XXV Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism in Paestum from Thursday 2nd to Sunday 5th November.
Campania polarizes historical-archaeological tourism in the South
Over 80% of the flows are concentrated in the region. This is what emerges from the research "The added value of the Unesco brand on the territories" presented in Paestum
Bouchenaki (Unesco): “The BMTA conversations will create new models for the recognition of future World Heritage sites
Historical-archaeological tourism in the South is strongly polarized on Campania and, in particular, on the province of Naples – which alone absorbs approximately 67% of all visitors to the museum and architectural-monumental system of the South and is, with its over 3,5 million visitors, second only to Rome, even distancing the 2,5 million visitors of Florence. This is the data that emerges from the research “The added value of the Unesco brand on the territories” by SRM Studi e Ricerche per il Mezzogiorno Centro Studi linked to the Intesa Sanpaolo Group presented today at the XXV Mediterranean Exchange of Archaeological Tourism during the conference “The Unesco archaeological municipalities for experiential and sustainable cultural tourism” promoted as part of the Celebration of the 25th Anniversary of the Unesco Site of Paestum in collaboration with ANCI National Association of Italian Municipalities.
“The BMTA and its annual conversations can be the starting point for new models of value, authenticity and integrity that are the characteristics of the new way of evaluating places worthy of entering the UNESCO lists – is the message from UNESCO, brought by the former Deputy Director General for Culture Mounir Bouchenaki, honorary president of the BMTA. The path has changed since 1979, when the recognition went to the Rock Art of Val Camonica. Today, without abandoning the universal value of places, it is a path that starts from the bottom, from the ability and desire to enjoy the places by the populations, who to obtain this recognition undertake a long and not only data and testimonies collection”.
In 2022, foreign tourism spending in Italy returns to pre-Covid levels, with a constantly increasing trend, but only 7,4 billion of the 44,3 spent in Italy by international travelers, or less than 17%, falls in the South, although 12 of the 45 UNESCO archaeological sites, or about 27%, are concentrated in the South. "Already from this very general data of discrepancy between the share of spending and the share of supply of UNESCO sites - explained Salvio Capasso, Head of the Business and Territory Service SRM - we see a systemic difficulty on the part of the South in attracting from abroad a tourist spending commensurate with the number and importance of its sites".
As for the specific historical-archaeological segment relating to visitors from Italy and the rest of the world, the research shows that the South has an adequate share compared to the 27% of recognized UNESCO historical-archaeological areas: 30% of visitors and 27% of total revenues. "This means that it is above all the flow of Italian tourists that raises the performance of the southern museum and archaeological system - Capasso highlighted - in particular, in terms of number of visitors in 2021, thanks to its very articulated historical-archaeological offer, the Campania museum and monumental-archaeological system is second only to Lazio, surpassing very renowned regions such as Tuscany or Veneto. Campania absorbs, however, more than 80% of the historical-archaeological tourism flows of the South, with the other regions of the South in a completely secondary position: Puglia is only ninth, Sardinia eleventh, followed by Calabria and Basilicata, Molise and Abruzzo are the taillights. It is obvious that the Pompeii area has an absolutely primary catalytic function. Another characteristic of this type of tourism is that of a seasonality which, although much less marked than that of general tourism, is still existent, with visitors who concentrate above all in the summer quarter, with a minimum between March and April”.
At the end of the research work, the overall impact of UNESCO sites on the territory and the weight of UNESCO recognition as a factor of local development are still controversial. “What can be said with some degree of certainty – explained Capasso – is that the UNESCO recognition has a strong potential to attract/generate investments in defense, protection/recovery of the recognized historical/archaeological asset, but taken alone it might not generate significant repercussions on the productive fabric directly linked to tourism if not as part of a broader development strategy associated with active policies”.
Focusing on the economic dimension, the greater tourist attractiveness resulting for example from the enhancement of UNESCO sites through an adequate development policy determines a significant impact on GDP. The latest SRM update shows that Italy, with the same expenditure, for each additional tourist presence in the country, generates 144 euros of VA and, in the case of cultural tourism, the aforementioned value rises to 145 euros. The endogenous capacity for wealth creation, in relation to the increase in tourist presence, therefore changes based on the type of tourism. Therefore, cultural tourism activates more wealth than seaside tourism (145€ against 128€), but the multiplier continues to grow if we consider sustainable tourism (150,6€), food and wine tourism (151,7€) and even more so business tourism (176,6€).
"It's obvious – concluded Capasso – that the development of an integrated tourism system within a UNESCO site that exploits organizational and "productive" synergies with adjacent sectors (such as food and wine) increases the economic potential of tourism. This is particularly true for the South, characterized by a wide range of UNESCO archaeological sites but by a multiplier of € 131,7, still far from the national figure, even if recovering in the last decade. In particular, in the years 2010-2019 it grew by 86%, a higher value than the national average (+39%), the result of a better structuring of the tourism system that has managed to adapt to new trends, thus releasing a more intense economic propagation in the territory”.
But what is the impact of the Unesco brand on the success of a site? The same research highlights it: the territories decide it. Three examples: None on Pompeii (1997), the main attraction of historical-archaeological tourism in the South; favorable on Arab-Norman Palermo (2015); excellent on Matera (1993) whose numbers soared after the nomination as European Capital of Culture in 2019, when the surrounding policy was particularly active with infrastructural investments, improvement of the offer, especially non-hotel, events and promotion.
The conclusions of the conference were entrusted to Sandro Pappalardo, Board Member of ENIT, and Gianluca Caramanna, Deputy and Advisor to the Minister of Tourism.
“As the National Agency for Tourism – said Sandro Pappalardo – we have decided to accompany the BMTA for years because we consider it a very important meeting point between the public and private sectors from which each of us comes away with some additional food for thought to work on, as from this morning's conference in which we discussed how best to promote our archaeological sites in the future, which are an excellence of our territories and which have not been given due attention in the past”.
“Tourism is the driving force of our economy and is at the centre of Government policies as demonstrated by our presence here at the 25th edition of the BMTA – declared Gianluca Caramanna – We believe that archaeological tourism is very important because it highlights the identity, culture, and history of our territories. I believe that in the near future, together with ENIT, we will need to create an adequate promotional marketing so that the sector, which has been undervalued up to now, is valorized. Unfortunately, Title V of the Constitution sometimes penalizes us because promotional marketing is often fragmented into 20 regions and 20 different types of promotion, and this is why events like the BMTA can benefit our tourism, create a network and above all launch ideas that are accepted by everyone to give impetus to the sector”.
Also in the morning, the BMTA launched the Technical Table dedicated to Archaeological-Thermal Health Tourism and the Ancient Water Routes TATS©, already nominated for UNESCO Good Practices. The Etruscan-Roman heritage inspired the pool of journalists (experts in Archaeological-Thermal Tourism led by Rai journalist Patrizia Angelini, investigative correspondent for the TG1 Specials) who since 2020 have been promoting health thermalism through the use of hydropinic treatments which, already beneficial for Long Covid, re-propose the ancient virtues of the "miraculous spas" dear to the Etruscans and Romans. It is no coincidence, in fact, that among the supporters there are several Research Centers including the Department of Aging Sciences - Orthopedics - Rheumatology - Sports Medicine of the Gemelli Polyclinic, the Civil Hospital of Macerata, the University of Foggia and the Parliamentary intergroup Friends of Thermalism, signatories of the technical table promoted by the Third Sector Body IWW with the leading municipalities of Manciano-Saturnia (GR), Chianciano Terme (SI), Lanuvio (RM), Ginosa (TA).
The BMTA is promoted by the Campania Region, the City of Capaccio Paestum, the Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia in collaboration with the Chamber of Commerce of Salerno, the Province of Salerno, the National Park of Cilento, Vallo di Diano and Alburni. Founder and Director Ugo Picarelli. Designed and organized by Leader srl, owner of the brand.
Official Partner ACI Automobile Club d'Italia, Technical Partners Arti Grafiche Boccia, Convergenze, Fiuggi, Mare Group.
Entry to the BMTA is free, with online registration recommended.
Accredited visitors, thanks to the precious collaboration of the Archaeological Park of Paestum and Velia, benefit from free entry to the archaeological areas, also with guided tours on 3 and 4 November.
Frecciarossa Official Train of the BMTA: for those who participate in the event and reach Naples or Salerno with Le Frecce, a 30% discount on the Base price of the train ticket.
Article published on November 3, 2023 - 16:35
