Italy hosts IGTM: ENIT, Lazio Region, Roma Capitale, and the Convention Bureau together for the biggest international golfing event before the 2023 Ryder Cup
PRESS RELEASE
ITALY HOSTS IGTM: ENIT, LAZIO REGION, ROMA CAPITALE, AND THE CONVENTION BUREAU TOGETHER FOR THE BIGGEST INTERNATIONAL GOLFING EVENT BEFORE THE 2023 RYDER CUP
ITALY IS POISED TO BECOME ONE OF THE TOP INTERNATIONAL DESTINATIONS FOR GOLF TOURISM
ROME ANNOUNCES A DOUBLING OF 5-STAR BEDS WITHIN THE NEXT 5 YEARS, OVERTAKING MILAN
WITH THE ENIT GLOBAL MARKETING PROJECT FOR THE NATIONAL GOLF PRODUCT
Italy with Enit, the Italian Golf Federation, the Lazio Region, Roma Capitale, the Roma & Lazio Convention Bureau and Fiera di Roma are hosting the 2022 IGTM-International Golf Travel Market until 20 October in the pavilions of the Palazzo dei Congressi La Nuvola.
The event, for the first time in Italy, is a prelude to the 2023 Ryder Cup, the most prestigious international golf competition and the third most-watched sporting event in the world, which will be played between 29 September and 1 October 2023 at the Marco Simone di Guidonia (Rome). The arrival in Italy of the most important international golf tourism promotional event, which brings together more than 700 buyers with hundreds of sellers and local authorities, lays the foundations for a new tourist season that is more attractive and incorporating new frontiers for the sector.
“Hosting the IGTM in Italy and in Rome is a not-to-be-missed opportunity to increase Italy's competitiveness and attractiveness in the golf tourism sector. We have seen how this has been a driving force for the sector in other countries that have hosted the event. This will be a further boost to Italian tourism,” says ENIT CEO Roberta Garibaldi.
"Italy has long been present at the main trade fairs around the world, and in the case of golf tourism we are present in foreign markets with a unique brand and slogan, ‘Italy, golf and more’, which translates into a national marketing offer for the product that is fundamental, as demonstrated by the presence of so many Italian regions with their varied offer of golfing locations of excellence at the IGTM," says Maria Elena Rossi, Enit Marketing Director.
"Hosting the most important trade fair for golf tourism means that we have been able to outdistance the competition. This fair allows us to publicise the attractions of our territory. And with the Municipality of Rome we have established a synergy for participation in the most important tourism fairs in the world, promoting the unique Rome and Lazio Experience brand. A promotional campaign for the next 5 years and not only for the golf segment," according to Lazio Region Councillor for Tourism and Local Authorities Valentina Corrado.
The Councillor for Tourism, Major Events, and Sport of the Municipality of Rome, Alessandro Onorato, remarks, “As a public administration we want to invest in quality tourism, focusing on the high-spending target but without classist tourism. A niche of high quality to guarantee a major economic impact for the city. Today Rome has a third of its beds in five-star hotels, in three years it will have 30% more, and in ten years we will have twice as many five-star beds as Milan. If you want to aspire to luxury tourism, you must have a suitable accommodation offer”.
"When private operators and public administrators collaborate effectively, the result is there for all to see. This operation on golf with the organisation of the IGTM is only the beginning of the legacy that will see us as protagonists in promoting this city and this region throughout the world, conveying the image of an area that manages to combine modernity with our traditions, the great city with the historic villages, and other natural wonders of our region,” declares Onorio Rebecchini, Vice President of the Roma & Lazio Convention Bureau.
Gian Paolo Montali, Director of the Ryder Cup, concludes, “Bringing the IGTM to Rome was another challenge we won, like that of hosting next year's Ryder Cup, because we will bring to the world the image of a city, a region but also a whole country where there are excellent locations for playing golf. And tomorrow the citizens of the world with a passion for this sport will certainly want to come to Rome and play where the Ryder Cup was held. These are important image gains for tourism”.
Francesca Cicatelli
ENIT Press Office
Mob: (+39) 392.9225216
e-mail: francesca.cicatelli@enit.it