«The increase in tourists in the city is a wonderful sign. Even from an emotional point of view, seeing movement in the city creates a psychological dynamic that gives optimism to the trader. Now that the number of tourists has increased, however, we must be able to fascinate those tourists.” The impact of Ryanair's landing at the “Tito Minniti” airport is visible not only in the terminal which has once again come alive with travelers after years of strong depression, but also in the streets of the center of Reggio Calabria, where a breath of optimism seems to have taken hold ( perhaps by surprise) especially traders. We discussed this and much more with Lorenzo Labate And Fabio Giubilo, respectively president and director of Confcommercio Reggio Calabria. A chat that ranged from the need to increasingly characterize the tourist offer, to the essential collaboration between entrepreneurs and the municipal administration.
«The effect at the moment – declared President Labate – has been noticed above all in the catering sector which is the most immediate one, we can say. There were also good numbers in B&Bs, which are now called upon to maintain a high quality of hospitality. However, there was little impact on hotel facilities. This is a fact that, in our opinion, denotes a type of tourism that is still “hit and run”. But we hope that this trend can change over time and together with B&Bs, bookings can also grow in the few city hotels.”
