Sicily Has All the Right Ingredients to Attract More Foreign Travel, but It Needs to Do More
Foreign travelers love Sicily mainly for its sea, cultural heritage, food and wine experience and the friendliness of its people according to Doxa, Mercury and Touring Servizi. International tour operators praise the steps forwards taken in the last few years and ask for more promotional activities. However, they point the finger against the structural limitations of the Sicilian travel industry: higher than average costs, poorly trained staff, lack of tourist information and environmental carelessness. If these issues are tackled, tourism to the region could gain a greater market share and reduce its seasonality.
Technorati Tags [ sicily | sicilian tourism | foreign travel to sicily ]
June 28th, 2007 at 4:30 am
Almost true, except for Sicily being expensive. Hotels may be, but not more than the rest of Europe. Catania-Palermo by bus € 12.50 (200km). As said, many beaches are free. Museums aren’t expensive, nor is the food if you go to the right places. To understand why some things are more expensive, you’ll need to understand how things go here and it isn’t easy to change them just like that.
June 28th, 2007 at 11:46 am
@ MaFra:
You are right, but the article wanted to stress that the quality of the service is low for the price you pay for it. Sicily is still not seen as good value for the money you pay for when you stay at a hotel. The “higher than average costs” was mainly referred to the rates of hotel rooms in the 3 and 4 star category. Most of the 4 star category hotels in Sicily are not comparable to the same hotels in Northern Europe or the USA, but you probably pay similar rates.
July 3rd, 2007 at 3:07 am
True. It took me a whole day to find a hotel with good value for money, with clean rooms for a decent price. Probably ’cause it’s harder to get 3/4 stars in North Europe then it is here. So I would suggest, even if hotel owners don’t agree with me, to search a nice B&B. Maybe with a little bit of competition, hotel owners will invest more in their hotel and renovate once in a while.
August 29th, 2007 at 10:07 am
Type your comment here.
Hi, I am an american woman and live in Marsala Sicily. I agree with you, Sicily has a lot to offer to visitors.
I have lived here for 4 years and I marvel at all the stunningly beautiful places within 1 hr from my city. Segesta, Selinunte, Riserva dello Zingaro, Erice. I want you to know also that I have really enjoyed reading the posts on your website. Auguri
Dea
August 29th, 2007 at 10:10 am
Thanks, Dea! It means a lot to me.