Roots Tourism: Can it buoy Rome’s economy after COVID-19?

 

The themes of Roots Tourism are explored so as to be understood as a reverse migratory flow, which sees as possible protagonists the many Italian emigrants in the world, appear to be eager to visit their homeland of origin.

1. Over the past 160 years, many Italians have expatriated from small villages, driven by hunger and misery.
2. A technical roundtable was held and opened by Director-General for Italian Citizens Abroad and Migration Policies Luigi Maria Vignali.
3. Today, in a slightly different guise, researchers are stimulated by possible professional growth rather than managers with outstanding records looking for multinationals.

Speakers at the conference organized by Giovanni Maria De Vita, Councillor at the Italian Embassy; Loredana Capone, President of the Regional Council of the Puglia Region; Alessandra Zedda, Vice President of the Sardinia Region; Michele Schiavone, General Secretary of the General Council of Italian Expats (CGIE); Elena Di Raco for Enit; Felice Casucci, Councillor for Tourism for the Region Campania; Massimo Lucidi, General Secretary of the Italian Excellence Award; Sonia Ferrari for the University of Cosenza; Giuseppe Sommario, Catholic University of Milan; Fausto Orsomarso, Councillor for Tourism, Calabria Region; Manlio Messina, Councillor for Tourism Region of Sicily; Silvana Virgilio, Vice President of Asmef; and many others, representing bodies, regions, and sector associations were present.

“Poor” emigration is not extinct

This all must be considered in the current context, where the pandemic does not allow travel and does not help those who want to emigrate. There are 5,600,000 Italians registered with Aire (Register of Italians Resident Abroad) with around 70 million around the world that have Italian origins in the form of second or third generations.

The potential number of tourists is very large and deserves a recall campaign for the possible growth of tourist flows and to fuel the recovery of ancient villages, the object of attention and energy in the country.

The willingness to facilitate logistics comes from many mayors of the various Italian regions who make disused apartments available at the symbolic cost of one euro. Vittorio Sgarbi, Mayor of Salemi in Sicily, began this a few years ago. Today, more mayors have followed his idea in different territories such as Taranto, Ganci, Sassari, and other regions.