It started yesterday night the Enit mission in the UE capital. Abruzzi, Lombardy, Apulia, Sardinia and Umbria will be involved in Bruxells for the 2012 edition of the ‘Salon des Vacances’, one the of the most important contintental showcases for the tourism sector. The fair started yesterday, with the Brussel Travel Top, and will last until the 6th of February, featuring lot of meetings and initiatives aimed for tour operators, travel agents and journalists. The National Tourism Agency has invited Italy to encourage the exchange between Belgian demand and Italian supply. The 54th edition of the exhibition guarantees record numbers: the past edition recorded the participation of 786 exhibitors from over 60 countries and 114 thousand visitors in five days. The numbers could grow in this edition because, as explained by Luigi Cresponi, alderman of Regional Tourism for Sardinia “This fair is multicultural and we are trying to show the world all our holiday proposals. Focusing on the belgian market, we count to confirm and possibly improve the last three years numbers. As in Sardinia, for example, where we have 90 thousand tourists from Belgium every year”.
BELGIANS PREFER BELPAESE
About 7 million Belgians travel and mostly spend their holiday abroad. Italy is at 3rd place in the list of their foreign preferred destinations, after France and Spain. These are the numbers of the last National Tourism Agency report, in anticipation of the ‘Salon des vacances’.
The number of Belgians traveling to Italy is increasing (1,013,042 in 2010 – ISTAT). The figures are positive even for organized tourism. The 2011 season ended with an increase of 1.5% over last summer. Encouraging data even for the art cities, with a significant increase in this summer. Another detail not to be underestimated: the ‘Salon de Vacances’ represents a real opportunity to promote tourism to Italy because 80% of visitors have not yet booked their holiday and they will take advantage of the fair to make their choice.
