A memorandum of understanding has been signed between the Benedictine Community of Montevergine and the DMO (Destination Management Organization) Irpinia Ets with the aim of " defining the strategic and operational role of the DMO in supporting the activities planned for the Montevergine Jubilee Year 2023-2024 and on the occasion of the 900th anniversary of the Sanctuary of Montevergine."
According to the protocol – signed by Father Abbot Riccardo Guariglia and Vincenzo Castaldo – the DMO will be responsible for “operating, in direct collaboration with the Benedictine Community of Montevergine, to offer content, hospitality services and tourist offerings”.
Among the main objectives is to enrich the calendar of institutional and liturgical events scheduled from May 2023 to May 2024, presented on April 5 in the presence of the governor of Campania Vincenzo De Luca.
"We presented the Irpinia DMO in early March, in Serino and Lacedonia ," says Castaldo. " It's a project that primarily aims to provide a new reference model for tourism planning. We're focusing on a medium- to long-term strategy based on vision, expertise, and a network of professionals.
It is necessary to acquire the awareness that Irpinia has potential and that the goal is reachable but, probably, still far away. It takes time and sweat, nobody gives us anything, we enthusiastically collect the trust of the Father Abbot.
The Novecentenary is an opportunity that we must seize. We like challenges, but we ask the territory, the Institutions, the Mayors, the Province and all the professional operators to be at our side in this journey that, I am sure, will lead to excellent results for the whole of Irpinia”.
The Dmo will have a permanent headquarters in the Sanctuary and will focus, initially, on the target of "religious tourism" as the main attraction and opening up, little by little, to the knowledge of the entire territory.
“The Novecentenary and the Jubilee Year of Virginia will have to see the entire territory and the Communities united. We have a great responsibility towards the young people of these lands as well as the internal areas.
"The events must unite and foster the development of new opportunities ," says Father Guariglia. Around mid-May, a presentation will be held to illustrate the initiatives the DMO will launch in the coming months to support the Shrine. It will also be an opportunity to present the draft strategic plan, which includes the twentieth anniversary and the Jubilee of St. Virgin.
