«The future of world tennis will be played in Reggio Calabria». It is with these words that the president of the Calabria Region, Roberto Occhiuto, greets the arrival of the ATP in the city of the Strait, underlining the international value of the event not only from a sporting point of view, but also for the impact on the territory. For Occhiuto, in fact, an event of this magnitude represents much more than a competition: it is an opportunity to make Calabria known to an international audience and to build a promotion destined to continue even after the end of the event.
«Reggio Calabria is proud to host this event of global character», underlined the governor, who thanked the leaders of the ATP, the Minister of Sport Andrea Abodi, Sport and Health and, in particular, the president of the Italian Tennis and Padel Federation, Angelo Binaghi. «With him – said Occhiuto – there has been a very intense collaboration in recent months so that this dream of ours could become reality». The President of the Region looks above all at the potential of the event on the tourism front. «Events of this kind are events of great territorial promotion, including tourism, for a region like Calabria which has been growing a lot in recent years», he explained, recalling the data on the economic and tourism growth of the region. Occhiuto also highlighted the issue of accessibility, an element considered strategic to support the growth of tourism. “We have three airports, one right in Reggio, and Reggio airport is among the fastest growing airports in Europe,” he said. Added to this, according to the governor, is “an extraordinary increase in tourists”, based on Istat and Interior Ministry data. Hence the need to focus on major sporting events as promotional tools.
«We need sporting events which are a great vehicle for territorial promotion and which then reverberate these effects in the years following the event», observed Occhiuto. And among sports, tennis takes on a particular meaning for the governor. “From now on, also thanks to the ability with which President Binaghi is directing the Tennis and Paddle Federation, tennis is the sport that most attracts Italians and also most attracts Calabrians”, he said, recalling the “great tennis tradition” of Calabria. The Reggio Calabria event thus also becomes a showcase to talk about a region which, according to Occhiuto, preserves a heritage that is still too little known. «We are really happy to be able to host this event, to be able to host the future champions of world tennis and to be able to show those who come the extraordinary resources of this Region, which is often little known», he said.
The governor then recalled the main Calabrian attractions: from the sea to the mountains, from the culture to the history of Magna Graecia. A heritage that also includes the Riace Bronzes and landscapes capable of offering, as Occhiuto recalled, the possibility of “skiing while looking at the sea”.
And it is precisely in the combination of sport and culture that the President of the Region identifies one of the keys to strengthening the image of Calabria. «Sport and culture are a combination that can really be of great interest and ensure that initiatives are developed which then truly become extraordinary vehicles for territorial marketing», he concluded. The ATP in Reggio Calabria, therefore, is not only considered an important event for tennis enthusiasts, but as a great opportunity to project Calabria onto the international scene, attract visitors and leave a legacy in the area that goes beyond the days of the competitions.