Air Transat returns to the skies over Venice where it resumed seasonal connections from Toronto on 3 May, and from Montréal on 5 May. 

An extra summer flights on the Toronto-Venice route

These new flights will operate until October 2024 and this summer there is an extra flight on the route from Toronto: two weekly flights from Toronto and two weekly flights from Montréal will thus be operating.

“All flights are available on the GDS”

“Venice is strategic for the growth of the North-East basin," says Tiziana Della Serra, MD of Rephouse Gsa, which represents the airline in Italy. "This summer we have the novelty of doubling the connections from Venice to Toronto. The Toronto-Venice restarted on 3 May with one weekly flight (Friday) which, from 10 June will become two flights a week (Friday and Monday). The Montreal-Venice route restarted on 5 May with one weekly flight on Sunday and from 13 June there will be two flights a week, on Sundays and Thursdays. All flights are available on the GDS.”

“Venice is important for leisure, business and family reunion travel”

"We are very satisfied with the close relationship with Air Transat which, for the summer season is again operating  as in 2022 services,  but doubling the weekly flights to Toronto" - says Camillo Bozzolo, director of aviation development of the Save Group. -For the Venice airport catchment area Canada is an important market, with traffic volumes fueled by leisure, business and family reunion travel." 

Palazzo Castelluccio in Noto is the third Sicilian property for the Rocco Forte Group.   

Palazzo Castelluccio is in a UNESCO site 

Palazzo Castelluccio in  the town of Noto (Sicily), which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, was owned by Jean-Louis Remilleux, a French television producer, who after the acquisition in 2011 invested in a complete renovation of the palace, which lasted about four years. 

Rocco Forte has three properties in Sicily

From 2017 the palace was managed by the Grand Tour Foundation and opened to the public in 2018. The opening of the new property with its 60 rooms is planned for 2026.  In Sicily Rocco Forte already has the Verdura Resort in Sciacca and the Villa Igiea in Palermo.

Emirates is offering 18% more capacity on its Dubai-Rome route as demand grows in double figures.

Emirates’ traffic into Rome is growing

The airline is stepping up its commitment on routes between Dubai and Italy and boosting the use of the A380 on both its daily Rome-Dubai frequencies to increase its capacity by 18%. This step is linked to the strong demand for leisure traffic to Rome. Italy, in fact, particularly attracts tourists from Australia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia. In the last six months, passenger traffic from Australia has increased by 76%, that from Korea has risen by 85% and traffic from Japan has increased by 158%.

2,200 additional seats per week 

From May, the A380 replaced the Boeing 777; the EK95/EK96 service providing 14 seats in First Class, 76 in Business Class and 427 seats in Economy Class for a total of some 2,200 additional seats per week to and from Rome. In total, Emirates will offer 14,476 weekly seats on both Dubai-Rome routes, an 18% increase in capacity.

“In six months we have carried 17,000 more passengers” 

"Taking only the inbound flows from Australia, Japan, South Korea and Malaysia in the last six months, Emirates has carried 17,000 more passengers to Rome compared to the same period last year - explains Flavio Ghiringhelli, Emirates country manager Italy.  -This is an important increase that has prompted us to boost Emirates' presence at Fiumicino Airport with a second flight operated by the A380. The growing demand for seats from our customers travelling to Dubai and to the destinations served by our global network favours commercial relations between Italy and the destination countries, allows us to offer an even better service and consolidate the strategic role of this gateway within our network, and we can only be enthusiastic about this." 

Ryanair’s 19th Italian base is Trieste, and the airline is introducing 7 new destinations.

A new Boeing 737 8-200

Trieste Airport is the airline’s 19th base in Italy and it gets a new Boeing 737 8-200, a $100 million dollar investment. The airline is serving a network of 18 routes this summer, including seven new routes, six of which are international to Berlin, Brindisi, Budapest, Krakow, Paris and Seville; and domestic to Olbia, in Sardinia.

Ryanair’s growth will create 600 new jobs

"Ryanair has responded promptly to the Friuli Venezia Giulia region's abolishing of the unjustified municipal-tourist tax by allocating a new 8-200 Gamechanger aircraft – said the airline’s CEO, Eddie Wilson. -Ryanair's growth in terms of capacity, and the seven new routes will boost the region's economic growth with the creation of 600 local jobs".

“The summer season has got off to a very good start”

"The summer season, which started on 31 March, has got off to a very good start and is already posting a positive trend. - said the CEO of Trieste Airport, Marco Consalvo. -Thanks to this operation with Ryanair we are offering new travel opportunities for residents and inbound tourism is strengthened thanks to connections to new strategic markets for Friuli Venezia Giulia, such as Germany, Poland, France and Spain.”

ImmaTravel has 26 tours dedicated to discovering a less conventional Basilicata.

“We believe in thinking locally and acting globally”

Imma Travel’s 26 itineraries are designed to satisfy every type of visitor: from families to individual travellers, and from groups to nature lovers. And all the products are aimed at both Italian and international agencies. "For years I have nurtured the dream of making Italy known in a way that is different from how it is perceived and promoted,- says Anna Bruno, co-founder, together with the operator’s communications and marketing manager Anna Maria Malaspina. -And so together we embraced this challenge. We believe in thinking locally and acting globally, and as a result we are packaging some of our travel experiences also for international operators.” 

Imma Travel specializes in tailor-made itineraries 

"We have many requests from all over Italy, and we were surprised by the significant number of bookings coming from the Centre North, generated by travel agencies looking for a less-commercial Basilicata,- adds co-founder and sales manager, Anna Maria Malaspina. -We are, therefore, further stimulated to propose exclusive and tailor-made itineraries to our travel agent colleagues all over Italy and beyond.” 

The story of Venice’s Bauer gets a new twist as it passes into the hands of the Schoeller Group. 

Schoeller is a Swiss-German group

A few weeks ago news appeared in local newspapers that King Street Capital Management, the main financier of the collapsed Austrian group Signa, had taken control of the Bauer Hotel, with the intention of putting it on the market soon. Now Italy’s leading financial daily Il Sole 24 Ore reports that the hotel has passed into the hands of the Swiss-German group Schoeller, along with two other Bolzano assets, the Walther Park and the Viva Virgolo company, already owned by Signa.

The sale is subject to approval by banks and regulators

The sale, the details of which were not disclosed, is subject to approval by banks and regulators and is expected to close in the coming months. In 2020 Signa had bought the Bauer, a luxury hotel overlooking the Grand Canal, obtaining a €135m loan from Raiffeisen to finance its renovation. But work stopped at the end of last year when Signa's collapsed.

Ten private villas with direct access to the sea define the essence of Costa del Capitano, the latest addition to the Leading Hotels of the World Botania Relais & Spa in Forio, on the island of Ischia. 

Looking out on full-height gardens

Costa del Capitano Villa Carrubo outdoor

This new property, nestled in the charming village of Sant'Angelo d'Ischia, just 9 kilometres from Botania Relais, is an oasis of privacy and an extension of the Relais's hospitality. Boasting panoramic views and ranging from 65 to 100 sqm the villas have round windows looking onto full-height gardens, vibrantly-coloured Vietri tiled floors and typical Mediterranean furnishings featuring hemp and raw linens in natural tones.

Ischia’s only Michelin green-star restaurant

Costa del Capitano also features a spring-water swimming pool, a sun-drenched solarium with cabanas, and two tennis courts. The highlight is La Tuga Restaurant helmed by resident chef Alessandro Iacono, who showcases the island's fresh fish, indigenous raw materials, and vegetables sourced from Botania's Hortus Saporum. In addition to the amenities on the estate, villa guests enjoy full access to the Botania Relais's wellness and F&B outlets, including the Garden Spa and the. culinary delights in the Corbezzolo and Nonna Marì, where executive chef Tommaso Luongo crafts dishes rooted in local traditions. Not to be missed is the acclaimed Il Mirto, Ischia’s only Michelin green-star vegetarian restaurant.

Located in the heart of Rome’s historic centre, near the Pantheon and Piazza Venezia, the Radisson Collection Hotel, Roma Antica, opened recently.

The hotel has Friends and Family Stay rooms

This is the sixth Radisson Collection hotel and consists of 84 rooms, some of which have panoramic terraces. Measuring 80 sqm the Friends and Family Stay rooms can accommodate up to six adults, and the hotel has a Turkish bath and a fitness centre. The Modius Restaurant celebrates Rome’s culinary traditions with a special focus on first courses, many of which are classic dishes, while the Modius on the Roof Terrace is on the eighth floor.

Ancient Roman remains have been incorporated into the basement

Thanks to the renovation of the Lares Permarini palace the Radisson Collection, Roma Antica is a hidden archaeological gem. In fact a fragment of the ancient surrounding wall of the Porticus Minucia from the Roman imperial era was found during the works. Following the discovery, the project was expanded to include the in situ enhancement of the archaeological remains, which will be open to visitors in the basement of the hotel, together with a multimedia video.

“Our goal is to reach 30 hotels in Italy by 2027”

"The hotel's eye-catching aesthetics and ideal location make it a remarkable example of our vision of contemporary luxury," says Chema Basterrechea, global president and CEO of the Radisson Hotel Group. "With this new addition, we are proud to move closer to our goal of reaching 30 hotels in Italy by 2027, a testament to our ongoing commitment to Italy and to the industry.”

Icon srl was founded in January 2019 and, together with Antico Podere San Francesco, Borgo Verde, Park Hotel Marinetta, The Sense Experience Resort and Hotel Botticelli (acquired in May 2022), is the sixth company in the Ficcanterri family's group. Currently undergoing a generational transition, three out of five of the younger generation are now working in the company in various operational management roles. The current general manager, Ciro Verrocchi, was appointed in 2023.

“The Icon Collection project was launched before the pandemic which turned out to be a very complex and difficult period for everyone”, says Icon’s president Federico Ficcanterri.  “During those months I worked closely with my collaborators to ensure the continuity of our course, to try to foresee developments and to act accordingly. Fortunately for us, our core business is in seaside resorts, so the pandemic shock had a less traumatic effect on us than it did on those colleagues of ours who run city properties.”

The reorganization and promotion of the Group’s four properties is going full steam ahead.  After opening The Sense in 2020 the focus is now on the Antico Podere San Francesco, which will be repositioned in the relais segment with additional rooms, a swimming pool for adults, a SPA and a restaurant. Then there is the rebranding, in terms of both positioning and architecture, of the Hotel Botticelli, with the aim of making it a benchmark hotel in the 5-star luxury boutique segment in Florence. And, last but not least, the Park Hotel Marinetta’s renovation and rebranding will involve an initial stage of expansion and restyling of the rooms, followed by a complete redefinition of the restaurant, swimming pools, SPA and park. The new positioning will be 5-star, while the property will still be oriented towards families.

"We believe that the best way to meet the demand is to carefully study the purchasing habits of our potential guests and the reviews guests leave us. This way we can constantly optimize our tourist offer on the one hand, and our product on the other. The guest is at the centre of everything. Listening to our guests is primary in our product optimization strategies, as it allows us to tailor the travel experience specifically for them, to anticipate their needs, and to impress them with “special effects.” 

The Icon Group has identified a series of actions to promote responsible tourism, including purchasing local products or producing them locally, water-saving systems, the use of compostable products such as crockery and cutlery for composting food waste from the kitchen and other F&B departments, the enhancement of local services and activities, and attention to recycling. In 2023 the We Plant project was launched for the protection of the environment. in compliance with point 15 of the UN's Goal 2030.

“In the pine forest in Marina di Bibbona, in cooperation with the municipality and the Tuscany Region, in-house guests planted more than 30 trees and shrubs.”  

The entrepreneurial idea behind the Sense Experience Resort was to create a 4-star full-service resort that would replicate the business and organizational model of the already consolidated Park Hotel Marinetta in Marina di Bibbona, a medium to high-level family product.

“But then we decided it was appropriate to integrate the initial strategic approach with some additional factors aimed at the luxury segment, the development of the Maremma as a tourist destination, and the possibility of cannibalization between the Group's properties.” 

The Sense Experience Resort and the Park Hotel Marinetta both work with the high-end MICE segment and the main markets are Germany, Switzerland and Italy as well as Asian markets and Australia. The Sense joined Preferred Hotels & Resort, an important partner to consolidate its presence mainly on the US market.

Eatè fine dining Restaurant - The Sense Experience Resort

“Catering mainly to the luxury segment, the philosophy of the Sense Resort is based on experiencing nature with all five senses and providing personalized experiential stays that reflect and interact with the territory.” 

At The Sense Experience Resort guest takes a sensory journey, a totally immersive experience, that can provide unforgettable sensations.

“One of our unique features is our helichrysum essence, which grows wild in our park, and is offered to all our guests upon arrival as a welcome gift. We are constantly working on the in-room experience, to allow guests to choose and customize their comfort, and clearly the food and wine experience is central. We call our concierges Experience Specialists, which means they are personalized consultants of emotions who know all about our area, and they tell our guests all about it together with details of our Experience Collection, which includes more than 60 experiences for unique stays.”

 

Down the years the Group has selected and worked with over 50 experience providers to create the Experience Collection, which includes a wide variety of activities from biking, trekking and boating to kite surfing, wind surfing and stand-up paddle, golf and Wine & Dine as well as cultural activities and experiences.

“The boat and the bike experiences are among the most popular with our guests.”

Federico Ficcanterri says the greatest value a company dedicated to hospitality can have is its human capital, and that it is only through the enhancement of this capital that great results can be achieved.

“The passion we put into our work is not only conveyed to our guests, but also to our employees whom we call “in-house guests.” Today we are reaping the first fruits of our hard work over the last eight to ten years.  Clearly we are always looking to the future, and we are constantly on the lookout for new properties to expand our portfolio. We would like to invest in Milan.”