Tourism has its defenders and its critics. But like it or not, it has become one of the world’s most important industries, and few major countries are as dependent upon it as Italy. Last year, the Italian tourist trade was worth more than 150 billion euros, according to the World Economic Forum (WEF). That adds up to nearly 11,000 euros for every family of four. It was responsible for approximately 3 million jobs, 12 percent of the Italian labor force. Try imagining what the loss of those jobs – or a five-figure cut in income – would mean to the typical family in Barga.
The good news is that the tourism business here, as measured in the demand for scarce accommodations, has never been healthier. The bad news is the word “scarce,” a reflection of the pitiful investment that Italy has committed to an industry that puts so much bread on its collective table. And if the most recent WEF study of global tourism is any indication, the neglect is beginning to take its toll. Overall, Italy staggered in at 33rd out of 124 countries, and dead last among the 15 core nations of the European Union.
The fuller truth lies in the details, and the picture that emerges in a detailed accounting of Italy’s tourism shortcomings is about much more than tourism. It describes an affluent and ostensibly First World nation whose transportation and other public services are at Third World levels (or worse), and whose laws and regulations are so profoundly murky that no one – not even Italian officials, lawyers and judges – can fathom them.
Italy ranks a demoralizing 70th in the WEF’s civic-development rankings, its bureaucratic and regulatory performance dramatically outdistanced by the likes of Honduras (the original “banana republic”) and cocaine-addled Colombia, by impoverished Zambia and Botswana, and by both Morocco and Romania, homelands of thousands of extra-communitari who are viewed as primitive barbarians by the Italian far right and the racist Lega Nord.
Take a train more than 50 km lately? I did more than 50 times last year, travelling back-and-forth to Nice, just beyond the French border, to help out a friend who was ill. The 350-km distance took an average of 5 changes in each direction, and the round trip consumed between 19 and 22 hours. Italy ranks a miserable 55th in ground transportation services, once more behind Morocco, not to mention Namibia, Pakistan, Jordan, India, China and Azerbaijan.
There are countless things in Italy that couldn’t be better: the food, the weather, the history and culture, and above all the astonishing warmth of its human relations. They explain why so many of us who were born elsewhere now choose to live here, and feel a deep attachment to our adopted home. But it is time that all of us, immigrant or Italian-born, asked whether what we love about Italy would be threatened by laws and regulations that make sense, or by public services that actually serve the public.
Frank Viviano March 2007
Article by Frank Viviano – all articles by Frank Viviano can be seen here
The World Economic Forum’s First Ever Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report can be read here or click here to visualize the results in world maps.
Everyone in Italy should be required to read the excerpt from the WEF report that Keane inserted adjacent to this article. What an indictment! The staggering thing is that so few Italians appear to recognize damage that alleged “business genius” Berlusconi has done to the national economy, infrastructure and foreign investment portfolio. A total scam from beginning to end. Yet most people here still see him as an adroit manager and Romano Prodi — a banker! — as a dangerous commie. It makes your heart sink.
Frank
My first visit to italy in 1979. Bus from Milan airport to MIlan railroad station arrived there 1 hour late. Not because of problems with the bus leaving on time, but because the Red Guard was marching on the station to close it down. Weaving through this massive wave of humanity the driver was able to
reach the station.
At the ticket office, the clerk informed me there was only 1
train leaving in 10 minutes. I asked how much the ticket was
and he informed me 20,000 lire. I gave him a 100,000 lire note.
He shook his head and indicated he did not have enough change for this amount. He gave me the ticket and waved me on. I caught the train as it was about to leave.
As you can imagine Frank, I have a fondness for the Italian public transportation people.
Look forward to seeing you this spring Frank.
Dave Brandt
As a “white settler” in Barga and Italy you must practice restraint when bringing your opinions to bare on the unsuspecting natives. It is not that long ago that the cowboys inflicted a better transport system on the Indians. It was called the covered wagon and the rest is well as they say documented history!
See you soon,
Umberto
Umm.. Now let me think about this one….
If we don’t get any beter then things will get worse and we won’t be able to afford anything..
If we do get better then even more tourists will come here and we won’t be able to afford anything..
So the choice is high prices and crowds or high prices and some peace and quiet…
ps: Last year when looking for somewhere to go for my summer hols I remember discussing the following points about each country with my partner.
1. Policy rules and regulations
2. Environmental regulation
3. Safety and security
4. Health and hygiene
5. Prioritization of travel and tourism
6. Air transport infrastructure
7. Ground transport infrastructure
8. Tourism infrastructure
9. Information and communication technology (ICT) infrastructure
10. Price competitiveness
11. Human capital
12. National tourism perception
13. Natural and cultural resource
Well,
point 1 ruled out Switzerland,Austria and Germany.
point 2 ruled out Iceland.
point 3 ruled out USA
Point 4 ruled out Hong Kong SAR(s)
before we got to point 5 the kids steped in with their own list…
1.Sea
2.Icecream
3.Sun
4.Lazy days… oh well. call me old fashioned…
Quote form the report.
Geneva, Switzerland, 1 March 2007 – Switzerland, Austria and Germany have the most attractive environments for developing the travel and tourism industry, according to the very first ranking of its kind in the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2007, released today by the World Economic Forum. Iceland, the United States, Hong Kong, Canada, Singapore, Luxembourg and the United Kingdom complete the top ten list.
“Our study is not a ‘beauty contest’, or a statement about the attractiveness of a country. On the contrary, we aim to measure the factors that make it attractive to develop the travel and tourism industry of individual countries.
umm.. The WEF isn’t based in Switzerland by any chance… Still if this means that five storey square hotel developments are going to be diverted to Swizerland and Germany for the next few decades then maybe it isn’t a bad thing being last on the list…
Note: This doesn’t mean that the findings were wrong, and hence we should try and get rid of all our leaders – the politicians (left and right), Public sector managers, etc and replace them with………
Zambo and Dave,
Please re-read the final paragraph. Zambo, please note my surname. (“White settler?”).
Both of you, please note that it is overwhelmingly Italians who pay the daily price for murky laws and poorly run public services.
Deety, alas, is right about the transport cost bind. But there is no reasonable defense for the bureaucratic tangle.
Frank