According to a study by Demoskopika dated March 30, 2020 the impact of lockdown caused by the pandemic again Coronavirus can be defined as a “Waterloo for the Italian tourism system”, which is expected to contract by 34,2% compared to 2019. The most penalized regions are in particular Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany and Lazio, which were among the 10 best performing regions in the “Regional Tourism Reputation Index 2019” drawn up by the same institution. To increase the dose is the estimate made by CST Firenze for Assoturismo Confesercenti, which following the latest decree issued by the Government, quantifies the damage of the forced closure in the country in the month of March and the Easter holidays and spring long weekends in a total of -10,5 million travelers in the area and -3,3 billion in tourist consumption. As if that weren't enough, according to what reported by The Data Appeal Company, online conversations worldwide demonstrate a rather negative sentiment for our country, we are talking about 71%, dictated above all by fear e concern.
The Italian brand is in danger and when the crisis is over, the tourism sector will have to more than "rebuild", "build" a business model capable of seizing the new market opportunities. After the clear failure of the hasty communication strategies following the outbreak of the epidemic in Italy, the key is to look at the medium-long term with a rethinking of the presence of the hospitality planet in the digital world. The moment seems to be propitious to refine one's digital equipment, one's online presence and the communication strategies and promotion.
As emerged from the latest edition of the Florentine event BTO 2020 (Buy Tourism Online), dedicated to hospitality innovation, the tourist 4.0 searches for unique places in which to experience a real contact with the territory, the culture and the local community. We talk about travel onlife, where the boundary between online and offline is blurred, even if the point of the unrepeatability of the encounter remains unchanged and thehuman element is always at the center of the travel experience.
In a journey increasingly based on the "why" at the expense of the "what", word of mouth remains an important lever in people's decision-making process. As reported by BTO, 57% of users plan a trip on the basis of photos posted by other travellers and 97% post memories of positive travel experiences. Territorial marketing is increasingly driven by visual content, mostly generated by users, to the detriment of authoritative sources. In fact, people look for news and travel tips among travelers who have the same way of feeling and embrace the same lifestyle.
In this panorama it is essential for the insiders to have continuity in the presence on social networks, combined with an effective storytelling capable of attracting the attention not only of its community, but also of new potential customers. L'influence marketing therefore it seems to play an increasingly key role also in the world of travel. Through the figure of a travel influencersin fact, a tourist reality can reach a precise niche target and at the same time enjoy the same trust that the public accords to the blogger/influencer of the heart. A myth to dispel is that of large numbers. All insiders agree that in influencer marketing it is the quality of the content and the engagement rate that matter, a parameter that is often much higher in the so-called nano and micro influencers than in medium-large or macro and mega influencers, as also reported in the annual report conducted by Extreme entitled "Italian Travel Influencer action report 2020". This marketing lever, inserted in an ad hoc marxeting mix, must be used all the more in these days when the keyword seems to be "staycation".
There are many more or less well-known travel bloggers and travel influencers who have already moved independently in wanting to support Italian tourism.
Manuela Vitulli, among the best known of the Bel Paese and also included by Forbes among the most influential travel bloggers in Italy, through her blog Pensieri in Viaggio and the related social networks, has launched the "Resto in Puglia" project, which aims to highlight and to make known its reason of origin and the local projects and realities that make it special.
Robert Ferrazzi founder of the travel blog LeCosmopolite.it, dedicated to women who love to travel alone, has launched the digital initiative "#TravelEmotionsDelivery - Dream it today, live it tomorrow!" to support post-lockdown Italian tourism. The blogger shares online stories and emotions of travel experiences personally experienced in Italy, starting from Lake Garda, her homeland, and the regions bordering it, Veneto, Lombardy and Trentino.
Also Andrew Petroni of Volagratis.org, which Corriere della Sera recently included among the five most famous bloggers in Italy, insists on the importance of "rediscovering our beautiful Italy!" proposing, through blog articles, the must-see destinations in our country. Andrea Petroni has always been the spokesperson for the idea that a travel blogger must "hide" behind a travel influencer, focusing attention on the importance of an online travel story, which will not be forgotten after 24 hours, but will read and re-read over the years.
Everything seems to tell us that those who stop, even online, are lost and that tourism operators must transform this forced break into an opportunity for study and evolution!
Sources: Demoscope – Demoskopica (Infographics) – Assoturismo Confesercenti – The Data Appeal Company - Extreme
