The Italian charm awaits
DUBAI, Dec 11, 2011 (Khaleej Times – McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) —
Tour operators in the UAE and other GCC countries met with their Italian counterparts on Saturday at a workshop organised by the Italian State Tourist Board in collaboration with Dubai Government’s Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) to receive information on less-known destinations in Italy.
“The workshop was finalised to let operators promote Italy as a tourist destination for people in the UAE. The Alps mountains, for instance, is not much known as an Italian tourist destination. People know Switzerland and Austria but the other side of the Alps is in Italy which is very beautiful. Tour operators from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait and the UAE have all gathered to meet travel agents, operators and hotels from Italy to discuss the wonders waiting there,” said Jessica Scopacasa, a representative from the Sharjah-based Italian State Tourist Board.
The morning saw a video presentation of various locations in Italy followed by business-to-business (B2B) meetings between specialists in the industry from the UAE, GCC countries and Italy. Top 10 Italian representatives from the sector were present to describe about the places of cultural and artistic value to attendees.
“I’ve met one hotel owner who explained about the hotel, location and facilities. He also mentioned falconry in Italy, which made the destination interesting to try and introduce it into our package. It sounds exciting,” said Mohammed Reda, a holiday consultant at Al Majid Travel and Tourism Agency.
Patrizia Cimberio, part of the ‘Lords of the Sky’ falconry project who presented a video about the sport in Italy, said that the country is an ideal place to practice and there are presently about 200 active falconers in the field.
“UAE operators have shown a great interest to meet with Italian ones. Italy’s an excellent tourist destination but still unknown to many in the UAE. It is also one of the leading destinations for winter sports,” Scopacasa concluded.
farhana@khaleejtimes.com
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