“Those who have invested have achieved better results in terms of room occupancy and had higher turnover and profitability”. The key to tourism is in the words of Gregorio De Felice, chief economist of Intesa Sanpaolo, during the presentation of the survey on tourism in Lombardy, which now constitutes almost 10% of the national one: investments. “Milan and Lombardy – explains De Felice – have benefited from the Expo effect above all on the internationalization of visitors, which in the period 2008-2016 increased by 50%, twice as fast as the country where they grew by 23,6%. But the difference was above all made by investments”.
The survey conducted by Intesa Sanpaolo shows that in Lombardy almost nine accommodation facilities out of 10 made investments in the three-year period 2015-17 and that 70% of the total has already said that they will do so again in the next three years (5% will not do it and one in four does not yet know). The investment to improve competitiveness, in particular through the requalification of the rooms (in three cases out of four the investment was destined for this), was considered primary by 55% of hoteliers, above all by those with 4 and 5 stars and especially from large ones, which in fact recorded a higher room occupancy rate and better economic results.
The turnover expectations for the three-year period 2018-20, according to the Intesa Sanpaolo survey, in fact show that almost all hotels with more than 100 rooms will see their turnover increase, while only 62,5% of those between 41 and 100 rooms and 52% of those between 21 and 40 rooms. But above all the growth is linked to the size of the investment: the structures that have made "high" investments in the last three years will be growing in 80% of the cases, of which 22% in "strong growth", which becomes 7,7, 0% among those who have made "moderate" investments and XNUMX% among those who have not invested at all.
"The investments - De Felice also said - are also making it possible to diversify and adjust the tourist offer, which is still too tied to the season". If it is in fact true that Milan and Lombardy record excellent results even without counting on maritime tourism, which remains the main one in the country, it is also true that only 14,3% of hotels, of any star rating, declare that they have a high room occupancy rate even in the low season. It is therefore not surprising that three investments out of four are linked to the requalification of the rooms, as mentioned, but that there is also 27,1% who have invested in a wellness center or beauty farm, 25% in catering, 20% in swimming pool and sports facilities. “More than tourism we should talk about tourism – explains De Felice -: food and wine, spa, religious, congress tourism allow us to overcome the tourist seasonality”.
Higher-level hotels are therefore the most attractive for foreign customers, who look more at quality than at low cost (now only 1 or 2-star hotels work on prices), and this explains why the growth has been so strong right in Lombardy. Internationalization is a not indifferent theme: “Tourism is a sector destined to grow for the next twenty years all over the world – said the chief economist of Intesa Sanpaolo -: the data released by UNTWO, the United Nations Agency for Tourism, have revealed that between now and 2030, international tourist arrivals will grow by 3,3% year after year, to 1,8 billion from the approximately one billion now”.
But since all investigations cannot lack critical issues, Intesa Sanpaolo has identified two. And surprisingly neither of the two concerns taxes and neither, or only in a minority part, the absence of public contributions: "To curb tourism businesses it is precisely who should first support them, namely the state through the bureaucracy: it happens in 50% of cases”. On the other hand, 40,5% of hoteliers expressed concern about the adverse economic context and only 29% about the absence of state aid. In addition to bureaucracy, the Internet is also a concern. Indeed, not the web itself which is instead seen as an opportunity by nine out of ten companies, but OTAs, online travel agencies (Booking, to be clear): three out of ten interviewees consider them irrelevant or even harmful, and a interviewed out of four has not yet been able to place them (he replied "I don't know").
Il head of the Banca dei Territori of Intesa Sanpaolo, Stefano Barrese, instead explained why Intesa Sanpaolo carried out this survey: “Our bank plays a crucial role in the development of the country's economy and intends to bank in an innovative way by identifying driving sectors with high potential, such as tourism. We are equipped to respond in a complete and integrated way to the new needs that come from businesses and we confirm the support of the territories every day as a founding element of our culture. Our results derive from the combination of these factors, as well as from the ability to build long-term relationships with our interlocutors based on competence and trust and therefore capable of generating a positive impact on the real economy”. Moreover, 14,3% of the structures interviewed also need to restructure their debt (27% among 1 or 2 star hotels) and 68% intend to do so through a medium-long term bank loan.
