Italy and ENIT host the 2022 News UK Travel Awards. Beautiful Puglia and Basilicata will be the backdrop to the event
PRESS RELEASE
ITALY AND ENIT HOST THE 2022 NEWS UK TRAVEL AWARDS
BEAUTIFUL PUGLIA AND BASILICATA WILL BE THE BACKDROP TO THE EVENT
THE EVENT IS THE RESULT OF A COLLABORATION BETWEEN THE NATIONAL TOURISM BOARD, APT BASILICATA, AND PUGLIAPROMOZIONE
Italy and ENIT will host the 2022 News UK Travel Awards on 29 June in Matera, after a two-year break due to the pandemic. The event is considered among the most prestigious awards in the travel industry and celebrates the winners voted for by readers of News UK, the publishing group that includes The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun. Readers vote to recognize the most important tourism stakeholders and destinations, in categories including favourite city, favourite country, best tour operator, and best cruise line. This year, awards for sustainability and the best emerging destination will also be introduced.
Writers for the newspapers will be welcomed to Italy along with travel experts and the leaders of UK-based travel organisations. The group of ninety guests will travel through the beautiful scenery of Puglia and Basilicata, visiting UNESCO World Heritage Sites over three days and enjoying the culture, heritage, food and wine of the cities of Bari, Alberobello, Locorotondo, Putignano and Matera - the latter recently featured in the James Bond film “No Time to Die.”
Among the highlights of the trip, News UK guests will be able to follow in the footsteps of 007, try their hand at baking traditional bread, visit the Crypt of Original Sin and, of course, sample the local culinary specialties.
"Italy continues to inspire the international scene and is further enhancing its reputation by providing memorable locations for dreaming, travelling and experiencing exclusive adventures. These awards are not only a source of pride but are a sign of the trust placed in our country by public opinion and travellers from all over the world. Italy’s post-pandemic tourist industry has focused its attention on the quality of the services and hospitality on offer, demonstrating great resilience and a capacity for reinventing itself. We will continue on the changing paths we are charting for sustainable, accessible and innovative tourism. Italy is ready to be seen in a new light and as never seen before,” says ENIT CEO Roberta Garibaldi.
“We are immensely proud of Italy and the whole ENIT team, in particular the UK and Ireland team, who work every day to showcase the brand of the world’s best-loved peninsula,” says ENIT marketing director Maria Elena Rossi.
"The institutional collaboration between ENIT, APT Basilicata and Pugliapromozione sets an excellent example for promoting Italy in an increasingly difficult and competitive international tourism scenario.” For Matera and Basilicata, it will be a new opportunity to show off to an international audience of experts in the field, while for the guests of The Times and Sunday Times Travel Awards it will be a chance to discover the places where James Bond experienced his last passionate love story, in what international statistics say is the most welcoming city in the world. Amazing experiences and extraordinary places, which have already impressed the organisers of the initiative with their charm, are just waiting to make Italian and international travellers fall in love with them all over again,” says Antonio Nicoletti, director of APT Basilicata.
“The film industry is contributing to greater knowledge of travel destinations for an increasingly experiential tourism, and Puglia is particularly beloved by directors from all over the world. British travellers appreciate the authenticity of the many tourist attractions that can be experienced in Puglia, and the itinerary with neighbouring Basilicata reinforces the appeal. Sustainability and year-round tourism, including hikes through nature, the deep and fascinating gorges of the Puglian ravines together with the Sassi di Matera, biking on cycle paths among the trulli stone huts, and food and wine rich in biodiversity, together with the cultural scene, are the precious treasures that Pugliapromozione will share with our prestigious guests,” says Luca Scandale, general manager of Pugliapromozione.
Francesca Cicatelli
ENIT Press Office
Phone: (+39) 392.9225216
e-mail: francesca.cicatelli@enit.it