There is a paradox in Venice. The city is a wonderful destination for incentive trips or small, prestigious conferences. Its superb 18th-century palaces, prestigious hotels - Bauer, Cipriani, Danieli or Palazzo Gritti, among others - and the romantic atmosphere of the historic city along its canals make Venice a unique place. Except that However, Venice remains on the fringes of the major conference destinations. According to the figures provided by theThe CICA in 2019, Venice ranked 74th in Europe with 21 international meetings and conferences. And in 143rd in the world. A rather...
There is a paradox in Venice. The city is a wonderful destination for incentive trips or small, prestigious conferences. Its superb 18th-century palaces, prestigious hotels - Bauer, Cipriani, Danieli or Palazzo Gritti, among others - and the romantic atmosphere of the historic city along its canals make Venice a unique place. Except that However, Venice remains on the fringes of the major conference destinations. According to the figures provided by theThe CICA in 2019, Venice ranked 74th in Europe with 21 international meetings and conferences. And in 143rd in the world. A rather mediocre result in Italy. Venice comes a long way behind Rome (rank 18 with 102 meetings), Milan (32/73). But it has also been overtaken by Florence and Naples (88/33), Bologna (110/27) or Turin (124/24).
The municipality therefore wants to step up its efforts in the MICE segment. All the more so as it corresponds to the repositioning of the City of the Doges, which wishes to fewer day visitors and more genuine tourists staying several nights. Contrary to popular belief, Venetian tourism is essentially based on day visitors.
Too much day-to-day tourism
In 2019, the last 'normal' year for tourism, the Serenissima welcomed 5.52 million tourists, generating almost 10 million overnight stays. On this figure, 4.7 million came from abroad, representing a market share of 86.7%. But the total number of visitors to the city is estimated at over 20 million a year. The remaining 14.5 million come from the surrounding area or from cruise ships. Cruise ships, for example, contribute 1.6 million visitors a year. But they spend very little in the city. According to one study, a cruise passenger leaves an average of 19 euros in Venice's coffers, a day visitor 5 euros...
" These tourists are contributing to the deterioration of the infrastructure and the saturation of the historic town.assures Simone Venturini, Deputy Mayor for Tourism. " We therefore need to limit the number of visitors to a minimum. And to raise the average length of stay to 3, 4 or even 5 nights. As opposed to just over two nights today, "he says.
It's a complex equation. Economically, Venice has long since been overtaken by other Italian cities. What remained to ensure the city's prosperity was tourism. Over the last 50 years, a monoculture of tourism has sprung up. A monoculture that pays off for the City of the Doges more than €3 billion a year. There's also culture. With its many foundations, a world-famous biennial, and a film festival every bit as renowned as those in Berlin or Cannes, Venice is in fact one of Europe's leading cultural destinations. But here again, it is heavily dependent on tourism.
The Lido, between cinema and nostalgia
Venice certainly wants to take steps to curb the number of day visitors to the city. For example, charging an entrance fee. But above all, Venice wants to attract more upmarket, revenue-generating tourism.
As well as positioning the city as the "Capital of the Arts", the city is looking to target new markets. First and foremost, there are designers and nomadic travellers. These are people with strong purchasing power who can help make Venice a livelier, more cosmopolitan city. Then there are investors attracted by an exceptional living environment - without cars. The city would like to attract four billion euros of investment. And contribute to the creation of 20,000 jobs and the arrival of 12,000 new residents..
The Lido is perfect for MICE activities. It offers venues for prestigious, multifunctional events, in particular with the Palazzo del Cinema conference centre and the Casino.
And then there's theMICE industry. In this segment, Venice certainly has a card to play. And it's called Le Lido. This island off the coast of the historic city is considered to be the seaside side of Venice. It forms a protective cordon for the lagoon with its 11 kilometres of coastline. In the 19th century, the Lido became a seaside resort with large hotels and spas. In fact, this is where the the Venice Film Festival and the activities of the Biennale every year.
" The Lido is perfect for MICE activities. It offers venues for prestigious, multifunctional events, in particular with the Palazzo del Cinema conference centre and the Casino. And one of Italy's finest 18-hole golf courses, "says Simone Venturini. " Combined, the Palazzo del Cinema and the Casino can accommodate over 3,000 people, "he adds.
According to the Deputy Mayor, there is a project to enhance the Lido beach where you'll find prestigious hotels such as the Ausonia Hungaria and the Excelsior, the casino and the congress centre. The city wants to spend €50 million on it by 2023. It also hopes to attract investors to renovate certain structures, such as old hotels that have fallen into disrepair along the beach. The former Grand Hôtel des Bains, for example, has been derelict for 10 years. In fact, it was used as a location for the film "Death in Venice". Quite a symbol!
