L'Italo-Americano

www.italoamericano.org 8 THURSDAY, AUGUST 20, 2020 L'Italo-Americano W h a t a peculiar summer this is: if it weren't for the unbearable heat, it wouldn't feel like a summer at all. Don't get me wrong, Italians didn't renounce to their Ferragosto-by-the-sea tradition, in fact, they've been letting loose a tad too much, if we look at the mild yet steady increase in Covid- 19 infections of the past cou- ple of weeks. It's the atmo- sphere that is different: you walk around with a smile on your face, in a cloud of sunscreen-scented air, but the heavy, thick stench of anxiety lingers nevertheless. It's not only a matter of psychology, though. It's an economic issue, too, of cour- s e . T h e r e i s n o n e e d t o remind you how deeply and tragically this pandemic hit Italy's most important sector, t h a t o f t o u r i s m , w h i c h alone counts for 13.2% of our national GDP and employs 3.5 million people: with most bookings cancelled as early as March and only a fraction of the people usually visiting this time of the year actually making it to the Belpaese, we're left struggling for air; because if it's true we've been showing national pride by p i c k i n g s t a y c a t i o n s o v e r holidays abroad, the drastic diminution of foreign visi- t o r s h a s l e f t t h e t o u r i s m industry in severe difficul- ties. Truth is that, beside peo- ple in the sector, not many Italians ever fully grasped the central role of foreigners for the wealth of the country, especially when it comes to tourism: "of course the world comes visit! We're a beauti- ful place!" we say, but do we really understand the magni- tude of non nationals' contri- bution to our economy? For instance, luxury holidays are the thing of foreigners in our country, with USA, Japan, Russia, Australia, Brazil and China representing the vast majority of our 5 Star Hotels' residents. This years, we've welcomed 91.2% less foreign visitors in our luxury structures, with a loss of about 14 billion euro ( a l m o s t 1 7 b i l l i o n U S D ) . Current Confcommercio data, as reported by Ilaria Conti from AGI, Agenzia Italia, show that it's espe- cially art cities and cultural spots to pay the price — no pun intended — and not only t h e m o s t p o p u l a r , w e l l known ones like Florence or Venice: in Sorrento, 88% of t r a v e l e r s a r e f o r e i g n , i n S t r e s a 8 5 % , i n T a o r m i n a 84%, in Montecatini 73%. So yes. We miss our guests from across the borders, and we miss you, our American friends and cousins in parti- cular, because so many of you come every year to see the beauties of our country, to visit relatives, to discover your roots. Just about a week ago, Tamara Thiessen made an excellent point of the situa- tion on the pages of Forbes, using our capital, Rome, as an example. To her, Megan Todd, program director of Context Travel declared that the "lack of North American clients in Italy is felt across the country, from coffee bars to luxury villa rentals," and that business for her com- p a n y h a s b e e n v e r y q u i e t without US customers. Rome really represents a perfect example of what's been hap- pening across the peninsula: usually filled with people and echoing a myriad of accents, this August our capital is strangely monotone, at least when it comes to languages. And it's not only a matter of color and folklore, it's not only about meeting the glos- sy, romantic stereotype of Rome as the international hot spot of the true Dolce Vita: it's a matter of people losing their jobs and strug- gling to survive. Bernabò Bocca, the pre- sident of Italy's hospitality association Federalberghi declared to La Stampa that " t h e s t o p o n U S t o u r i s t s penalizes Italy. We have very serious repercussions from the loss of the US market, the leading one in terms of spen- ding power." I n R o m e , a s i n m a n y other Italian cities that made of history and art their main attraction, there is one group of workers who is particu- larly worried, that of tourist guides, as well discussed, again, by Thiessen in her piece for Forbes. With the drastic diminution of foreign tourists, the more likely to choose guided tours when visiting our cities, their fears are more than justified. The vast majority of the guides i n t e r v i e w e d b y T h i e s s e n declared to work mostly with American tourists, which means the ban on non-essen- tial travels for US citizens didn't simply limit, but enti- r e l y c u t t h e i r f i n a n c i a l entries. Guided tours are a sta- ple of many Americans' holi- days in Italy: they are a safe and well established way to take the stress out of a vaca- t i o n , w h i l e p r o v i d i n g t h e historical and cultural back- ground necessary to fully a p p r e c i a t e a l l t h e b e a u t y around. It's a large, lucrative b u s i n e s s , i n w h i c h Americans themselves have dipped into, if it's true that many US expats became tou- rist guides to support them- selves in Italy. There is more: guided tours in the Belpaese a r e s o p o p u l a r t h a t t o u r agencies have been created across the US catering to Italophiles in search of the p e r f e c t c u l t u r a l v a c a t i o n across the ocean. Theresa Potenza, interviewed by Thiessen, is the owner of Tour with Theresa, set in Buffalo, NY, starkly admits she lost "an entire year of income" because of travel limitations. But Potenza also stresses another immense, invaluable loss, one made of cultural and community connections: many of her customers are, j u s t l i k e h e r , I t a l i a n - A m e r i c a n s , e a g e r t o v i s i t Italy to reconnect with their roots and finally give form, s c e n t a n d s o u n d t o t h e memories and tales of their forefathers. To them, losing the opportunity to fly across the ocean means not only missing a holiday but, often, a l s o a o n c e - i n - a - l i f e t i m e opportunity to find themsel- ves and own their identity to the full. For her, she conti- nues, losing business is also losing the opportunity to meet and create bonds with people who share with her personal heritage or even just their love for Italy. A d m i t t e d l y , I ' v e n e v e r thought about this side of tourism, I never considered the deeper meaning a trip to my country could have for many, nor did I stop reflec- ting on what the lack of forei- gn tourists, Americans in particular, could mean for so many of us, here in Italy. It's not only a matter of m i s s i n g t h e s o f t , b u t t e r y sound of American English in our streets — yes, that's how it sounds to the ears of bilingual Italians, or at least, that's my opinion! It's people losing their livelihood on both sides of the Atlantic, and bonds being suspended, instead of being strengthe- ned. Let's all hope we'll soon emerge from this Dantean limbo: we need to see each other again, we need to hear each other again, we need to shar e our l ives with each other again. Living without you: why Italy has been missing Americans so much LIFE PEOPLE PLACES HERITAGE CHIARA D'ALESSIO An empty street in Rome, with empty restaurant tables: the absence of foreign tourists has been tragic for many businesses (Photo: Elena Sistaliuk/Dreamstime)

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