ITALY REPORT ON TOURISM 2011 1. INTRODUCTION Council Decision 86/664/EEC of 22 December 19861 establishing a consultation and cooperation procedure in the field of tourism foresees that “each Member State shall send the Commission, once a year, a report on the most significant measures it has taken and, as far as possible, on measures it is considering taking in the provision of services for tourists which could have consequences for travellers from the other Member States”. With the publication of the “Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism”, the Commission announced that “in order to strengthen the collaboration with and among Member States, their current annual reporting through the Tourism Advisory Committee (TAC) will be used to facilitate the exchange and the dissemination of information about how their policies and actions safeguard the sustainability of tourism”. This Communication was welcomed by the Competitiveness Council conclusions (22nd-23rd November 2007) and by the Presidency Conclusions of the Brussels European Council of 14th December 2007. The main aims for the reporting process are: to be able to monitor the level of implementation of the “Agenda for a sustainable and competitive European tourism” by Member States; to facilitate the exchange of experiences among member States with regard to how they tackle issues which are important for the competitiveness and sustainability of European tourism. MS reports referring to year n shall be sent to the European Commission by the end of February of year n+1. If the reports are sent in English, the deadline is shifted to the end of April. 2. ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE This section should provide an overview of the main organisational structure to illustrate how tourism is organised and managed, to identify linkages and to identify the engagement of other organisations/stakeholders. The information required will only need to be prepared fully in year 1 as it will subsequently only be necessary to provide details of any changes. 1 Official Journal L 384, 31/12/1986 P. 0052 – 0053. 1 2.1 Please identify the National Bodies responsible for tourism (Ministry and also any separate/related National Tourism Organisation), including key areas of responsibility, and their relationship to other national bodies. (maximum of 1.000 characters) The Italian Government’s Authority responsible for tourism is the Department for Development and Competitiveness of Tourism (Dipartimento per lo Sviluppo e la Competitività del Turismo) at the Prime Minister’s Office, under the authority of the Minister of Tourism ( the Hon. Michela Vittoria Brambilla). The Department of Tourism carries out the following tasks: in coordination with regions and autonomous provinces, elaborates and defines the national tourism policies; adopts measures for the tourism sector, as well as for planning and management of structural funds; supervises ENIT (State Tourism Agency), ACI (Automobile Club d’ Italia) and CAI (Club Alpino Italiano); provides aids and incentives to develop tourism demand; promotes investments both in Italy and abroad; delivers certifications and authorisations to foreign professionals; manages relations with international organisations and participates in the elaboration and adoption of EU legislation. The Italian State Tourism Agency (ENIT - Ente Nazionale Italiano per iI Turismo) is under the supervision of the Department of Tourism. Regions and other stakeholders are represented in the executive board. It pursues the objective of promoting Italy as a destination and its natural and cultural heritage. It also carries out studies and publications, develops marketing and promotion strategies aimed at supporting the Italian tourist sector, in coordination with local authorities and other stakeholders. 2.2 Please, describe what organisations/agencies are used to deliver services at the national and regional level and the services that they deliver. (maximum 800 characters) 1) Promuovi Italia: a “in house” agency of the ENIT. Its main task is to support Public Authorities operating in the tourism sector by promoting local economic growth through the funding of investment programmes carried out by privately-owned enterprises. 2) Regions: the Constitution empowers them to play an essential role in the field of the tourism through several key activities such as : managing European Structural Funds; programming and developing tourism activities at regional and local level; promoting strategic marketing activities; performing tasks related to the regional tourism structures; performing tasks related to enterprises and tourism professions. 3) Provinces and Municipalities contribute in improving the quality of the tourist supply. Their national organizations are: UPI (Unione delle Province Italiane) and ANCI (Associazione Nazionale dei Comuni Italiani). 2 2.3 Please, describe which other bodies and organisations are involved at the national level and the process for involving them. (maximum 800 characters) The most important Federations of Associations at national level in the field of tourism are: Federturismo (Confindustria), Confturismo (Confcommercio) and Assoturismo (Confesercenti). Their tasks are: representation of tourism industries and professionals; information and communication on actions of common interest; training, studies and research programmes; promotion of the culture of the entrepreneurship; support of initiatives in favour of sustainable development in the tourism sector. 2.4 Please provide a diagram/organigram of the organisational structure for tourism identifying the relationship between national, regional and local bodies. Provide also a short description of the core responsibilities and competencies of each of the organisations. Include also information regarding the direct and indirect links between other departments, stakeholder organisations and unions. Information about mechanisms of decision making process participation from outsider organisations, e.g. forums, advisory committees is also requested. (maximum of 2.000 characters) Prime Minist er's Off ice Mission for Promoting the Brand Italy Minister of Tourism Cabinet Supervision on ENIT Department for Development Supervision on National Tourism Agency and Competitiveness of Tourism CAI (Club Alpino Italiano) ACI (Automobile Club d' Italia) Off ice for Programming, Coordination Service I Office for Enhancing Tourism Herit age and and Instituti onal Rel ations Support Managing Operations to the Head of Department Service II Service VII Implement ation National Tourism Policies of Tourism Projects Service IIIRegions, Provinces Service VIII Supervision and Assistance and Local Authorities to Tourism Demand Service IVEnterprises and sect oral Service I X General and Legal Af fairs Associations Service V EU and International Relations Service VI National Tourism Observatory 3 2.5 Please provide information about financial data, including spend/budget on tourism as a percentage of overall government spend/budget, the level of national funding support for tourism marketing, the amount of EU funding support made available for tourism and data concerning the support to SMEs and Destinations. (500 characters) - Budget Forecast for 2010 for the National Tourism Administration (Department of Tourism) was 46,274,035.00 Euro of which 20,594,342.00 Euro earmarked for the operations of the NTO (ENIT). In Italy Regions allocate to the sector financial resources of their own. Latest data refer to 2009, when the actual expenditure for tourism was globally 1,611 million Euro. The Department of Tourism leads a Project aimed at providing the Convergence Regions (Calabria, Campania, Puglia and Sicily) with tools and methodologies supporting the design and management of development plans in the tourism sector. The budget allocated to this project, co-financed through the Governance and Technical Assistance National Operational Plans (ERDF 2007-2013) is of 4,400,000.00 Euro. In the framework of the Inter-regional Programme on Cultural, Natural and Tourism Attractors - ERDF 2007-2013, aimed at promoting the social and economic development in the Convergence Regions through the valorization of the cultural, natural and landscape heritage , the budget allocated by the Department of Tourism is 49,907,000.74 Euro. Furthermore, another co-financed project, carried out in the framework of the Inter-regional Programme on Cultural, Natural and Tourism Attractors (budget euro 139,200.00 Euro) came to a fruitful end with the production of studies on the tourism economy of the four Convergence Regions, including data on tourist structures and tourism flows in those regions. 3. POLICIES AND STRATEGIES 3.1 Is there a current National Strategy for tourism? Yes X No If yes, please, provide information in bullet point format about the key aims, objectives and priorities of the strategy highlighting those that are designed to address sustainability issues in economic, environmental and social terms in particular those related in the six aims included in the Agenda. In preparing the tourism strategy, explain how consideration has been given to the 9 principles set out in the Agenda (para2.3 p5) and given in the appendix. (maximum 1.000 characters) Upon taking office, the then Secretary of State - appointed in May 2009 as Minister of Tourism- in May 2008, specified the guidelines for a “National Strategy to enhance the development of tourism in Italy”: 4 setting up a task-force to promote Italy as a destination, through