The president of Confesercenti Sicilia, Alberto Paellaand the representative of the association for the Aeolian Islands, Sunday Mountthey asked the President of the Sicilian Region, Renato Schifanito the Councillor for Infrastructure and Mobility, Alessandro Aricò, to the general manager of the Department of Infrastructure, Mobility and Transport, Fulvio Bellomo, to the manager Serv. 1, Dorothea Squareto the sole person responsible for the Procedure, Lucio Onionand to the general manager of Liberty Lines, Nuncio Formicathe organization of a technical table with all the institutions to address the problems that have long weighed on the Aeolian maritime connections and therefore on the economic-social life of the territory.
The association stated in the note that “the adverse weather conditions of the last few days have slowed down connections with the Aeolian Islands, causing enormous inconvenience not only to tourists but also to citizens and operators in the tourism sectorcausing huge economic damage. By organizing connection services in a more flexible way, thanks to the possibility of predicting weather conditions well in advance, it would be possible to guarantee the extension of the tourist season, while at the same time avoiding the spread of unnecessary alarmism, as happened last weekend, with the consequent abandonment of the islands by tourists and inhabitants before the actual worsening of weather conditions. Added to all this is the heavy increase in tariffs to the detriment of citizens and touristsi. The destagionalization of tourism is often discussed: better planning in the maritime transport sector could represent a start of this evolutionary path, alleviating the problem of socio-economic isolation.. Extending summer opening hours until October 31st would, for example, allow us to respond to the requests of tourists and operators of the sector improving the daily life of the islander”.