Local tourism businesses in central Italy have complained about the disastrous effect of the recent earthquake. Many accommodation facilities expect low occupancy rate during the coming Easter holiday. Bookings are at stake in “green” accommodation facilities in Marche, Umria, Abruzzo and Lazio.
During Easter and Easter Monday, accommodation facilities in Marche, Umbria, Abruzzo and Lazio are likely to record lower numbers of guests due to the earthquake in central Italy. Many tourists are scared by the infinite earthquake that still rocks the Amatrice region.
Local tourism inflow into the region has decreased by as much as 50%. That much, despite the fact that most of the 3,852 farms are located in areas far from the center of the earthquake. Just before the earthquake, “green” tourism generated an annual turnover of 173 million euro in the region. Now, despite 95% of the structures being in perfect working order, there is a period of massive decline.
“The revival of local tourism in central Italy also depends on farms and farmhouses that are critical to ensure the tightness of the socio-economic base of these parts of the country, especially in the internal areas. For this, the organization asks the institutions to promote a public awareness campaign to bring people in the regions affected by the earthquake and revive rural tourism. This should be done not only by advertising, but also through incentives such as tax reliefs and ‘family discounts’,” Turismo Verde, the agritourism association of Italian farmers, said during their National Assembly.
The numbers are dramatic. There are 2450 agritourism facilities in the affected provinces. The earthquake has caused losses in the revenues reaching 33 million euro. It is even worse for the farms located close to the center of the earthquake. 655 companies counted losses amounting to 12 million euro since August 24 until now.