Florence, 17 April (LaPresse) – On the quality of tourism, ‘the mayor can do a lot, because you need to understand the commercial layout of a city, but if you keep closing shops that provide essential services to families, if you keep opening sandwich bars, if you keep opening shops that, on top of everything else, do not attract quality tourism…’. This was the comment made by the Minister of Tourism, Daniela Santanchè, in Florence on the sidelines of the International Forum on Italian Tourism, commenting on the request for national legislation on tourism put forward by some mayors. ‘We are in favour of quality tourism, not quantity, and this is the exact opposite of what is happening in Florence,’ where ‘there is a bit of predatory tourism,’ added Santanchè. ‘Managing tourist flows is a complex system,’ explained the minister. ’We must learn to also generate income from our cultural heritage. I am thinking of artificial intelligence, which can help us manage tourist flows.’ Finally, referring to the activists of the Salviamo Firenze (Save Florence) committee, who held a protest in the city this morning against the tourism forum and to give the minister a controversial ‘welcome’, Santanchè said: ‘I would have liked to listen to their demands and tell them that the ministry is willing to sit down with them to understand their needs, because it is right to talk to everyone and, therefore, understand the problems they feel and that I would like them to explain.’ On overtourism, she added, ’it's not that they are entirely wrong, because action needs to be taken.’
© Copyright LaPresse
