Financial operators Hines and Clessidra are said to be ready to enter Human Company.

Two American companies are interested

One hundred percent controlled by the Cardini Vannucchi family, and following the recent rumours regarding a change of partnership at Club del Sole, this time the speculation concerns the Human Company Group. And once again the news is broken by Il Sole 24 Ore which says the Tuscan operator has been targeted by two American groups, Hines in a joint venture with Clessidra, who are studying their entry into the capital of the Italian company, which also has hostels and country relais properties.

Villages, campsites and F&B outlets

The operation should be concluded by the end of the first quarter of the year with the aim of  strengthening and developing the Human Company. Founded in the 1980s as the ECV Group by a family traditionally linked to the textile industry in Prato, Human Company closed 2022 with a turnover of €123 million. With ten villages and campsites in Tuscany, Veneto, Lazio and Luxembourg, two 2.0 hostels under the Plus Hostel brand in Florence and Prague, and the Palagina Estate in the Chianti hills, Human Company also has Mercato Centrale F&B outlets in Florence, Rome, Turin, Milan and Campi Bisenzio.

Max Brown Missori is the name of the Italian debut property of the Dutch Sircle Collection Group in Milan. 

The new Max Brown Missori will have 64 keys 

Located in the square of the same name a few steps from the Duomo and from the Torre Velasca, the hotel has 64 rooms designed by Amsterdam-based interior designer Saar Zafrir, in collaboration with the company's in-house team.

Sircle Milan will have 70 serviced apartments

The Torre Velasca is due to open soon as the Group's second  property in Italy, with some 70 serviced apartments, and be called Sircle Milano. Both properties will be led by cluster general manager Andrea Piantanida, already at the helm of the Grand Hotel et de Milan. The Dutch Group currently has some twenty properties in Europe operated under five different brands: Sircle Hotels, Sir Hotels, Max Brown Hotels, Park Centraal Hotels and Àterre.

SkyAlps will expand its summer network with flights from Germany to Bolzano.

Flights to Bolzano from many German cities

There will also be new flights from Corfu to Bolzano, operating from next June, with one frequency per week every Friday, up to the end of September. The South Tyrolean airline is offering German tourists easy access to Bolzano and South Tyrol with routes departing from Berlin, Hamburg and Düsseldorf, while the summer offer from Germany is completed by Kassel.

A network of domestic routes

The network also includes connections from Bolzano to Olbia and Cagliari, Catania, Lamezia Terme and Brindisi that are due to start mid-May. In the high season both Cagliari and Brindisi will be supplemented by an additional weekly flight. There will also be flights from the Spanish island of Ibiza and the Croatian island of Brač. The regional flight programme will further expand this summer, with SkyAlps operating three flights to Rome from Verona, Cuneo and Crotone.

Towns of Italy Group's portfolio consolidates as it acquires Mediterranea Trekking, the Sicilian inbound operator specialized in outdoor & active experiences.

A specialist in Sicilian experiential tourism

Founded in 2005 and headquartered in Messina, Medtrek is a point of reference for experiential tourism in Sicily, offering a wide range of services for outdoor activities. These go from seasonal trekking, cultural and cycling excursions and trips to the Aeolian Islands, to personalized trips for groups and individuals, incentive trips, transfers and fly-and-drive.

“We aim at enhancing local expertise”

"The acquisition of Medtrek represents a significant step in our strategic growth path, aimed at building structured experiential tourism packages for Italian destinations and also at enhancing local expertise developed over years of work in the field," explains Toit Group CEO Luca Perfetto.  

Towns of Italy is a group made up of Towns of Italy, Arno Travel, a tailor-made luxury itinerary DMC, and ItalyXp, the company's technological hub, which now has over 120 branches throughout Italy. In 2022 the Group received a €5.5 million investment from Cdp Venture Capital, through the Italia Venture II - Imprese Sud fund and Smp Holding.

With another double new entry in Rome the Bzar Group continues to grow.

A new downtown Rome hotel

After the double new entry in Rome last November, the Bzar Group is expanding further in the capital with two new properties. The Pomezia Hotel in the city's historic centre is a 25-room 2-star hotel that will be repositioned as a 24-room 4-star with a rooftop bar and restaurant.

The Bzar Group will have 19 hotels

The second new entry is on Via delle Quattro Fontane. Here too, Bzar's plan to restyle and reposition the hotel into a 19-room 4-star. With the addition of this new hotel, the Bzar Group will manage 19 hotels. The properties are all midscale and upscale and in Rome with the exception of the 66-room 3-star 43 Station Hotel in Milan. In addition to the latest openings the company's pipeline includes four new hotels in Milan, Cortina, Rome and Ostia. The group is also active in the catering sector, with two restaurants and two rooftop bars.

In the heart of the Dolomites, the Val d'Ega ski area, has joined forces with the Swiss area of Arosa to launch the "Alpine Climatic Ski Areas" project. 

Green energy is to the forefront

With its focus on families and the environment, the area embraces a sustainable philosophy and consistently promotes responsible behaviour. Green energy is at the forefront here, as electricity is generated from renewable sources, plastic usage is minimised, and the planned transition from diesel to hydrogenated vegetable oil) fuel further exemplifies the commitment to environmental responsibility.

Ideal snow conditions lasting until March or April 

Thoughtful design and efficient management ensure the production of artificial snow on the slopes. In the early winter, when temperatures dip to -10°C/-15°C, the entire area is blanketed in snow within just 80 hours. These ideal conditions enable the maintenance of a soft snow cover lasting until March or even April.

The aim is to preserve nature

Adjusting lift speeds during periods of low traffic is another measure contributing to the improved energy balance of the ski area. In the pursuit of an environmentally friendly label, the area's staff menu features recipes that respect the environment, and events organised in Carezza adhere to simple rules for nature preservation, such as prioritizing local products, gradually phasing out printed materials, and encouraging the use of public transport for travel.

The Botanic Garden, or Orto Botanico, in Rome's Trastevere district, offers a beautiful escape from the bustle of the city’s traffic-packed streets.

A beautiful Roman site with no need to wait in line 

The Orto Botanico, its tranquil green spaces flecked with parakeets – a recent invasive species – provides an appealing alternative for which you don’t need to stand in line in the Eternal City. From Piazza Trilussa in Trastevere, along Via della Lungara and into Via Corsini, the cobblestones stop at the Botanic Garden’s ticket-office, while higher up on the Janiculum Hill Garibaldi’s statue can be seen peeping over the treeline.

Rome meets the world on the slopes of the Janiculum Hill

Well-marked gravel pathways lead past antique and headless busts, with an astonishing variety of plants and trees from the four corners of the world. Ranging from the Janiculum’s oak forest to an Orangery and to carnivorous plants, there is also the Corsini Cactus House with flowers in shades of brilliant mauves, reds and yellows. 

A Water Garden and medicinal plants

Past the water-garden, at close quarters one can observe the Wollemia nobilis or dinosaur tree which was deemed extinct up to 1944. Another once seemingly defunct tree on show is China’s Metasequioa glyptostroboides: 5,000 years from its so-called extinction date. There is also a culinary Garden of the Senses, as well as the Garden of Simples with plants that were used by mediaeval monks to prepare medicines. In the Tropical Greenhouse humidity is a fixed 80% but of course attracts visitors at all times of the year, despite its stifling atmosphere.   

According to Confindustria, record-breaking foreign and luxury tourism are keeping the Italian economy afloat. 

Record foreign spending in July

The expenditure of foreigners in Italy was an important item among the components of Italy's GDP (+0.1%  in Q3 2023) in the first nine months of this year, and is a large part of the direct economic value of tourism to the country. The contribution of foreigners to the tourism boom has been crucial: in September 2023 the growth of foreign travellers' spending in Italy rose by 11.8% on 2022 (at current prices), with a record reached in July. This spending, when compared to pre-pandemic levels, shows a +24.5% increase over 2019. Which is only in part due to the increase in the prices of tourism services (about +6% in 2023).

The stagnation of the economy is a drawback

By the end of 2023 revenues from foreign tourism will reach over €50 billion, far exceeding the €30 billion Italians spent abroad. But there is still room for growth in the hospitality sector: beds in hotels rose to 48.3% in 2022, compared to 49.0% in 2019, and are expected to rise further in 2023, though a return to the pre-pandemic growth trajectory could be delayed by the stagnation affecting the Italian and world economies. 

As the scenario changes Italian companies seem to be reacting. Travellers' choices are more oriented towards luxury experiences (+57% 5-star hotels in the last decade), new destinations,  climate change and virtual technologies that prepare for (or will replace?) in-person travel.

06/09 MAGGIO 2024

Che cosa è il Romance Travel Forum?

Il Romance Travel Forum è un evento del settore dedicato alle destinazioni TOP per il wedding, viaggi di nozze e qualsiasi altro evento privato o anniversario che può essere celebrato in un viaggio. Il format dell’evento prevede un numero ridotto di partecipanti che lo rende esclusivo e si basa su appuntamenti one-2-one dove gli espositori/seller incontrano un pubblico selezionato di buyer/agenti di viaggi TOP nella nicchia dei viaggi e dalle vacanze Wedding & Honeymoon.

Perché partecipare:

• Rapporto tra i buyers e i sellers presenti è di 2:1 (circa 190 buyers e circa 90 sellers)
• Presenza all’evento di buyers TOP provenienti da tutto il Nord America; nella maggior parte dei casi si tratta di agenti di viaggi che sono specializzati esclusivamente in questo tipologia di viaggi
• Agenda personalizzata per gli appuntamenti one-2-one con minimo 40 appuntamenti garantiti
• Networking durante tutta la durata del soggiorno
• Accesso agli eventi serali
• Visibilità del marchio
• Un soggiorno all-inclusive di tre notti presso la struttura ospitante (valido per una sola persona per ogni azienda)

Il Romance Travel Forum si svolgerà presso Secrets Playa Blanca – Costa Mujeres (Messico) e seguirà il seguente programma:

Lunedì 6 maggio ♥ Giorno di arrivo/Registrazione/evento serale

Martedì 7  maggio ♥ Conferenza di apertura seguita dai lavori one-2-one/pranzo/tempo libero a disposizione/evento serale

Mercoledì 8 maggio ♥ Giornata intera dedicata ai lavori one-2-one/pranzo/tempo libero a disposizione/evento serale

Giovedì 9 maggio ♥ Partenza; (per chi volesse prolungare il soggiorno tariffe convenzionate su richiesta)

Profilo dei buyers:

- generalmente titolari delle agenzie di viaggi specializzate

- le agenzie hanno un fatturato medio annuo di 1 milione di USD

- circa 75% dei viaggi venduti nelle rispettive agenzie sono rappresentati dal Wedding&Honeymoon

Profilo dei sellers:

• Resorts all inclusive
• Strutture alberghiere di lusso
• Destinazioni
• Tour Operator
• Compagnie di crociere
• Aziende di trasporto
• DMO
• DMC
• Luoghi di nozze unici
• e tanto altro ancora!

Quota di partecipazione: 5.750,00 euro (+ IVA)

Cosa offre il pacchetto:

• Appuntamenti individuali
• Agenda condivisa di incontri one-to-one con consulenti di viaggio
• Branding e visibilità promozionale in tutte le comunicazioni rivolte ai buyer
• Eventi di networking unici per metterti in contatto con i consulenti di viaggio partecipanti
• una mezza pagina di pubblicità nel giornale ItaliAbsolutely edizione speciale dedicata all’evento
• 3 pernottamenti in all inclusive in camera singola per un solo rappresentante dell’azienda; un’ulteriore camera costerebbe 1.000,00 USD (pagabili direttamente); il costo delle eventuali notti supplementari 229,00 UDS/notte (in all inclusive)

Nella quota di partecipazione non sono incluse le spese per il trasporto aereo internazionale, i trasferimenti e le spese personali.