talked about only for its problems, but instead it is a land full of resources and great opportunities and this agreement serves to bring the most beautiful Calabria into the home of millions of Italians".

While participating in the BIT Milano, President Occhiuto, assisted by the managers of the Tourism, Territorial Marketing and Mobility Department, outlined three crucial drivers for the development of tourism in Calabria.

The first concerns the strengthening of airports to improve tourist incoming. In this sense, the arrival in Calabria of the CEO of Ryanair was announced to define new routes from the Region, with the aim of increasing flights and attracting at least 5-6 million passengers in the next 4-5 years. A significant increase in passengers is already expected from next year.

The second action focuses on improvement of internal mobility in Calabria, essential to guarantee a smooth and complete tourist experience. However, it is hoped that the increase in tourist presences will stimulate the birth of new entrepreneurial initiatives, especially led by young people, in the mobility sector.

The third crucial aspect is that of receptivity, which requires a change of mentality and high ambition on the part of all the actors involved in the tourism sector.

President Occhiuto underlined the importance of establishing itself as a tourist destination of primary importance and invited the involvement of the market to achieve this objective. Not just the sea, in fact, the involvement of "Most beautiful villages in Italy", during the three days, helped highlight the rich cultural and historical heritage of the region. In Calabria, 16 villages are recognized as among the most beautiful.

The panel dedicated to “Locride 2025” Calabria's participation in the BIT closed on a high note Milano 2024.

The tourist operators, bodies and associations present at the fair expressed satisfaction with the promotion of the Calabrian tourist offer, confirming the success of the event.

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