This Christmas, Slow Drive, a company specialized in driverless classic car hire, is putting a dashing vintage sports car hire under the tree.

A chance to drive an Alfa Romeo Giulietta or an iconic Karmann Beetle

Slow Drive revolutionizes the traditional concept of Christmas presents and for the most magical holiday of the year proposes a dream experience:  an adventure to share on board a legendary car.  A tour for a vintage-motoring enthusiast, or for a Dad or Mum who has always wanted drive an Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a fabulous Duetto spider, an iconic Karmann Beetle, or a Fiat Cabriolet. 

Tours from a half day to a weekend

Slow Drive offers a selection of beautiful vintage cars for hire in some of Italy's most beautiful locations. There are many models to choose from, along with the itinerary and duration of the tour (from a half-day to a weekend). With just a few clicks Slow Drive does home delivery with the person to whom the gift is addressed receiving an elegant box containing the rental voucher valid for 24 months, leather gloves 1960s sunglasses and maps with the most exciting tours. 

Conquer new destinations, hidden villages and beautiful landscapes

All you have to do is agree on a date and set off on the road, to conquer new destinations, hidden villages and beautiful landscapes. The cost for a one-day hire is from €250, and for a half-day (equal to 5 hours of hire) from €150. 20% discount for all bookings made up to 31 December 2023, using the discount code NATALESLOW23. For information: http://www.noleggioautodepoca.eu/   

Volotea is investing in Puglia’s Karol Wojtyla airport, its 8th Italian base: with a capacity increase of +38%, an Airbus A320, and eight new routes set to debut in 2024.

Bari’s airport to get new European flights from July 

Bari’s Karol Wojtyla Airport will be accessible from Toulouse starting from 4 July with a bi-weekly frequency and a total offering of 6,480 seats for sale. Additionally, also from 4 July, Dubrovnik will have three weekly frequencies with over 9,000 seats on sale. Bilbao will be connected from 5 July with two weekly frequencies and an offering of over 6,000 seats (alongside the Sicilian airport of Comiso), and Malaga will be reachable from 6 July with a bi-weekly frequency and 6,120 seats on sale.

“Since 2012 we have carried over 2 million passengers” 

Volotea has been active at the Apulian airport since 2012, having operated around 19,400 flights to date and carried more than two million passengers. “The opening of the summer base in Bari once again confirms Volotea's growth in Italy,” said Valeria Rebasti, international market director of the Spanish airline. “This important milestone and the connections announced today allow us to consolidate access to and from the region, with a total of 18 destinations and five different countries.”

Summer 2024: 18 destinations from Bari

“Next summer Volotea will connect 18 destinations from Bari, eight of which are brand new,- added the president of Aeroporti di Puglia, Antonio Maria Vasile, -this is excellent news for us and for Puglia. In addition to the new destinations, all of which are of great commercial interest, the other important decision by the company is that of opening their new base in Bari.”

The Peristilio will host Travel Quotidiano's Christmas Party 2023.

"The very difficult start continued until May, and was then followed by a period with a welcome return of MICE events, and the demand for winter events has also returned,” says Manuela Vanni, owner, together with her brother Lorenzo, of a number of prestigious F&B and MICE locations in Rome, including the Peristilio and the historic residence La Casina di Macchia Madama. The Peristilio, located above the historic Caffè Vanni in Rome’s Prati district, will host Travel Quotidiano's Christmas Party 2023.

The Peristilio’s executive chef is Salvatore Saladino

"We are optimistic for the future and for next year, although there are several variables on the horizon that could still have a negative impact on the sector, such as the ongoing wars and the uncertain financial markets that are causing inflation to rise, and increasing the prices of raw materials and energy.” The Peristilio is an ideal venue for private and corporate events helmed by executive chef Salvatore Saladino. The maximum capacity is 220 seats in three rooms, with a single room seating 100 and a private room with a lift seating 30. Located near the RAI Italian television headquarters in Viale Mazzini, not far from the centre of Rome, it is easily reached by public transport, and close to the Lepanto metro station.

“Clients are looking for customized solutions”

Private customers make up a large part of the Vanni Group’s requests for weddings, private parties, birthdays and religious celebrations. "However, we also work with the corporate sector, and the world of entertainment,-  says Manuela Vanni. – In the post-Covid era clients are looking for customized solutions with not only good food, but also entertainment and exclusivity. Most of our guests come from Rome or Italy, but we also have upscale international clients who often ask for events you could compare to Hollywood film productions.” 

Lorenzo Vanni

Vanni is organizing a 3-month summer food festival

"We are developing foreign markets through social media, trade newspapers, and by attending major Italian and international trade fairs, including weddings fairs, - says Lorenzo Vanni. "We firmly believe in the farm-to-fork movement and in this regard we are working on a three-month summer festival centered around this theme, with producers' stands and show kitchens for tastings of the short food chain. We will organize it on the street, in front of our historic Caffè Vanni in Via Col di Lana. Our aim is to boost an awareness of healthy and sustainable eating.” 

The Belmond brand is ready to open a new property, Urio Castle on Lake Como.

The property was a place of prayer and reflection

Negotiations between the French group LVMH, owner of the Belmond brand since 2018, and the ownership of Urio Castle on Lake Como, part of the real estate assets of Opus Dei, are said to be in their final stages. This is according to the Italian daily Il Sole 24 Ore, which explains how the asset was purchased at the time by the movement's founder Josè-Maria Escrivar, who made it a place of prayer and reflection. The agreement, it is thought, involves an investment of between €50 and €100 million, with the deal expected to be finalized by 2024.

The Belmond Group continues to invest in Italy

Confirmation of the ongoing discussions comes directly from Belmond, which, in the event of a successful agreement, is set to manage the property located in Carate Urio. The property would thus join the hotels already part of Belmondo's portfolio in Italy which include the Cipriani in Venice, the Splendido in Portofino and the Villa Sant'Andrea in Taormina. LVMH's pipeline in Italy also includes the Romazzino and Pitrizza on the Costa Smeralda, which will be rebranded as Belmond and the Cheval Blanc, respectively between 2024 and 2026, as well as the further openings of Villa Beatrice in Portofino and the Belmond Masseria le Taverne in Ostuni.

Volotea is to add new Brest to Rome and Olbia routes in 2024, starting on 18 April with over 20,000 seats for sale.

This marks the addition of historic Brest in north-western France as Volotea's twentieth operational base. With this new route, the destinations connected by the Spanish carrier to Rome Fiumicino Airport will increase to eight, including one in Italy (Olbia), six in France (Bordeaux, Brest, Lille, Lourdes/Tarbes, Nantes, and Strasbourg), and one in Spain (Bilbao). Volotea launched operations at Rome Fiumicino in 2021, and anticipates a 12% boost in capacity for 2024 over 2023, contributing to the local economy with its inbound traffic.

Volotea has been operating at Olbia for over ten years

Turning its attention to Sardinia, the new flight from Brest to Olbia will debut on 9 April with two weekly frequencies on Mondays and Fridays, and a total of over 20,000 seats on sale. Having operated at Olbia for over ten years, carrying 3.8 million passengers on some 29,000 flights, Volotea is boosting its commitment to the region, to incoming tourist flows and supporting the local and Sardinian economy.

Volotea

“Next year we are looking at +4% in capacity over 2023” 

Valeria Rebasti, Volotea's International Market Director, comments, “The route from Brest comes in a year already full of news about Olbia. Following the ten new connections and the possibility of traveling for the first time even in winter to an international destination, Barcelona, Volotea is ready for an even better performance in 2024. We are looking at +4% in terms of capacity compared to 2023, and we will be the airline with the highest number of destinations connected to and from Olbia on which we will be using three A320s next year.”

In 2024 Volotea will operate a total of 28 routes at the Sardinian airport, from and to major cities in Spain, France and Italy.

Tickets for Treni Turistici Italiani’s new sleeper trains from Rome to Cortina d’Ampezzo, the famed ski resort in the Dolomites, are officially on sale. 

A bus will take passengers on the final leg of the journey

Tickets to travel between Rome and Cortina d'Ampezzo aboard the new 220-bed Cadore night train are now on sale on the site www.trenitalia.com. The train will run every weekend between 15 December 2023 and 25 February 2024, with some additional runs during the Christmas period between 18 December  and 3 January.  The night journey to reach Cortina, the Queen of the Dolomites, will depart from Roma’s central Termini station at 9.40 p.m. and arrive in Calalzo at 7.57 a.m.. From here a 50-minute bus service leaving from the station will take them to the centre of Cortina d'Ampezzo. Intermediate stops will be at Orte, Orvieto, Treviso, Ponte nelle Alpi and Longarone-Zoldo.

The train has single or double sleeper cabins and 4 or 6-seater couchettes  

Access on board will be allowed up to 40 minutes before departure, allowing passengers to hand over their luggage, including any sports equipment, to the dedicated staff for stowage in a special carriage. Passengers can choose between single or double sleeper cabins, which also include dinner and breakfast service in the ticket, or in 4- or 6-seater couchettes that can also be reserved for group travel.  The train also has a restaurant car serving Italian products and a bar service.

"We are very worried about the new European Directive," says Stefano Corbari, president of the travel agency association Fiavet Lazio.  "Even though details have still to be confirmed, things are not looking good. Fiavet has already sent a letter to the European Union raising a number of doubts and concerns. We also find this acceleration strange coming up to the new European elections.

“Things could change, but only if there is dialogue between the parties”

"We don’t have an answer. There could well be change, but only if there is dialogue between the parties. If things are not imposed from above perhaps changes can be made. We are not the only ones who are critical of the directive, and we can only wait for someone to respond. If they don’t then together with the other associations we will have to insist. But we must avoid hasty decisions, because, as I said, this debate on the directive is taking place in the run-up to the European elections. Which means we will have another European Parliament and another committee, and this will make change very complicated, so yes, we are concerned. As for the famous €39 million, the first part has started to arrive.” 

“New agencies turn the spotlight on areas that are not very well known” 

“In Fiavet Lazio, and also in the other regional associations, we have returned to pre-pandemic membership levels. I think we once again understand the importance of an association but, like my colleagues in other groups, I would like more commitment from everyone. As a federation we are moving in many directions, and once again there is a lot of emphasis on training. Many new incoming agencies are opening, and older agencies are opening incoming divisions. In the medium term this will lead to a saturation of the market. But I think this is natural, and those with a solid foundation will stay the course. As a federation we have always pushed to promote other provinces, and these new incoming agencies are doing just that, turning the spotlight on areas that are still not very well known. What we must do is promote the development of local suppliers for the benefit of both colleagues and territories.”

“Artificial intelligence can be useful”

“In some respects artificial intelligence can be useful. But it does not solve everything, and if it is taken superficially it can be harmful. As travel agents we are not ready yet, I think it will take time before we can say we are ready to work with artificial intelligence. We need training, and we need to focus on the individual. This is the most important thing, as well as making sure that we don’t get left behind.”  

Neos will connect New York JFK to Palermo airport (Sicily) with a direct flight starting on 8 June 2024. 

Currently Neos operates NY-Milan and Toronto-Milan flights

With this new summer route the Italian airline will expand its network between North America and Italy. Since 2021 it has been operating three weekly flights on the New York-Milan Malpensa route and a Toronto-Milan Malpensa flight since last April.

A Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner will operate the new Palermo flights 

The flight to Palermo will operate with a 355-seat Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner. There are two scheduled weekly flights: every Monday the plane will take off at 17:00 from New York and arrive in Palermo on Tuesday at 7:20, departing from Palermo at 11:25 and arriving in New York at 14:50. Every Saturday the plane will take off at 17:00 from New York and arrive in Palermo on Sunday at 7:20, leaving again at 11:25 for New York where it will land at 14:50.

“Our initial goal is to transport some 20.000 passengers next summer”

“This new connection represents a further opportunity for the development of leisure and business flows between United States and Italy, with an initial goal of transporting some 20,000 passengers next summer,” says Carlo Stradiotti, CEO of Neos.  The new intercontinental flight is the only direct service operated by an Italian carrier to and from Sicily and the United States, and is an important opportunity for Italy’s largest island in terms of both outgoing and incoming traffic, without forgetting the many Italians residing in the Big Apple.

This summer Sardinia made a comeback to pre-pandemic levels and is proving to be a year-round attraction.

“Arrivals were higher than pre-pandemic levels”

“Summer 2023 was a very good season. Arrivals to Sardinia were higher than pre-pandemic levels, and for the first time we are witnessing a growth in tourists beyond the high season. Sardinia has so much to offer throughout the year,” said Andrea Cocco, head of the cabinet of tourism, crafts and commerce of the Sardinia’s Region, speaking last month at the WTM. 

Sardinia is now appealing in the off-peak months 

“In 2024 we will continue to promote all our attractions that are spread across the 24,000 square kilometres and 377 municipalities of our island. Food and wine events are an invitation to get to know authentic Sardinia, and are something to be experienced not only in the high season. Regarding overtourism, Sardinia has long chosen to appeal to an attentive, high-profile, and demanding tourist; there is something for everyone here and we are extremely hospitable. If we manage to fully resolve the problem of air transport and connections, Sardinia can be a holiday destination all year round."