Italia comes to Sydney

The State Parliament of New South Wales was the very fitting historic and prestigous setting this week for a series of very inspiring presentations on the excellent range of opportunities available to Australians thinking of travelling to Italy for a holiday.

The seminars formed part of the Sydney Italian Festival 2006 and were hosted by the Italian Government Tourist Office and the Italian Trade Commission.

Paolo Chinatini, Director of the Italian Government Tourist Office in Sydney said, “Italy is a prime destinations for Australians, with 530,000 visiting in 2005, but many sadly only get to see the very well known sites and locations”. 

He added, “There is much more to Italy and we encourage Australians consumers and agents to consider speaking with some of the operators here today or contact them, because they offer excellent programmes including walking, cycling and skiing programmes, to mention just a very few of the soft adventure activities available and most importantly, provide the opportunity to discover the real Italy”. 

He added, “The traditional programmes are great for first timers, but those who have visited before are demanding more and more to discover the lesser known Italy – those hidden corners, where many tourists do not visit”.

Paolo also said, “We wish we had a bigger budget from the Italian Government so that we could do much more here and attract many more Australians to our wonderful country,” – a comment echoed by many heads of NTO’s complaining that their Governments perhaps do not fully recognise the economic benefits of tourism by allocating suffcient budgets and resources.

Skender Brau of the Italian Trade Commission said, “Tourism though is a very vital part of the Italian economy and the trade between Australia and Italy is very important”.  “We are here today to encourage that link and connection and also encourage Australians to discover the wonderful food and wine of Italy, much of which is also available here in Australia when they return home. 

He added, “The Italian Festival is also a great way to discover Italy with dozens of all types of events taking place in Sydney between May 18 and June 18 – details can be obtained from www.sydneyitalianfestival.com.au 

Operators presenting at the seminar inluded Adventure World, ATI Tours, CIT Holidays, Dolomites Ski Tours, Passport Travel, Peregrine Adventures, Ski Max Holidays, Tempo Holidays, The Imaginative Traveller and World Expeditions. 

Paolo Chiantini, Director Italian Government Tourist Office and Skender Brau discuss business