FS Italiane presents the Polo for the development of tourism and, as fast as its Frecciarossa, head straight to the 2026 Winter Olympics, launching an investment plan in infrastructure and technology that will involve all its subsidiaries, from Rfi to Trenitalia, via Anas, Busitalia, Italferr, FS Sistemi Urbani and Nugo.
As part of an event held on 27 June in Rome in the presence of the Minister of Infrastructure, Danilo Toninelli, and the owner of Agricultural, Food, Forestry and Tourism Policies, Gian Marco Centinaio, the managing director of FS, Gianfranco Battisti illustrated the ways in which Ferrovie is a candidate to become a "central player for tourism in Italy".
OLYMPICS 2026, THE RAILWAYS PROJECT
The assignment of the 2026 Olympic Games to Milan-Cortina is already beginning to show its effects on Italy. The virtuous circle of the Olympics has started and the main Italian companies are preparing for an event which according to estimates will bring over 4 billion in investments and an impact on GDP of more than 2 billion. Among the companies that have no intention of being caught unprepared is also Fs Italiane which, three days afterofficial announcement from the IOC he has developed his own olympic goals. “More trains, more information and quality services for people. Greater investments in infrastructure and technologies and better capillarity in connections also on the road”, this is what can be read in the note from the group.
In this context one of the most ambitious projects will concern the Olympic village "which will be built on land owned by Ferrovie dello Stato", underlines the managing director Gianfranco Battisti. These are the areas in which the former Porta Romana railway station stands, an area of 19 hectares, which are part of the redevelopment project of seven railway stations. To hold the ranks of the design and construction process will be Fs Urban Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Ferrovie dello Stato. The start of construction sites is scheduled for June 100.
Ad Anas on the other hand, the task will be to improve the viability already by 2021, when the Cortina Ski World Championships will be held (170 million the amount of the investment) to then aim straight for the 2026 Olympics, in view of which the start of " road design, construction and maintenance activities.
At work too fry, which provides for an investment program aimed at upgrading infrastructure and technologies of the railway lines worth over 3,2 billion euros, and Trenitalia which aims to guarantee "capillary connections to reach the sites of the 2026 Winter Olympics competitions".
Finally, the involvement of Busitalia, with its FracciaLinks, of Italferr, And Trunk, the technological platform launched a year ago which "will integrate various modes of transport, providing specific services" which will reach up to Parts and accessories and bike sharing. Finally, the FS Italian Foundation will offer tourist services on historic trains that will allow you to reach Cortina D'Ampezzo and attend the races on vintage trains departing from the main Italian stations.
THE POLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF TOURISM
In 2030 there will be 2 billion travellers. Today they are 1,4 billion. With 60 million international arrivals in 2018 and an estimated 75 million trips abroad in 2023, currently Italy is in fifth place in the world for number of tourists behind France, Spain, the USA and China. “In the 70s – explains CEO Battisti – we were in first place” and in the near future most of the tourists who decide to travel will choose Italy, with an expected growth in flows especially from Asia.
Estimates and trends that are reflected in the data provided by the number one of Railways, according to which at national level i tourism consumption is equal to over 112 billion euro, of which around 13 billion linked to transport services (11% of domestic tourism consumption).
“In line with the 2019-2023 Business Plan, which provides for iintercept twenty million more tourists starting from the current 100 million, the Polo of the FS Italiane Group dedicated to the development of tourism in Italy, provides for a series of actions for the redistribution of tourist flows and for better accessibility to cities of art and vacation spots, enhancing the image and cultural heritage and landscape of the country,” explains the note from the group
Specifically, there are eight "actions" aimed at responding to the growing tourist demand and the new mobility needs of travellers:
- commercial offer: with the new summer time the service to the main seaside and mountain resorts and cities of art has been enhanced.
- Intermodality: Easier connections between the gateways to the country (airports, stations and ports).
- Historic trains: vintage trains that transported about 2018 people in 80. 460 events planned in 2019
- Sweet tourism: 20 food and wine itineraries to discover foods and peculiarities of Italy.
- Experiential tourism: over 6 thousand regional trains will connect beaches, villages, Unesco sites, national parks, mountain resorts, wellness locations and gardens of Italy.
- Culture and music: discounts of up to 50% for musical events,
- Real estate assets: the historical tracks no longer in use will be transformed into cycle-pedestrian paths and green areas for the benefit of sustainable tourism.
- Digital infrastructure: digitization of services and dissemination of the Nugo app.
“Our approach will be implemented in an ecosystem logic and we have an important role in giving homogeneity of communication- has explained Battisti – We are doing a great job for this. We are also doing a lot in the recovery of the old infrastructure,1600 networks in disuse they are turning into bike paths and hiking areas, and in restoration.”
Il Minister Toninelli, commenting on the launch of the project, he declared: “many small innovations to show the world how beautiful and interesting our country is, especially the South. The railways are entering the ports and airports. An efficient intermodal service is being created. Together with the construction of infrastructures, especially in the South too, we want to fill the existing gap". "We are in a historic moment in our country in which we want to make the leap in quality and this can be done by working all together to improve the performance of services – says the Minister Hundred – and it must deseasonalize tourism to seize the opportunities in our country also coming from Northern Europe in the rest of the months. The tourist offer must improve, be different, to ensure that foreign tourists can choose Italy all year round”.
