LACK OF A SMART TOURISM PROMOTION OF THE CITY

LACK OF A SMART TOURISM PROMOTION OF THE CITY INTRODUCTION Bergamo is a city with a great tourism potential mainly because it is close to the fourth Italian airport for civil aviation and it is also very close to a major city such as Milano. Yet, these are not the only attractions that a tourist can find in Bergamo; in fact the city has a lot of history behind and furthermore it is one of the most important industrial centers here in Italy. The physical conformation of the territory and the division of the city in città alta (the historical part of the city) and città bassa (the most industrialized and modern part of Bergamo) contribute to the appeal of the city. It is not only the city in itself that has an incredible tourism potential, also the surrounding areas can count on breathtaking landscapes, history, culture, sport facilities etc... All these elements have contributed to turn Bergamo into one of the most beautiful cities in Italy. Turismo Bergamo is the destination management organization behind the promotion of the city, whose main task is the promotion of the city and its incredible attractions not only abroad but in Italy as well. Efforts have been undertaken to renovate the image of Bergamo as a competitive tourist attraction but much more can be done. BERGAMO Bergamo is an important industrial city situated 40 km northeast of Milan, whose population counts more than 120 000 inhabitants. The city is divided in two parts: the upper city (città alta) that is the historical part, where monuments and the ancient walls can be found; the other part of the city is the lower one( città bassa), the most modern and industrialized part of the city. Bergamo is also the capital city of the homonym province, and covers a territory 2 722.86 km² and has a population of 1 107 571 million people. 1

Bergamo has a strong relationship with the surrounding areas that compose its province where we can find many industries that actively contribute to the reputation and richness of the entire area. A fundamental contribution to the development of the city has been given by Caravaggio International Airport located in Orio al Serio. The airport opened for commercial purposes in 1937, but only in 2003 it became a major one, thanks to Ryanair, first, and then thanks to other low cost companies that decided to establish a connection with the airport. Nowadays the airport is the fourth in Italy among the ones for civil aviation, and it approximately carries more than 8 million passengers per year. The position of the airport (45 km from Milan), the possibility of having low cost flights,other than the proximity to Italy s most famous shopping mall (Oriocenter) helped the development of Bergamo as a major tourist destination. TURISMO BERGAMO Turismo Bergamo is the organisation in charge of the promotion of the territory of Bergamo as a competitive and attractive tourist destination. It opened in 2001 thanks to the contribution of many tourist offices and now it includes a lot of agencies, connected with tourism that are spread all over the province(vallebrembana.com, Cooraltur, Consorzio per la Promozione Turistica della Città di Bergamo, A.S.T.R.A. seriana, TuriScalve, Associazione Strada del Vino e dei Sapori della Val Calepio, Associazione Bergamo Bed & Breakfast, Bremboski, Promoisola, Cooperativa il Mondo in Casa, The Best B&B in Bergamo in historical houses). Turismo Bergamo has two offices in the city: its headquarter is located in the Urban Center(an innovative complex, that includes different shops) and one in the Orio al Serio airport. Both of them are situated in strategic positions, since the Urban Center is closed to both the train and bus stations, whereas the other one can be found inside the airport. 2

Moreover Turismo Bergamo is connected with other offices whose purpose is the promotion of tourist destinations; for instance IAT is the office that helps tourists in città alta and it is connected with other promotional offices in Europe. TOURISTS An analysis 1 among tourists depicts Bergamo as a destination that attracts two main kinds of visitors: leisure visitor and business visitor 2. Bergamo as a destination is mainly visited by couples and families, that means group travellers. The typical tourist has an age comprised between 36 and 60 years old (more than 51 % of the tourists is included within this category), followed by young tourists (21-36 years old). Bergamo for the 49 % of its visitors is a daytrip, whereas for those who choose to stay the average length of the stay is around two or three days, usually distributed in the week ends. In fact on Saturdays and Sundays the number of people who turn to Turismo Bergamo to ask for information is higher than in week days. The peak season for tourism is the summer, with minimum levels in the winter, this delineates a problem of seasonality. A remarkable observation, that tourists have pointed out, regards the fact that on Mondays many attractions, offices and shops are closed, this fact is cause of dissatisfaction towards the city image. The preferred means of transportation is the airplane (more than 70% of Bergamo tourists uses a plane to reach the city, taking advantage of Orio al Serio International Airport), the others choose the car, whereas almost no one uses trains, buses or campers to reach the city. The majority of tourists who take advantage of the information offered by Turismo Bergamo asks for: cultural attractions, maps, transports. After the diffusion of cheap flights and internet revolution almost every tourist makes his hotel reservation in advance. The 49,7 % of interviewed tourists claims to have become aware of Bergamo thanks to the word of mouth or because of someone else advised them to visit the city, and only a minimum part (2.5%) affirms that the stay is the result of their encounter with promotional material. What is interesting to point out is that the majority of tourists come to Bergamo for the first time, therefore there is a new tourism to develop. Moreover the tourist who 1 The analysis : Indagine diretta sugli ospiti alberghieri della città was carried out in 2011 by three graduated students of Progettazione e Gestione dei Sistemi Turistici under the supervision of Professor Andrea Macchiavelli director of the CeSTIT 2 Analisi dei visitatori degli uffici di informazione e accoglienza turistica della città di Bergamo e del suo aeroporto Giugno Dicembre 2011 3

visits Bergamo finds città alta as the center of attraction, while only a small part visit the lower town and museums. Foreign tourists are more interested in discovering Bergamo as a whole, on the contrary Italians limit their visit to a walk in the upper town. Considering the previous data only a small amount of the tourists that reach Bergamo will be visiting a town of the province, and those who will do it are mainly foreigners. Tourists affirm that Bergamo is a clean town and they are satisfied with the information and services offered to them, on the contrary they point out problems the transportation service, especially concerning taxis and parking facilities. Another weak point that tourists have found regards the shops whose opening times are not compatible with tourists needs. Although tourists mainly use Ryanair and other low cost companies to reach the city they spend much money. Among the items they buy more frequently there are: food, typical products, postcards, souvenirs and clothing; with a daily expenditure of about 117, business tourists are more keen on spending than leisure tourists; and Italian tourists spend more than foreigners. Another consideration has to be done on Italian tourists, who come to Bergamo because of work or to visit friends and relatives; for them the city has a low level of attraction, because it is perceived only as an industrial city. The typical tourist is familiar with technology, since for instance employs it to book both the hotel and the flight.; therefore web reputation plays a fundamental role in tourism, and the opinions of guests are very much valued. Only a minority of tourists that turns to Turismo Bergamo and IAT offices is interested in the surrounding territories; the most requested information concerns Bergamo s cultural attractions and Milan. Business Tourism constitutes a major motivation in choosing to pay a visit to Bergamo. Business tourists mainly come alone or in couples and want to visit the main tourist attractions, although are less tolerant than leisure tourists when services do not work properly. The overall perception of Bergamo is of a city with a great cultural potential, but also very attractive in terms of productivity. 4

PROMOTION The promotion of Bergamo and of its territory is the main goal of Turismo Bergamo. Many actions and activities have been undertaken to enhance tourism, and to improve the image of the city as an attractive destination. What is pointed out from the data on tourism is that Bergamo is now becoming the center of attraction for people, it is turning into a destination rather than into a place of passage. And this is a positive consideration for tourism. On the other hand what we remark is that this change is not due to the promotion undertaken by Turismo Bergamo (if not in a small part) but it is the result of a word-of-mouth and of course, of a word of mouse. Web reputation is becoming more and more important both to establish the image of a destination and as promotional means. Only a limited number of tourists who visit Bergamo affirms this is the consequence of promotional campaigns and activities, this datum is fundamental and we should think over it. Turismo Bergamo is engaged into many promotional activities; the main ones are the publication of a free reviews dedicated to tourists, where every activity and event that can be performed on the territory can be found. The reviews are available in Turismo Bergamo s offices, other than in certain airports interested by Ryanair. Turismo Bergamo actively collaborates with the review Avion,that is the one of Orio a Serio International Airport. Its collaboration for the review includes some articles about the territory, attraction, the city etc Moreover photos and articles of the city have been distributed in some European airports such as: Nantes, Lodz. Conventions are organized in the city; for instance Bergamo hosted a medical meeting last April. Turismo Bergamo also supports some activities and festivals like: into the music, Festival dell ambiente etc Another important means of promotion is the one of inviting foreign journalists in Bergamo to describe and talk about the city, describing the city in international programs. 5

ITINERARIES Many itineraries have been developed by Turismo Bergamo and this underlines the many activities that can be performed in Bergamo and in its surrounding areas, unfortunately not all the tourists are aware of them. Moreover some of them are not fully or completely developed, for instance the itinerary of flavors is not about typical products, but it deals with landscapes. Directions are not precise and tourists may get confused. Not much emphasis is given to itineraries, therefore their potential is not fully exploited. Only those tourists who remain for more than a day ask for surrounding areas such as Crespi d Adda (whose potential is underdeveloped), lakes (especially Iseo and Como), but we are talking about single activities, not itineraries. Although some successful itineraries exist for instance Bergamo sotterranea (Underground Bergamo) and Bergamo dall alto (Bergamo from above). The majority of tourists asks for Città alta and its museums. This lack of knowledge is testified by the fact that in the last semester of 2011 only 1.7% asked for itineraries. If tourists were more aware of what the city and the surrounding areas can offer them, they might decide to prolong their stay, and remain in the city for longer periods. EVENTS Tourists who rely on IAT offices and TURISMO BERGAMO ask for events (4.4%) and activities that can be done in the city, especially in the evenings. Cultural leisure tourists are interested in cultural events and activities such as: exhibitions, festivals, conventions, events connected to arts and environment. Whereas non-cultural tourists hope for a dynamic city, that offer events where they can relax and enjoy themselves. Bergamo organizes different successful events that attract both day trippers and tourists such as International Organ Festival, Bergamo Musica Festival and of course Bergamo Scienza. Events are promoted on traditional channels, but also on leaflets and brochures freely distributed to tourists. Moreover events could constitute an important attraction, especially to attract those target of population that are still not much interested in discovering Bergamo. Events can be a source of attraction for young people, not only events for fun but also some that enhance 6

creativity and careers opportunity. What is missing here, is a series of events that can appeal a younger target of the population. WHAT COULD WE DO TO CHANGE THINGS? As previously underlined, only a small percentage of tourists comes to Bergamo because of the promotional activities that have been undertaken. Fortunately, tourists come to Bergamo thanks to the word-of- mouth, but this fact does not erase that there is a problem with the promotion of the city. A smart tourist promotion can be done by actively involving citizens in the promotion of their city; they must be aware of the beauties that surround them and they, more than everyone else, have to learn and appreciate them. By doing so they will become the first vehicle of promotion of Bergamo, and at the same time they will become the city s prime guardians. Moreover the employment of Information and Communication Technologies can be enhanced for instance by using augmented reality in monuments and museums or by creating a business to business platform with other cities(that have some similar features that Bergamo has, such as dimension, population, climate etc ).This platform may help to share experiences, be aware of best practices, and it can work means of indirect promotion of Bergamo, because it could help in the establishment of partnerships. Information and Communication technologies should be used and enhanced and a greater focus on the interaction with tourists is fundamental. An effective promotion of Bergamo should be based on consumers, not on business to business relationships only. The typical Bergamo tourist is not new to the usage of technologies( employed also for booking flight and hotel) therefore promotion should exploit and enhance this feature. Statistics have emphasized the presence and the role of foreign tourists, but at the same time they have pointed out that Italian tourists are not much interested in staying in Bergamo and visiting the city for more than a day or two; the other category where tourism is weak in Bergamo is: families, therefore a smart promotion can operate towards these targets by adding new itineraries for families, and some special ones for children. Another important thing that needs to be done in order to create a smart promotion of the city is to improve Bergamo s web reputation. As far as itineraries are concerned, it is a pity that they are not so well advertised and developed, because they could constitute a motivation for tourists to prolong their stay in Bergamo. In a smart city attention to the environment is crucial, hence new or improved 7

itineraries should be based on it and should raise the awareness of the impact that tourists have upon attractions and environment. Sustainable itineraries are important, we can focus on the so-called soft mobility that means that type of mobility designed to reduce the impact on the environment and of greenhouse gases. Itineraries can be enhanced through the creation of packages, especially eco-friendly and eco-sustainable, that can exploit bike-sharing for strolling around Bergamo. Regarding the lack of events that can attract young people, and the absence of places that can host these events. We can think of the requalification of abandoned buildings, that can be restored to include pubs, cinemas and clubs, and at the same time are sound-proof so in this way they will not be of any trouble for the population. 8