ENIT says 65 pc of the respondents in the United Kingdom placed Italy as top destination for hiking and slow tourism
Italy is in first place in slow tourism for many markets, says a survey carried out by Touring Club and Ipsos for Italian national tourism agency ENIT.
According to a press statement by ENIT, 65 pc of the respondents in the United Kingdom placed Italy as top destination for hiking and slow tourism, followed Spain at 33 pc. Similarly, 51 pc of respondents in France put Italy at top and 49 pc of Germans, too, named Italy as their top destination.
The report is based on totally self-organised trips, purchased through specialised or local associations and agencies.
“Analysis is the first step to bring order and develop synergies suited to targets and locations. From the knowledge of the tourism phenomenon also arises the declination of an increasingly high-performance dedicated offer. ENIT has always been attentive to the world of routes, we have already demonstrated this with projects linked to the Francigena and the Capuchin routes but now is the time to make every Italian territorial evolution linked to this segment known in a network system and integrated routes” says Ivana Jelinic, President and CEO of ENIT.
According to the most searched Italian regions in the survey, there is a convergence of Sicily and Tuscany. For the French, Sicily performed at 44 pc while Tuscany at 39 pc, for the English, Sicily was at 44 pc and Tuscany 27 pc and for Germans, Tuscany at 48 pc while Sicily 32 pc.
“Hiking tourism is an essential pillar in the tourism panorama, and the survey conducted plays a crucial role for the sector. This research allows us to better understand travellers’ preferences and expectations, thus helping to design more satisfying travel experiences. They also help us preserve the natural environment, promote hiking destinations and support local economies. The Touring Club is proud to promote and actively support this type of research to guarantee sustainable and rewarding hiking tourism for all outdoor and culture lovers,’’ says Massimiliano Vavassori, Director of the Touring Club.
The statement adds that the journey is organised in stages which lead tourists to change structure and accommodation locations in both linear and circular forms. About 100 hiking routes have been mapped, for a total length of approximately 30,000 km, 79 have an official website but 16 were excluded from the content analysis. The websites analysed were 63 of which 75 pc of the sites report the services available along the route or affiliated for those with credentials. About 74 pc of sites provide GPX tracks of the route while 74 pc of the paths issue credentials.
The statement adds that 73 pc of the sites describe the attractors present along the path and 69 pc of the routes have an official guide or information material. About 63 pc of the routes in Italy are managed by third sector bodies and 61 pc of the sites indicate the level of difficulty of the walk. Almost 54 pc of the paths offer the possibility of being used both on foot and by bike;
ENIT adds that 34 pc of official sites offer the possibility of purchasing packages or guided excursions, while 25 pc of the sites provide the alert service to report deviations or unusability of the paths. The demographic survey was conducted on representative samples of the 1,000 Italian cases, French, English and German populations with 500 cases per country, using the CAWI method.
According to the results, 25 pc of the English, 20 pc of the French, 19 pc of the Germans and 17 pc of the Italians have already had experience of slow tourism, on foot or by bicycle. 45 pc of English people, 42 pc of French and Germans and 37 pc of Italians intend to do so in the future.
Among those who say they are not interested, the highest share is among Italians with 23 pc compared to 21 pc of Germans, 18 pc of French and 15 pc of the English. Among the favourite destinations for developing slow tourism, Italians point out Italy at 60 pc, Spain at 39 pc, Portugal and Croatia at 29 pc and France at 27 pc. Considering the Italian regions, the most cited are Trentino-Alto Adige with 33 pc, Tuscany at 32 pc, Umbria at 30 pc and Sicily at 26 pc.
