An expert in regional development and country and city positioning strategies, Giuseppe Marzano is Dean of the Graduate School of the Universidad de Las Americas in Quito, Ecuador. In May 2012, the Italian President Napolitano bestowed on him the honor of Knight of the Order of the Star of Italy.
Tourists, says Giuseppe Marzano “are complicated beasts”. For this reason, what Italy needs is not so much “experts in tourism” as outright “salespeople”, capable of packaging and selling abroad the many destinations that Italy offers. In an interview with the Aspen Italia website team, Marzano stressed that this process needs to start with a consistent strategy for Italy’s image, perhaps facilitated by a greater awareness on the part of Italians themselves of the attractions their country holds.
Italy has long dropped out of the ranks of the three most visited countries in the world. Why is that?
Italy has suffered a similar misfortune to the oil-producing countries: with such a vast array of monuments, we have sat on a money-spinner and become less creative. The problem, however, is that we cannot think of tourist attractions today as if the Grand Tour still existed. They need to be packaged for modern-day tourists, who, as consumers, are fickle. Basically, both the country and its tourist offerings need to be marketed. Let me give an example of a country I know well and which is considered a success story in tourism promotion. Australia may be well-endowed with natural resources, but when you see crowds of tourists around a large rock like Uluru, it becomes clear that it’s marketing that makes the difference. “The energy the rock gives off” – the sensation that a tourist once described experiencing to me – is nothing more than a great marketing gimmick. So to attract tourists, as with consumers, you need new products, and where you start is by capturing the emotional essence of a physical experience.
Absolutely, an emotional vibe – something which major events can generate too. Speaking of which, what role do you think the Expo could play in boosting tourism in Italy?
The fact is that a major event is just a showcase, something that can’t help but do good. But while Expo 2015 will turn the international spotlight on Milan and Italy, we must take advantage of the event to ensure the rest of the country shares the limelight. In a nutshell, the Expo should serve as an entry point for the Italian tourism system, to take advantage of which a strategic alignment of all the relevant agencies is essential.
We need people who have a commercial flair like that of tour operator managers, alongside the knowledge necessary for public policymaking. Academic experts in tourism are not what’s required for this purpose. What’s needed are sales-savvy people who, under the guidance of a strategic policy – and definitely with the cultural support of academia – are able to promote Italy as a product.
So how do we go about selling Italy better as a product?
We start by acknowledging that Italy’s problem is that it has never felt the need to convey a consistent image of itself. In fact, more so than speaking of tourism, we should start talking about a sales and marketing strategy to promote Italy’s image.
In order to create a positive image of any destination, you have to start with the people who live there. A case in point is Colombia, which first invested in the awareness and pride of its citizens, and is now one of the most visited countries in its region, thanks to effective slogans such as “Colombia, the only danger is that you won’t want to leave”.
In a word, if we want to change Italy’s image, we need to first look at ourselves, maybe stop being self-denigrating, and talk to the world, mindful of our strengths and our attractions. Of course, to do this, we need to have a long-term strategic trajectory, a journey that is shared by all. This would be an opportunity to eliminate a tourism policy that all too often is still the product of local cultural and tourism associations, and to let local areas have their say, even if within the bounds of a strategic framework consistent with the country’s image.
So bring these quite diverse local areas into line with a single strategy. But what would be the advantages of this?
Tourists have a serious limitation: they have little – very little – time at their disposal. And the days available to visitors have, over the years, become even more limited. Italy, however, has a great antidote to this, namely, localities in very close proximity which offer everything: the sea, hills, mountains, artistic treasures and excellent products. Let’s not forget that tourists are very problematic beasts and quite difficult to rein in: they want quite a diverse offering and some new experiences. The variety of the Italian landscape therefore provides a very good starting point.
Of course, there are places that are more fragile than others and hence more susceptible to the risks of mass tourism. I’m highly in favor of managing fragile sites via a system of entry charges. Consider Venice: introducing an entrance fee would be a relatively easy thing to try out given the layout of the city. Why shouldn’t a tourist who spends $80 to go to Disneyland be willing to pay to see Venice, thereby helping to generate resources that are invested in the marketing and preservation of the lagoon city? This is important if we are to attract more aware visitors that are interested in the place, whilst eliminating what I would call “zoo-style tourism”, that is to say tourism where the visitor has no interaction with the city, which is a serious error. In fact, ensuring that tourists interact with cities will also give rise to a number of significant benefits, including for local economies.
