(23 May 2017) Enit opened a new office at the Italian Embassy in Berlin to add to the promotion of Italian tourism. It was inaugurated by Ambassador Pietro Benassi and the Executive Director of the Italian National Tourist Board, Giovanni Bastianelli. Enit thus maintains the promise to expand its presence in the German market, considered to be strategic in ensuring high incoming flows to Italy. In addition, after Berlin will soon follow the inauguration of another office in Munich. Germany, in 2016, became our main tourist base: over 68 million overnight stays have generated tourism expenditure of €5.7 billion (16%), an increase of 4.6% since 2015, which climbs to 6.1% if the trip is considered for leisure. This is the result of a collaboration agreement with the Chamber of Commerce to promote Italy as a tourist destination. The new office of the Agency was inaugurated at the end of a meeting of the Italian network chaired by the Italian Ambassador and attended by representatives of the Italian Institute, the Chamber of Commerce, the ICE Berlin Office and ENIT. Bastianelli states, "after closing the ENIT office in Berlin 8 years ago, we are more than happy to reopen a new satellite office at the Italian Embassy where the Chamber of Commerce and the Italian Institute of Culture are also represented. The department for German-speaking countries will remain in Frankfurt, but we believe it is important to have a representative body in the German capital. We announced it a few weeks ago during the ITB Fair, and today we keep the promise". (Red)

TOURIST FLOWS

Our country is the second destination of choice for Germans, with a market share of 7.9% (source: Stiftung für Zukunftsfragen BAT "Tourismusanalyse" 2016) and the first food and wine destination (source: WTFA World Food Travel Association - Food Travel Monitor 2016 "). Daily per capita spending per holiday in Italy is €81 (source: Bank of Italy - International Tourism of Italy). Trentino Alto Adige, Veneto, Lombardy, Tuscany and Emilia Romagna are the most visited regions by German tourists (source: Istat 2015, tourist attractions). Basilicata, Umbria, Aosta Valley, Trentino Alto Adige and Sicily are the most appreciated ones, with the highest sentiment re-elaborated through online reviews (source: Travel Appeal 2016). The main 'Länders' of Italian origins are Bavaria (33.8%) and Baden-Württemberg (21.3%).