ITALY Market Profile. Over $1bn Potential to be worth by ,000. $0.5bn. 5.4m. Overview. Aviation routes from Italy to Australia 3

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Jasmin Daniel
7 years ago
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1 Market Profile Overview In 214, Italy was Australia s 18th largest inbound market for visitor arrivals, 17th largest market for total visitor expenditure and 13th for visitor nights. Over $1bn Potential to be worth by 22 Aviation routes from Italy to Australia 3 London Italy Milan Frankfurt Venice Rome Dubai Abu Dhabi Hong Kong 74, 1 Visitor arrivals (á 4 per cent) $.5bn 2 Total spend (á 4 per cent) Singapore 5.4m 2 Visitor nights (â 3 per cent) Which airlines 3 do Italian visitors use to travel to Australia? Sep-Feb Booking peak period 4 Airline Emirates 36% 37% 39% 37% 35% Qantas Airways 18% 16% 13% 12% 1% Etihad 6% 5% 5% 9% 9% Singapore Airlines 7% 8% 9% 6% 8% Qatar Airways 3% 3% 4% 8% 7% Cathay Pacific 7% 7% 6% 4% 4% Jetstar 4% 4% 4% 3% 4% Virgin Australia 2% 3% 4% 4% 3% Other 18% 19% 16% 18% 2% Total 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% Jul-Aug and Dec Travel peak period 1. Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection as at year ending December Source: International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia, December 214 quarter 3. Source: CAPA-Centre for Aviation, Tourism Australia analysis 4. Table includes direct and indirect capacity. Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection Visitor profile 2 HOLIDAY VISITING FRIENDS AND RELATIVES BUSINESS 29,3 arrivals (47%*) 12,4 arrivals (2%*) 8,5 arrivals (14%*) $7,42 spend per trip $3,743 spend per trip $4,993 spend per trip $112 spend per night $93 spend per night $245 spend per night 25% repeat visitors 63% repeat visitors 58% repeat visitors Data refers to an average of * Refers to share of arrivals of respective purpose of visit 1 ITALY Market Profile 215

2 Market Performance The charts on this page provide a trend overview of visitor arrivals and expenditure by main purpose of visit and also the age demographic split of leisure* visitors and expenditure (based on latest 12 months data). Visitor arrivals Visitor arrivals by main purpose of visit Visitor arrivals (s) , Visitor arrivals (s) Holiday Visiting friends or relatives Business Employment Other Education Visitor expenditure Visitor expenditure by main purpose of visit.6 $.5bn 3 Total trip spend ($bn) Total trip spend (A$s) Holiday Education Employment Visiting friends or relatives Business Other Arrivals by age Expenditure by age yrs 18% 6 yrs & over 8% 6 yrs & over 5% yrs 12% 3 44 yrs 33% yrs 41% 3 44 yrs 33% yrs 5% * Leisure refers to main purpose of visit of holiday and visiting friends and relatives Age profile data refers to an average of Source: Department of Immigration and Border Protection International Visitor Survey, Tourism Research Australia 2 ITALY Market Profile 215

3 Aviation Landscape The Italy-Australia routes remains highly competitive with a number of airlines offering a range of different routes and airfares to all Australian cities. In recent years there has been relatively minimal growth but record growth is expected in 215 which will stimulate cheaper fares. This growth is driven by Alitalia and Etihad as well as additional services from Emirates and Qatar Airways. Growth will also continue to focus on Rome and Milan (rather than smaller Italian cities). Singapore Airlines will launch a new route to Cairns (end May). Over one third of Italian visitors to Australia travelled on Emirates, with Qantas being the next most utilised airline (1 per cent), followed by Etihad (nine per cent), Singapore Airlines (8 per cent) and Qatar Airways (7 per cent). Qantas share has been declining in recent years while Etihad s increasing (see chart page 1). Alitalia is the national flag carrier for Italy and Etihad recently acquired a 49 per cent stake in the airline. The airline announced a new strategy in January 215 which will see the airline add significant services to Abu Dhabi (Etihad s hub) and a few extra services to Asia (Korea, China and Japan), Europe and America. Korean Air has subsequently increased its presence in Italy. AIitalia s strategy aims to return the airline to profit in 217. While the airline is unlikely to resume services to Australia, its partnership with Etihad will continue to improve access to Italy alongside Etihad s partnership with Virgin Australia improving access to Australia.»» There is a distinct seasonality pattern with Italian tourists, with peaks during European summer months, particularly around school holidays as well as Australian summer months. 3 ITALY Market Profile 215

4 The online environment plays a key role in Italy for destination selection and planning. Consumers under 3 years of age are increasingly using online channels for bookings, especially for flights. However, traditional operators remain the main booking channel for the leisure market and special interest travel such as honeymoons. system Wholesalers/ Large Agents Commission Level: 12% to 18% The majority produce brochures on Australia combined with New Zealand and Pacific Islands. These operators sell their products through travel agencies and most of them also own travel agency networks or have significant shares in these networks. The honeymoon segment is key for these operators, representing between 65 to 8 per cent of their total business to Australia. Consolidations and mergers are heavily impacting the biggest players in the market. Special Interest Special interest segments out of the Italian market include youth, honeymoon and luxury. Honeymoon is one of the main segments for special interest tour operators, which are particularly active in their marketing. It s common that some travel agencies with a tour operator licence sell destinations upon request, buying directly from inbound tour operators (ITOs). The youth segment is performing very well, however the traffic is not directly driven by specialist operators. A number of operators selling language courses have recorded good growth for Australia, whereas Working Holiday Visa Makers (WHVM) often plan and book directly online. Retail Agents Commission Level: 6% to 12% Retail agencies are very influential in Italy, managing much of the distribution. There are approximately 1, travel agencies in Italy. They are spread throughout the market with over 7 per cent concentrated in central and northern Italy. Travel agency networks represent about 8 per cent of total agencies. There are 9 main travel agency networks. Of these the top five are: > > Welcome Travel Group and Group Geo Travel Network with 2,6 travel agencies together > > Uvet ITN with 1,3 travel agencies Open Travel Network with 658 travel agencies > > Gattinoni & G4 travel network with 65 travel agencies Online Commission Level: 6% to 12% Over 65 per cent of Italian families (14.5 million) have a computer with web access. Nearly 7 per cent of the connected families access the internet through a broadband connection million Italians access the internet via mobile phones and 2.4 million Italians access the internet via tablet devices. Aussie Specialists The Aussie Specialist Program (ASP) is the primary platform for Tourism Australia to train and develop front line travel sellers to best sell Australia. As at 1 May 215, there were 637 qualified Aussie Specialist and 237 in training. Inbound Tour Operators Commission level up to 3%»» Inbound tour operators (ITOs) form a key part of the distribution chain in Italy, linked with Italian wholesalers that run Australian programs. 4 ITALY Market Profile 215

5 Trends Young consumers, especially WHVM, are increasingly booking direct with airlines and product. The Italian online travel agency (OTA) market remains somewhat fragmented, with global players maintaining a significant share. Tour operators are still key distributors for honeymoons, with online channels used mostly as a research tool. Planning and purchasing travel Italian consumers are searching for value deals, particularly via online channels. Internet transactions for travel continued to grow in Italy and increased in total travel sales share. Traditional retail agencies remain an important channel for long haul, complex destinations such as Australia. Retail agents also remain a vital source of information alongside travel guides for Italian consumers. Planning a visit to market Top tips for sales calls Make sure you know the product and positioning of a tour operator before meeting with them. Product managers expect your products to be relevant to their clientele. An average sales call with a product manager should last between 45 to 6 minutes. The best time for sales calls is January to May and October to early December. The key market centres to visit are Turin, Milan and Rome but specialised operators are spread throughout the market. For more general information on sales calls and planning a visit to market, please see Tourism Australia s Planning for Inbound Success ebook at inboundsuccess. Key trade and consumer events in 215 and 216 Event Location Date TTG Incontri Rimini, Italy 8-1 October 215 BIT Milano, Italy February 216 European Product Workshop (EPW) London, UK April 216 Australian Tourism Exchange (ATE) Gold Coast, Australia May 216 (TBC) Where to find more information Tourism Australia s activities in Italy are managed from its Frankfurt office and a representative office in Milan. For more information visit Tourism Australia s corporate website at Australian State and Territory Tourism Organisations operating in Italy include Destination NSW, South Australian Tourism Commission, Tourism and Events Queensland, Tourism Victoria, and Tourism NT. Also see: Italy Country Brief published by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade at: For the latest arrivals statistics, visit: For the latest International Visitor Survey statistics, visit: 5 ITALY Market Profile 215

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