Cinque Terre – In Cinque Terre, bookings for the Easter week do not show any increase compared to last year. In the five villages there is still no talk of a boom, as is the case for the rest of Italy led by Rome and Milan, which have bookings up by 29% according to data from Enit and Skyscanner. In the Cinque Terre the full house announced by the President of the Region Giovanni Toti is not currently there, as the operators point out. «For now we have only lukewarm requests – says Giovanni Paganini, president of the Riomaggiore and Manarola traders' association -. Last year at this time bookings were higher, most likely because Easter was on April 9th, while this year it is a few days early.”
But for the operators who respond to Toti there is strong concern about the entire 2024 season, which will open at Easter with 100% increases in train ticket prices. On the La Spezia-Levanto line from the end of March, just before Easter (31 March), tickets will double from 5 to 10 euros each way, per single person. And if there will be a full house at Easter, even counting on the last minute as has been the case for years now, the concern is all about the increases that tourists will have to pay. «Easter has always started with the Italians who will be the most harassed – continues Paganini –. After Covid, the presence of compatriots increased, but from this year we don't know how they will react. The only certainty is the increase in tickets and the fact that we, the operators, will receive the criticism, even on internet platforms. Tourists will complain to us and point out the price increases as a disservice to the area, not as a choice of the Region. I fear that the traveling pesto mortar will not bring the full house announced by the Region.” President Toti and Tourism Councilor Augusto Sartori reported with satisfaction that Forbes magazine places the Cinque Terre among the seven favorite destinations to visit in Italy.
And Toti said he was certain that it will go exactly like this. «The season is opening well, but certainly not as Toti announces. I would not like these triumphalistic tones to serve to demonstrate that the increases are right to regulate flows – says Susanna Barbieri, president of the Cinque Terre Tourist Consortium of Monterosso –. The obvious concern is for the rest of the season and for the future.” The discussion between the Region, Municipalities, Park and operators should have started at least a year ago, in order to be already operational to communicate the new measures to tourists. «Tourism has times that the Region does not know and visitors will have unpleasant surprises at Easter – concludes Barbieri -. Today on the Trenitalia online site, anyone who buys a ticket for Easter pays 5 euros, at the price of last year. But if the tariffs we are talking about come into force, the price will be 10 euros, or at least increased, and what will the person who purchased do? But it's also not good to read a rate today and surprisingly find it increased in twenty days. Tourists must be welcomed, informed and must find services”
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