Certifying the Italian way
To establish better links with the travel trade, ENIT-Italian State Tourist Board launched its India website in May this year. The online course enables the trade to get an insight into new experiences.
ENIT - Italian State Tourist Board is looking at promoting Italy as a mono- and an experiential destination, tapping repeat travellers and niche segments. After restarting operations in May in 2013, ENIT India has been working towards re-strengthening past collaborations with the travel trade fraternity.
According to Riccardo Strano, Director, Asia & Oceania, ENIT- Italian State Tourism Board, the country is expecting a rise of about 8-10 per cent in the overall figures with a double-digit increase from the Indian market. He said, “India is one of the top markets for Italy. ENIT’s aim is to consolidate the competitiveness of the Italian traditional tourism product to attract and increase tourist inflow from the Indian subcontinent. We received 273,000 arrivals in 2012. We witnessed an increment of about 12 per cent in 2013 over 2012. Even in 2014, we are targeting a double-digit increase from the Indian market.” Apart from leisure, Italy has seen a lot of high-end Indian tourists opting to visit the country for honeymoon, art, culture and MICE as well, Strano pointed out.
Going forward, to establish better links with the travel trade, ENIT has also launched its India website in May this year. Giving details about the new initiative, he said, “The online training programme for the travel trade is a recent feature. The website is more interactive and has a lot of information with pictures and videos. The online course is a special educational tool designed to give in-depth knowledge of all 20 regions of Italy and is enabling the travel trade to get an insight into new experiences and the various things to explore in Italy.”
With the launch of the online Mini University, ENIT is also certifying the travel trade as Italy Travel Specialist. The online training programme is mainly targeted at educating and empowering the front line or counter staff to sell Italy effectively. There are four modules and the duration to complete the programme is about three months. “It’s not about having a high number of Italy Travel Specialists, but about the quality of specialists. Successful candidates who are certified as Italy Travel Specialists will also be eligible for a range of incentives. In a highly competitive market, the travel trade can differentiate with knowledge and the online training programme will help them do that,” he added.