April 10th - April 15th

Perugia, 15th April (Adnkronos) – Perhaps it is the result of the tourism promotion work over recent years or the increasingly competitive prices that it seems the Umbrian facilities can offer, but 2007 is turning out to be an extremely positive year for farm hotels in Umbria, which over Easter were fully booked throughout the region. This is a trend that seems to be confirmed also over the spring and summer season for which there are already satisfying numbers of bookings.

Rome, 15th April (Adnkronos) – The APT Abetone project for promoting and protecting the knowledge of the mountains in the area is called ''Gli antichi confini della montagna pistoiese'' (The ancient boundaries of the Pistoia mountains). There are seven itineraries that stretch out along the boundaries that used to delimit the Pistoia area of the Granducato di Toscana. The idea was created in association with the Province of Pistoia and the Touring Club Italiano and the Pistoia State Archive.

Rome, 14th April - (Adnkronos) - "We are expecting important long weekends over the next few weeks after a quiet Easter, as this weekend will see an increase in the OTC market". This information comes from Telefono Blu. "We are seeing a miserable high of 22 % over Easter move up to over 30% - said the Consumer Association for the Protection of Tourist Rights. So, Italians will make a decision over the next few days as to where to go on holiday this summer."

Rome, 14th April - (Adnkronos) - ''The system made up of the Via Francigena is the ideal place for building protection for the area it passes through''. This was the comment of the Vice President of the Regional Council of Lazio, Guido Milana, during the first walk along the first stretch of the Via Francigena nel Sud, from Paliano to Gallicano nel Lazio. As of this morning, in fact, many people have responded to the Percorsi Giubilari Foundation’s call and are walking along the paths that cross Olevano Romano and Genazzano, to arrive in Cave. Tomorrow morning this will be repeated, finishing the path, leaving from Cave and arriving in Antica Gabi, in the Gallicano nel Lazio area.

Rome, 13th April - (Adnkronos) – The Province of Rome has published a public competition with the objective of contributing to the implementation and promotion of initiatives aimed at making the Province of Rome known and developing tourism. The competition, a memo says, was signed by the Provincial Councillor for Tourism, Patrizia Ninci, and no-profit associations who operate in the area. The total amount of funding made available by the Gasbarra administration is € 150 thousand and each association will receive up to a maximum of € 10 thousand for its tourism promotion initiatives.

Cagliari, 13th April - (Adnkronos) – The low coast airline, EasyJet, has announced that it is bringing forward the start date of the Olbia-Geneva flight. “Thanks to the amazing success of the sales on the Olbia-Geneva flight – explains a company memo - we have decided to bring forward the start date of the flight, initially planned for 30th June, to 14th May. Thousands of people have in fact already booked seats on this route”.

Pescara, 13th April - (Adnkronos) – The Regional Councillor for Tourism, Enrico Paolini, spoke today at the opening of the 17th edition of Ecotur, the International Tourism and Nature Trade Fair held in Montesilvano (Pescara). Paolini stressed “how this sector of tourism in Abruzzo represents a wealth that we must all be able to share in”. Just last year in the appreciation classification of the foreign press – he explained – Abruzzo appeared in 14th place, and now we’re ahead of everyone precisely because we’re a clean, liveable and welcoming region. These are all elements that confirm our everyday promotion activity”.

Rome, 13th April - (Adnkronos) - ''The Via Frencigena is a cultural and spiritual trip along the path that leads from Canterbury to Rome, that lets travellers rediscover the pleasure pf stopping and admiring the surrounding landscape – said the Undersecretary for Agricultural Policy, Stefano Boco-. At the heart of this path, which will have appropriate signposting and relevant assistance points, is agriculture with its multiple conservation activities, hospitality and sale of typical products, in the new multifunctionality of farms".

Cagliari, 12th April - (Adnkronos) - Ryanair has announced that it will increase the frequency of the Pisa-Cagliari flights as of 7th May. “Thanks to the success of this route which has recorded over 25,000 bookings - said the Deputy Manager of Marketing, Alessia Viviani, whilst presenting the news - we have decided to increase the number of flights per week from five to nine. On this route we carried 130,000 passengers during the first year.

Cagliari, 12th April - (Adnkronos) – There will be reduced fares for Sardinian families who live on the mainland: territorial continuity will be extended thanks to the “Vola con Ambasciata” convention, initialled between the “Sardinian Embassy" association and the airline Airone. The details of the agreement will be presented on Friday at 11 am at the Airone check-in desks in Cagliari-Elmas airport.

Bari, 12th April (Adnkronos) – It has been a record Easter for tourism in Puglia. According to the bookings data published by Unioncamere, the region appeared among the preferred destinations for Italian tourists and especially for foreign tourists. “A very positive trend”, commented the Regional Councillor for Tourism, Massimo Ostillio, showing “appreciation for the results obtained, evident fruit of the work carried out by the tourist operators who managed to put interesting and competitive offers on the market, but also co-marketing initiatives, promoted in Italy and abroad by the Aeroporti di Puglia Company, with the support of the Region".

Rome, 12th April (Adnkronos/Adnkronos Culture) – Rose bushes in bloom and botanic gardens, labyrinths and Italian or English gardens, water games and greenery, centuries-old plants and ancient ruins: for twelve weekends and three Thursdays, from 14th April to 1st July, there will be eleven private historical gardens in Lazio opening their doors to visitors. The shuttle bus, which will leave from the Auditorium Parco della Musica, will take visitors on a nature trip, with the expert guide of landscapers who will illustrate secrets, marvels and curious details of the various gardens with tasting of typical local products.

Venice, 12th April (Adnkronos) - Veneto and Trentino have decided to jointly launch the project ''La Via del Brenta'', which aims to promote the path of the river in a territorial marketing programme that combines cultural, historical and tourist initiatives. “This is a project – underlined the Vice President of the Veneto Regional Committee, Luca Zaia – that finds its natural complement, with the participation of Trentino, for giving value and promoting the knowledge of a river area with natural, environmental, historical and sports characteristics of great interest”.

Rome, 12th April - (Adnkronos) - "The forecasts for tourism at Easter were estimated low. There were a total of 646,000 visitors in Rome over the Easter celebrations, almost 15,000 more compared to those forecasted. In the hotels there was a record increase of 15.89% in arrivals and 12.41% visitors”. This was declared by the Mayor of the Capital, Walter Veltroni and the Deputy Mayor, Mariapia Garavaglia, commenting on the tourism data published by the Bilateral Tourism Body for Rome and Lazio, on the arrivals and visitors during the week between 3rd and 9th April.

Florence, 12th April - (Adnkronos) – After a trip with suitcases of dirty clothes, photos and a few souvenirs, we take home mountains of memories, ideas, smells, tradition and experiences. An uncountable heritage that can help us to make a community grow and widen our horizons. This is the inspiration behind the ''Tutte le strade Riportano a Borgo'' (All roads lead to Borgo) project in five events organised by the Borgo San Lorenzo (Florence) local authorities in association with the Progetto Accoglienza Association. Five events, five themes, five ways and aims of travelling.

Naples, 11th April - (Adnkronos) – An agreement will be drawn up for improving hospitality and connections on the island of Capri. This news comes from a meeting held today in the Tourism and Cultural Heritage offices of the Campania Region, organised by the regional councillor, Marco Di Lello. Those who took part in the meeting included Di Lello, the Provincial Councillor for Tourism, Giovanna Martano, the Mayor of Capri, Ciro Lembo and the Mayor of Anacapri, Mario Staiano.

Florence, 11th April - (Adnkronos) - "The Vice President of the Council of Ministers, Francesco Rutelli, underlined that in Italy no tourist tax will be introduced and confirmed a complex and long-lasting plan of interventions for the art cities with a high density of tourists. A special provision will be launched for Florence, Rome and Venice, that will ensure these cities receive adequate funding covering all the expenses sustained by the council administrations for tourism”. This was announced by the councillor for productive activities and tourism of the Florence City Council, Silvano Gori, who took part in the summit held in Palazzo Chigi in Rome this morning between the government and representatives of the tourist world.

Rome, 11th April - (Adnkronos) – Boating is important for the development of the Italian tourist industry. UCINA, association which is part of Confindustria representing the boating industry in Italy, underlined this at the meeting called by the Government to illustrate the measures of the 2007 budget and collection useful indications for the development of Italian tourism. The President of UCINA, Anton Francesco Albertoni, requested “tax levelling of the tourist ports to the other hotel facilities, a new regulation for disciplining small and medium-sized boat rental and a reduction in the increases in state grants in the tourist ports introduced by the recent budget”.

Caserta, 11th April (Adnkronos) - "Trip to Ferdinandopoli", the first tourist itinerary with low environmental impact that, as well as the Reggia, also includes a tour to see the Bourbon sites (Carolino aqueduct included) of the city of Caserta and the surrounding area. This is the project which was already successfully experimented last year and reproposed by 'Caserta Incoming by Reggia Travel' with the support of Confindustria. Presented in all the industry exhibitions “Trip to Ferdinandopoli” will also be the strong point of Caserta’s presentation at the Eco-Tur exhibition in Pescara, scheduled to take place from 13th to 15th April.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - ''After sharing the analysis of the critical points holding back the tourism industry, it is now necessary to face them organically and concretely: the infrastructural deficit and the tax burden; the undersized companies and the quality of the product that represent the main issues to be tackled for relaunching tourism in Italy”. This was the comment of Lanfranco Massari, President of FederCultura Turismo Sport-Confcooperative, that defines the meeting between the government and representatives of the tourism industry as “an important step in terms of dialogue and collaboration”.

Rome, 11th April - (Adnkronos) - ''A system strategy, a governance and a national policy for tourism, that fully involves the local autonomies’ network''. This is the priority request that Osvaldo Napoli, Vice President of the Italian Councils Association (ANCI) spoke up for, during his speech at the meeting held this morning by the Minister Francesco Rutelli at Palazzo Chigi, in the presence of the Prime Minister, Romano Prodi, to discuss “development and competitiveness” in Italian tourism.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) – Codacons ''appreciates the Government’s efforts in the tourism area, but maintains that in order to increase Italy’s competitiveness, funding is not enough. There must also be direct interventions which hit the industry operators first of all”. “In order to increase Italy’s competitiveness – stated the President of Codacons, Carlo Rienzi – it is first necessary to protect and promote seas, ricers and coasts and take care of the tourist location, which are becoming increasingly disfigured. It is necessary to suppress the nasty habit of the tourist operators of “plucking” the last feather from tourists during those few days of their holiday, through the ridiculously high prices in the seaside villages, hotels, restaurants and various facilities”.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) – Promoting tourism as a growth and integration factor locally and developing an increasingly efficient cultural and tourism network able to respond to the cultural needs of visitors is the theme of the meeting entitled “Culture and tourism, a sustainable network”, which was held this morning in the Roman Aquarium offices. The aim of the meeting was to provoke reflection on the relationship between culture and tourism. “Culture and tourism are in fact an important element which can bring about competitiveness in our system”. This was stated by Giuseppe Farneti, Lecturer in General and Applied Accounting, Alma Mater Studiorum University in Bologna.

Roma, 11 April (Adnkronos) - ''Tourism could be the key to relaunching the Italian economy as long as the Institutions, starting from the Government take on this industry as an opportunity to be sustained''. This was the main point made by the President of Confesercenti, Marco Venturi, during the meeting held today with President Prodi and the Vice Premier Rutelli, on the relaunch of Italian tourism. Venturi insisted in particular on the “need to bring tourism out of season, expanding beyond the summer season. In order to do this, the companies must grow and provide wellness centres, gyms and internet connections. Just as public and private initiatives are needed for the food and wine sector”.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - Easter 2007 consolidated a trend which had already been confirmed: couples are the main customers for the bed and breakfasts (60%) whereas singles are still in a minority (only 5%). The results come from a survey on the associates of OTEI (Italian Monitoring Centre for Non-hotel Accommodation of ANBBA – the National Bed and Breakfast Association which is a member of Confedilizia).

Bologna, 11th April - (Adnkronos) – There are over 300 voluntary fields organised by Legambiente for 2007. To find out about them just go to the 'Ambiente Turismo' desk presented today in Bologna. “Creating a voluntary field – declared Luigi Rambelli, president of Legambiente Emilia Romagna – is not just a life experience. It is also a way to practice environmental care and take part in a group of people who will do something important and concrete for themselves and the environment they live in”.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - ''There won’t be a tourist tax and this will be a competitive advantage for Italy''. The Vice President of the Council, Francesco Rutelli, announced this whilst responding to the journalists’ questions at the end of the meeting between the Government and the businesses and world of work for identifying new instruments for development and competitiveness in tourism.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - ''The community funds for the national strategic plan 2007-2013 have set aside € 9 billion which are destined to increase for sustaining the international competitiveness of the tourist destinations in the Italian regions”. The Vice President of the Council, Francesco Rutelli, announced this at the end of the meeting between the Government and the businesses and world of work for identifying new instruments for development and competitiveness in tourism.

Marsala, 11th April (Adnkronos) - Discovering Marsala and recovering what risks becoming lost forever and making the artistic and environmental heritage available to all. This is the motivation behind the project in which Marsala will launch an appeal to all the relevant organisations for increasing awareness on the theme of cultural heritage. The occasion was provided by the presentation of a virtual map of the area which will shortly be on line (www.comunemarsala.it), with the possibility to get to know difficult-to-access websites.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - ''After 5 years during which Italian tourism has constantly lost market share on the international scene, we are straining to lift our heads back up''. The President of Confturismo, Bernabo’ Bocca, made this remark at the meeting with the President of the Council, Romano Prodi, for identifying new instruments for developing and increasing the competitiveness of tourism. “I’m pleased because we can all finally breathe a sigh of relief – added Bocca – the tourism financial statements for 2006 showed a positive balance of over € 12,000 million with a growth of 13% compared to the previous year”.

Arezzo, 11th April - (Adnkronos) - In a year like this the "Treno dei sapori" initiative had to start running again from Piero della Francesca, a Provincial project, in association with the Chamber of Commerce, Dopolavoro Ferroviario in Arezzo and LFI. “This year – explained the Arezzo Provincial Councillor for Agriculture, Roberto Vasai, we wanted to excel by organising four trips in the “treno dei sapori” with itineraries linked to the events in our area and the typical products. Over previous years the trips on this exciting train have always been a great success, attracting large numbers of tourists from all over Italy, and we are sure that 2007 will be a complete sell-out”.

Rome, 11th April - (Adnkronos) - ''€ 9 billion for the period from 2007-2013 is not an excessive amount and will be well spent, by establishing priorities''. The General Secretary of CNA, Giancarlo Sangalli, made this remark at the end of the meeting at Palazzo Chigi for identifying new instruments for developing and increasing the competitiveness of tourism. “The objective must be clear – added Sangalli – starting from the infrastructures, the tax issue and finally improving supply”.

Rome, 11th April (Adnkronos) - ''The objective is to identify new instruments for developing and increasing the competitiveness of tourism, that is the capacity our country has to attract visitors compared to the other competitors''. The President of Confcommercio, Carlo Sangalli, made this remark at the meeting at Palazzo Chigi with the President Romano Prodi and the Vice Premier, Francesco Rutelli, discussing the possibilities of new instruments for developing and increasing the competitiveness of tourism.

Rome, 10th April (Adnkronos) – Starting from today it is possible to buy tickets on ba.com for the British Airways flights from and to the new Terminal 5 in Heathrow Airport on its opening day. On 27th March 2008, T5 will become the new exclusive operational base for BA. A company memo specifies that about 75,000 tickets will be available on the 380 British Airways flights that will operate on the first day from the new Terminal, for the first passengers in the world to walk across the floor of the futuristic structure which cost � 4.3 billon to build.

Verona, 10th April - (Adnkronos) – Spring has arrived and during the Easter break the theme parks have been literally invaded by tourists. These include Gardaland in Castelnuovo del Garda (Verona). A media campaign has been launched for the park, with the launch of the season, for 2007, worth € 5 million. At the heart of this is the new park attraction, “Time Voyager”, multidimensional in 3D.

Rome, 10th April - (Adnkronos) – Over 2 million Italians chose to travel by train to reach holiday destinations or to see friends or relatives over the Easter break, with a 10% increase compared to normal weekends. This information comes from Ferrovie dello Stato in a memo. 32% of travellers went to see friends and relatives, 30% visited the art cities, 18% went to the seaside or the mountains and 20% travelled for work reasons.

Colle Val d'Elsa, 10th April - (Adnkronos) - 'Cioccolato Amore Mio' with hand-made sweets and delights. This weekend there is an event not to be missed in Colle Val d'Elsa, in Tuscany, with the exhibition-market that will see twenty producers from all over Italy taking part. Next Sunday, the artist Piero Ciaramelli will create a chocolate statue live, completely sculpted out of a 100 kg block of chocolate. The exhibition, with free entry, will be held on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 am until 7.30 pm in Piazza Arnolfo.

Perugia, 10th April - (Adnkronos) – The art cities are in first place, followed by nature, relaxation and good food. These were the choices of those who decided to spend the Easter break in farm hotels in Umbria. The information comes from Agriturist, the National Association for Farm Hotels and Territory, promoted by Confagricoltura in 1965. “For Easter – stated the President of Agriturist Umbria, Vittoria Iraci – there was a boom in demand for stays in farm hotels: The www.agrituristumbria.com web site recorded an increase in visits during the first few days of April, compared to the last week of March of over 40%”.

Rome, 10th April - (Adnkronos) – A helping hand for unfortunate tourists, who left for the holidays convinced that they were going to have fun, rest and travel and came back home livid about the lack of assistance, poor hygiene, bad food, thefts in hotel rooms, complicated medical insurance and tour operators who promise it all and don’t keep their promises. For tourists in difficulty, the Aduc association has made a web site available with a consultancy section answering questions free of charge within 48-72 hours on http://www.aduc.it/dyn/sosonline/richiesta/.