Italy is top of a new ranking for
overall reputation as a European tourist destination but it
needs to improve on its institutional use of social media, the
market research company Demoskopika said on Saturday.
Italy comes top of the new European Tourism Reputation Index at
109.1 points, followed by Spain at 105.3 points and Germany at
101.6 points.
The country ranks first in three out of five indicators used by
Demoskopika to draw up the table, namely online research
destination, popularity and Tripadvisor confidence, and second
in its evaluation of the accommodation system.
However, it drops to fifth place in the ranking for social
reputation, behind Spain, Portugal, Greece and Germany, due to
the alleged inadequate use of social media by the Italian
national tourist board ENIT and Italia.it.
"The study highlights the need for Italy to align itself with
the strategies of its main European competitors in the use of
social media by implementing more incisive actions to promote
the Italian tourism offer," said Demoskopika president Raffaele
Rio.
Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè hailed the results but said
they are "not enough".
"We must aspire to make Italy capable of presenting the best
tourist offer in terms of richness, depth and quality, so it ia
not only the sexiest destination online, but also the one that
is chosen most," she told ANSA.
"In short, we must continue along a path of building quality
tourism proposals and strengthening brand reputation," continued
the minister, adding that the new digital tourism hub that is
under development will be an important part of this process.
Photo: Tourism Minister Daniela Santanchè.
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