Tourism: tools for relaunch and renewed commitment with Federalberghi
Intesa Sanpaolo is further strengthening its commitment to the tourism sector, for which it has disbursed over €8 billion since 2020, working with Federalberghi to focus on revitalising and developing accommodation facilities, with particular attention to the aspects of sustainability and innovation.
In fact, tourism is one of the great accelerators of Italy's post-Covid recovery and central to the country's economy. Yet, in order to remain strong, it needs structured investment plans to raise the quality of accommodation and services, in the green and sustainability spheres – viewed particularly favourably by international customers, who are increasingly sensitive to these aspects.
Intesa Sanpaolo, which has set aside €10billion of new credit to redevelop accommodation facilities, is making a number of dedicated instruments available, such as:
- S-Loan Progetti Green, a new financing solution with a duration of up to 20 years, on subsidised terms, for all environmental and energy-related business needs
- Suite Loan, a loan that rewards companies that invest in the improvement of accommodation facilities, in addition to offering equipment rental solutions through its own company, RentforYou. More than 1,000 of the bank's customers have already taken out loans of over €1 billion
- Tools in support of digitalisation, with a focus on data management and cyber security, in view of their relevance to customer service and the protection of sensitive information
- Specialist desk dedicated to tourism, for dedicated advice on accessing NRRP measures such as the Tourism Revolving Fund, for which Intesa Sanpaolo has covered around 25% of the applications submitted
- IncentNow, a free platform providing information to customers on NRRP calls for applications: more than 15,000 Intesa Sanpaolo customers have received an NRRP public facility.
Additional opportunities for businesses in the tourism sector are available thanks to the Tourism Thematic Fund – administered and controlled by Italy's Ministry of Tourism – and Equiter, a subsidiary of Intesa Sanpaolo and recipient of €189.2 million of the €350 million made available by the Fund. The Fund's projects include:
- investments in the creation, renovation, modernisation and improvement of accommodation facilities and infrastructure for tourism, as well as investments in sustainable tourism, related to the green transition or in mobility for environmentally sustainable tourism
- financing for investment relating to working capital needs, as well as for the acquisition of qualified minority interests with a predefined exit strategy projected within a maximum period of 20 years.
Tourism: among the great accelerators of Italy's post-Covid recovery
According to a study by Intesa Sanpaolo's Research Department, tourism is among the great accelerators of Italy's post-Covid recovery and has continued to grow throughout 2023, remaining central to the country's economy.
Intesa Sanpaolo's estimates for all 2023 indicate that turnover exceeded the 2019 level by 38.8% in the accommodation services sector and by 23.8% in the restaurant sector: the growth of incoming tourism is among the factors behind these results.
Italy also retains its position among the top ten destinations worldwide by tourist inflows, due in part to the return of long-distance tourists: the percentage of international presences rose to 52.2% in the first eleven months of 2023, surpassing the 50.5% of 2019 – a year that stood out for record arrivals of non-resident tourists.
The outlook for 2024 remains positive for the sector, which is likely to see consolidation of the brilliant sales results achieved in the last two years – albeit within a macroeconomic environment of modest global growth, mainly driven by advanced economies.
Investments remain crucial to preserving competitiveness, as does digitalisation, with the aim of capturing increasingly connected tourists in need of advanced services: for example, the use of data analytics and artificial intelligence tools could favour the analysis of consumption behaviour, allowing us to seize emerging opportunities such as never-ending tourism (which aims to extend the tourist experience in time and space) and holiday working (which allows smart workers to work from a place other than where they usually live).
Moreover, the development of sustainable tourism is emerging as a fundamental requirement for inclusive and community-oriented economic growth: through the 2030 Agenda, the World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) emphasises how the sector can contribute, directly and indirectly, to the achievement of all 17 established goals, provided it is managed sustainably and practised responsibly.
Last updated 3 February 2024 at 15:16:45
