PRESS RELEASE
FOR THE FIRST TIME,PROMOTION OF TOURISM IN ITALY’S SOUTHERN REGIONS IS LINKED TO CERTIFIED FOOD AND WINE PRODUCTION
ITALIANFOODXP IN 12 EUROPEAN COUNTRIES
Over 200 Italian restaurants in 12 European countries counting 9 million customers a year, selected from over 2000 restaurants certified abroad with the Italian Hospitality brand are involved in the initiative. There are200 thousand people who, in September and October, will savour the typical products and dishes of the 6 regions of Southern Italy and find out about thetravel opportunities these areas offer.
These are some of the numbers for the initiative "Experience Italy and Beyond South-ItalianFoodXP" conceived by ISNART, the National Tourism Research Institute of the system of Italian Chambers of Commerce, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage and Activities and Tourism.
The project is based on a digital strategy that focuses on promoting the certified food and wine production of regions of Southern Italy and approximately 400, under-40 entrepreneurs selected by public announcement,using a single platform that integrates with the network of restaurants throughout the world awarded the “Italian Hospitality” certification. There is a multimedia platform up and running ( well as a multilingual Facebook page for all the nations involved, and the possibility to share all content on social networks.
This is the first international initiative to link the tourist destinations in the six Southern regions of Italy with the excellence of their certified production (PDO and Bio), through a promotional marketing initiative both off and online in 12 European countries (United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Czech Republic, Poland and Bulgaria).
In addition, the selected producers can present their brands to restaurant customers through links on the themed menus created each weekto focuson the food of the six Southern regions. The initiative, organized in collaboration with the Italian Chambers of Commerce abroad, allows customers togain information on the products used in the dishes and discover where they come from,as well as suggesting future holiday experiences using the specially designed app that will guide them through outstanding wine and food tasting tours and tourist sights.
For a whole week, through September and October, the certified Italian restaurants in each country will offer a Southern Menu inspired by the cuisine of Italy’s southern regions.
During these weeks, some restaurants are planning events entirely focusing on the South, with evening entertainment, presentations and tasting of certified products together with the promotion of Southern Italy’s tourist destinations.The regions’ wine and food producers will be present, along with journalists, stakeholders and representatives of Italy’s local and national authorities.
The initiative also includes a phase within Italy to support the marketing of local products and the tourism enterprises participating in the initiative through a series of educational tours to be held in September and October in each of the Southern regions, with the collaboration of the Chambers of Commerce and the presence of foreign delegations from the selected countries consisting of buyers, importers, tour operators, travel agencies and communication experts in the area of food & tourism (around 400 professionals).
‘For the first time “Experience Italy South and Beyond” combines the promotion of tourist destinations with Italy’s certified food and wine products, through a multilingual platform launched by ISNART that integrates with a network of over two thousand Italian restaurants throughout the world that have received the “Italian Hospitality” certification’, said Maurizio Maddaloni,President of ISNART. He added that: ‘For two months, in September and October, food will be talking Italian in Europe, and the emphasis will be on the unmistakable taste of our Southern regions, with the guarantee of a certified supply chain that links producers, products and restaurateurs.’
Rome 21 July, 2016