OCTOBER 21, 2024 – VISIT CUNEESE
POLAND CHOOSES THE SNOW OF LIMONE PIEMONTE
From January 18 to March 15, 2025 new charter flights from Katowice to Cuneo
Cuneo, Oct. 21, 2024 – An estimated 1,900 tourists from Poland will land in Cuneo between Jan. 18 and March 15, 2025, thanks to the opening of the new destination for the snow product operated by ITAKA, a leading tour operator in the Polish market. The 10 flights, departing every Saturday from Katowice airport and arriving in Cuneo Levaldigi, will lead to the occupancy of 90 rooms per week, as well as a widespread economic spin-off thanks to flight+stay packages dedicated not only to the snow in the Cuneo mountains but also to tourist and food and wine experiences in the Langhe Monferrato and Roero area.
The “Ski RouteMontagna Cuneese Inverno 2025” project-supported by the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, ATL del Cuneo and Ente Turismo Langhe Monferrato Roero-was presented today, Oct. 21, at the ATL headquarters in Cuneo in the presence of Regional Councillor Paolo Bongiovanni (Commerce, Agriculture and Food, Hunting and Fishing, Parks); the president of the Cuneo Chamber of Commerce, Luca Crosetto; the president of the Cd.A. of Visit Piedmont, Beppe Carlevaris; the director of Cuneo Airport, Anna Milanese; the presidents of the ATLs of Cuneo and Langhe Monferrato and Roero, Mauro Bernardi and Mariano Rabino; Danilo Turletto of ITAKA; the mayor of Limone Piemonte, Massimo Riberi; and Antonella Zanotti CEO of the Limone LIFT plant company.
“This initiative on the Polish tourist market is particularly opportune because it is aimed at a public with great potential, which has long shown interest in Italy and in recent years has also discovered Piedmont,” stresses the Regional Councillor for Tourism, Culture and Sport of the Piedmont Region, Marina Chiarelli. ” I am certain that the snow of the mountains of Cuneo and the cultural and enogastronomic excellence of the Hills will help consolidate the reputation of our region and create a virtuous circle, which will combine institutional promotional activities with the effectiveness of word of mouth.
“Even in tourism, opening up to new markets is an exciting challenge, and the bet made by the Cuneo area with the project of new charter flights from Poland is confirmation that unity of purpose and synergies between different entities is always a winning strategy,” remarked Piedmont Region’s Councillor for Commerce, Agriculture and Food, Hunting and Fishing, and Parks Paolo Bongioanni. The economic impact on hotel and commercial activities will be extremely positive. I can only hope that this initiative will continue in the following seasons and involve other territories of Piedmont, in order to present to Polish tourists our entire outdoor offer and at the same time the possibility of discovering the great tradition of wine and quality typical products of our agri-food industry and the creativity of our chefs “.
“The project is the result of more than two years of intense “incentive” activities by the Piedmont Region and Visit Piedmont culminating with the Aviation Business Convention “CONNECT 2024” held in Turin last February 7-9. VisitPiemonte carried out significant and important co-marketing and promo-communication actions directly on the Polish market to consolidate and increase arrivals to our region – explains Beppe Carlevaris, Chairman of the Board of Visit Piedmont – In the fall of 2023, through ENIT, we included in the calendar of international workshops a new stop in Warsaw where, with the participation of the ATLs of Turin and Cuneo, we presented to 38 buyers and a group of journalists the highlights and novelties of the regional tourism offer; last winter we also hosted Polish journalists and T.O.’s in our Alps by letting them live beautiful experiences in our ski areas. Poland is experiencing significant and steady economic growth, and Polish tourists are achieving high numbers in terms of arrivals and stays in our country, especially in the winter mountains. The choice of the Cuneo product, initially focused on snow and the Hills product, could then be extended to the rest of the region and also on the summer season. The Polish people are literally in love with Italy and our Piedmont especially for our culture, natural beauty, lifestyle and food and wine. We are ready and I am absolutely certain that the entire hospitality system will be able to seize this great opportunity “.
“The establishment of this charter connection is a concrete example of how virtuous collaboration between all institutional actors can lead to significant results. Cuneo Airport is confirmed as a strategic hub for the Cuneo area, facilitating the arrival of new tourists and paving the way for new opportunities in a market with high potential “, confirms Anna Milanese, Executive Vice President and Accountable Manager of Cuneo Airport.
With more than 38 million inhabitants, Poland is the largest market in Central and Eastern Europe. Massive investments by multinational companies together with the optimal use of European Funds have resulted in strong and sustained economic growth – reports infoMercatiEsteri.it, the website of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs – A development that has seen the purchasing power of citizens grow with the affirmation of new consumption patterns and the expansion of the middle and upper-middle class. A scenario confirmed both by the ENIT 2023 report on the spending power of Polish tourists (17% of those arriving in Italy from Warsaw in fact spend from 2 to 5 thousand euros and another 44% from 1,500 to 2 thousand euros) and by provisional data for the summer of 2024, driven by foreign tourism from Germans, French, Swiss, Dutch, Poles, Austrians and Belgians.
As for Piedmont, according to the 2023 flow report of the Regional Tourism Observatory operating in Visit Piedmont, Poland is currently the 13th largest market for admissions and 15th largest for arrivals, with figures steadily increasing over the years.
ITAKA, the entity that planned the opening of the new destination Piedmont, is the leading tour operator in the Polish market. Through the NoLimits by Itaka brand it markets packages related to outdoor products, moving 700,000 customers a year through 1,500 agencies of which more than half are owned throughout Poland.
