So it's official, in just three years two of Smeralda Holding's four iconic properties on the Costa Smeralda will no longer bear the Luxury Collection brand name, becoming Belmond and Cheval Blanc. 

A rebranding announced in June last year

The company that owns the hotels, which belongs to the Qatar Investment Authority, has in fact signed an agreement with the LVMH group to bring the Belmond and Cheval Blanc brands to the Romazzino and the  Pitrizza. The rebranding is part of a broader strategy for the Costa Smeralda as announced by the CEO of the holding company, Mario Ferraro, in June last year. 

Romazzino Costa Smeralda

The new-look Costa Smeralda will have luxury eateries

Under the terms of the new agreement, the Romazzino will reopen for the 2024 season under the name Romazzino, Belmond Hotel, Costa Smeralda. The Pitrizza, on the other hand, will continue to be operated under the Luxury Collection banner until 2026 when, after a restyling, it will be renamed Cheval Blanc Pitrizza, Costa Smeralda. The new-look Costa Smeralda, a journey that began in 2017, will also see the arrival of major catering operators such as the Nikki Beach, Zuma, Novikov, Beefbar and Matsuhisa.

Ita Airways is to boost its flights on the Rome-New Delhi route to meet the expected increase in demand in the first two weeks of March and from April to May 2023.

Direct Rome-New Delhi ITA Airways flights

From 1 to 12 March and from 27 March to 31 May 2023, the direct flight from Rome Fiumicino will be operated four times a week, departing every Monday, Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 14:10 and arriving in New Delhi the following day at 2:00/1:15 local time. From 13 to15 March ITA Airways will operate three weekly flights departing every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday at 14:10 and arriving at New Delhi International Airport at 2:00, local time.

From 1 to 13 March and from 3 April to 30 May 2023, return flights from New Delhi will be operated four times a week on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, departing at 3:50/3:15 and arriving at Rome’s Fiumicino airport at 8:10/8:15. From 14 to 23 March and from 26 March to 2 April the flight will operate three days weekly on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays, with the same departure and arrival times.

Ita Airways operating on 9 intercontinental destinations

Ita Airways thus boosts the possibility of attracting connecting passengers between India, North and South America, Germany, Spain and France. The company is also expanding its intercontinental network and will operate on a total of 51 destinations in the winter season. Of these 9 will be intercontinental destinations, including Tokyo-Haneda and Malè, plus flights to New York, Los Angeles, Boston, Miami, Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo.

The hospitality division of Dils is to be led by Roberto Galano and Leonardo Gloor. The real estate consultancy company has decided to open an ad hoc section specialized in the hospitality sector. 

The groups has expansion plans for Europe

The hospitality and international growth division of Dils, now under the leadership of Roberto Galano and Leonardo Gloor, will be involved in operations in Italy and Europe, as the group plans its expansion into Holland, Germany and Portugal, and then into Poland, Spain and France.

Hospitality investment was stable in 2022

Already active in the office, retail, logistics, living and residential sectors, Dils assist clients through the entire life cycle of the hotel: from the concept and design to the selection of operators and disposal of the asset. According to the Dils research team, in 2022 hospitality in Italy maintained stable investment levels compared to 2021, for a total of €1.5 billion. Some 43% of transactions in 2022 were represented by just four single asset deals: two prime resorts and two operations in central locations in Italy’s main cities.

Play doubles in Italy. A year after its Bologna debut, the Icelandic low-cost airline adds its second Italian destination, Venice, which will operate as a seasonal flight throughout the summer. 

Bologna was one of the most popular 2022 destinations

The Reykjavik Keflavik-Venice flights will take off on 29 June operating twice weekly, on Thursdays and Sundays, until next 1 October.  Inaugurated at the beginning of June 2022, the route to Bologna has produced excellent results: “Bologna was one of Fly Play's most popular destinations in 2022,” explains a note from the carrier. 

“Wherever Play goes, ticket prices go down”

“As Bologna had such high demand, we decided to add another Italian destination to our network, - says Play’s CEO Birgir Jónsson. - Wherever Play goes, ticket prices go down, so by adding a destination in Italy, more people will be able to enjoy affordable air travel, in line with our mission.'

Play to operate 77% more capacity next summer

The company operated its first flight in 2021 with a fleet of Airbus A320neo and A321neo from Reykjavik's Keflavik Airport to Europe and North America, offering low-cost transatlantic connections via Iceland. Data compiled by the carrier shows that in January 30% of Play's passengers were travelling from Iceland, 37% were going to Iceland, and 32% were on connecting flights. Play expects to operate 77% more capacity next summer and plans to open a fifth North American destination, Hamilton in Canada. 

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So let's be clear: a portal that so far has cost €45 million and will soon have another €144 million from the Pnrr, should be the portal of portals.

And not just in Italy, in the world. One of those mega sites that works perfectly, is consulted in Italy and abroad, and has millions of visits and millions of services and clicks.

Instead, this is the story of Italia.it, the biggest flop in Italian tourism, which began with the 3rd Berlusconi government in 2005. In short, it is a story that has been going on for almost twenty years and that has still not found a solution. Despite the fact that the governments that succeeded Berlusconi have continued to support this monstrous portal that no one or few people use, that is quite banal in its content, and that lacks essential services. 

The point is: is it right and natural to spend such an enormous amount of public money on something that does not work and has never worked? The answer, of course, is no.

Giuseppe Aloe
Editor in Chief

B&B Hotels expands in Liguria with the B&B Hotels Diano Marina Palace. The property, formerly Hotel Palace, is located in the town of the same name overlooking the beach between Capo Berta and Capo Cervo. 

Beach and wellness facilities 

The B&B Hotels Diano Marina Palace has 44 rooms, a lido beach with special rates, a panoramic solarium on the fifth floor, a bar with a winter garden and a dehors overlooking the sea. A small wellness room with a whirlpool sauna, a restaurant serving Mediterranean and Ligurian cuisine, and some bicycles available for guests complete the offer.

“We have a further eight openings already scheduled for this year”

"We have another opening in 2023, bringing the number of properties in Liguria to four," says Valerio Duchini, president and CEO of B&B Hotels Italia. "We are very proud of this new challenge The B&B Hotel Diano Marina Palace is in fact the group’s 60th hotel in Italy and the first opening in 2023. In the pipeline we have a further eight openings already scheduled for this year."

Lumiwings is adding Verona and Catania flights from Foggia Airport this summer, with the new flights that will debut with the summer season going on sale. 

New flights to Sicily’s Catania Airport

The airline already operates flights to Milan Malpensa and Turin, and the new Verona flights will be operative from next 22 May twice weekly (Mondays and Thursdays) until 5 June; subsequently, departures will be on Thursdays and Saturdays up to 28 October 2023. The first flight to Catania will take off from Foggia’s Gino Lisa Airport on 1 June, with two flights weekly from June to September, operating every Thursday and Sunday.

Flights to Milan will increase

The airline thus gives shape to the programme announced in October 2022 on the occasion of the reopening of Foggia Airport and the simultaneous debut of flights to Milan. The route to Milan Malpensa will also see an increase in frequencies this summer: from the five weekly flights operating from 26 March, there will be a shift to daily connections from June until 27 September.

Borgo Pignano, a 12th century estate deep in the Tuscan hills, just a short drive from the medieval hill towns of Volterra and San Gimignano, is adding four new villas, a new swimming pool and sports area as well as receiving a Green Michelin Star. 

Four New Villas opening this year

The four new villas are Villa Il Vignino and Villa La Cavallerizza both opening in May which are just 200m from the main hamlet and Villa Il Poggiarello and Villa Il Belvedere, both opening in August, some 1,500m away. All the villas, including the existing four villas have fully equipped kitchens, car parking, electric car charging, panoramic porches, solarium decks, private gardens and heated swimming pools. In addition, Il Poggiarello will have a private gym. A golf buggy is supplied for each villa as well as a butler service. The villas offer exclusive privacy with the full benefits, experiences and services of the hotel, which is just a short stroll away. 

Ph Credits Stefano Scata'

A new gym and lap pool

Villa Il Vignino will have 2 bedrooms and host up to five people, and Villa La Cavallerizza, with 3 bedrooms host up to five people. Villa Il Poggiarello, with 4 bedrooms  is for up to 11 people and Villa Il Belvedere, with 2 bedrooms, will host up to five. In addition to the five-a-side football pitch, tennis court and half basketball pitch Borgo Pignano is adding a new 100 sqm gym and a 25m lap pool 

New Green Michelin Star and Sustainability Initiatives 

One of Italy’s leading award-winning sustainability properties, Borgo Pignano’s sustainability focus has been strengthened by the recognition of the Green Michelin Star  which identifies sustainable gastronomy.  Yoga, soap making, art classes, a cookery classes, wine tasting, horse riding, truffle hunting and much more is available for guests.   

TEGing will debut in New York on 9 February with an appointment in central Times Square, an event not open to the public but for American intermediaries with an interest in and towards Italy. 

Promoting Italian food and wine as a tourism resource

TEGing Italia, founded in 2020 by Paola Puzzovio to create and promote Italian food and wine as a tourism resource, is today structured on different operational areas: training, incoming, destinations and services to companies.  

“We will focus on the inbound market and on promoting Italian destinations” 

"The Times Square meeting will make it possible to launch a series of initiatives and activities, including many new ones. We will focus in particular on the inbound market, import/export activities, and everything related to the promotion of Italian destinations. We will also open up to new markets by organizing a network to ensure that there is a verified link through which we can continue to coordinate established relationships. We will also create new relationships that allow us to initiate interest in investments, and in new sectors that thanks to our network we can represent," said Paola Puzzovio.

Business matches and special guests

"During the event TEGing will present its partners, and there will also be special guests, while at the end of the event there will be business matches with clients who are particularly interested in this first business contact.  "All this will lead to several events in Italy, consolidating the meetings with companies for the development of this project in America."

In 2022 the Frasassi Caves Consortium had a turnover that exceeded 2019, the pre covid year, and some 270,000 visitors, making the caves in the Marche one of the most visited and popular natural sites in Italy.

Over 85,000 visitors in August

Despite the fact that attendance was affected by the pandemic in the first months of 2022, over 85,000 visitors were recorded in August alone, and some 7,000 people visited the Genga karstic site during the 2022 Christmas holidays. Numbers that confirm the commitment of the Frasassi Caves Consortium and Genga’s municipality in promoting the site and the entire Marche region.

“We are one of the most visited natural sites in Italy”

“Thanks to a marketing plan designed to relaunch the area after the difficult pandemic years, which has seen the planning of strategic promotions aimed at increasing both Italian and foreign visitors, we can say that we are among the most visited natural sites in Italy,” said Genga’s mayor Marco Filipponi.

The caves have featured in popular Italian TV programmes  

Starting with the celebrations for the 50th anniversary of the discovery of the Frasassi Caves there was a concert broadcast on Italian TV’s RAI 1 as well as programmes such as Porta a Porta and Domenica In that promoted the natural beauty of the Frasassi caves, while at Easter they featured in a living tableau inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s The Last Supper.  The Frasassi Caves Consortium is also active in implementing didactic events for students of primary, secondary and high schools.

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