This article is published on the number 30-31 of Vanity Fair on newsstands until August 1, 2023
«A few days ago, a guest called us at the hotel, she was furious because she couldn’t land the plane in Naples. The flight is private, but there’s no place, she can’t find the slot and asks us to solve the problem for her ».
The scene can sound a bit Succession, certainly not by everyone, but it says a lot about the Italian summer 2023. Ori Kafri, co-founder of the JK Place hotels, small and luxurious style hotels, tells me about it home-like atmosphere (in Rome, Capri, Paris and soon Milan) and a great connoisseur of the mechanisms of Italian tourism. “I told her that there is a solution: the direct Easyjet flight almost knocked me off the phone”. But it’s not just private jets, targeted for their environmental impact, that want to land in Italy. And they come more and more from the United States.
In less than a year, US routes to Italian airports have doubled, and Americans are in first place: 26% of those flying to Italy from abroad are currently American. They are the protagonists of the great boom, which began last year after the deserts of the pandemic, but only really took off this year.
To give us an idea of the numbers: + 42% of foreigners so far compared to 2022, almost 90% recovery compared to the fateful 2019. Americans, always high-spending, much loved in the sector not only for the tip (they also keep it knowing the European concept of service included) and not offended by the social appeal «Please, no cappuccino after 12 pm», which has gone viral, in reality they are involuntarily co-responsible for the rise in hotel rates, which is now evident for hotels of all categories. «The phenomenon started with them during the pandemic», explains Ori Kafri, «for the first time they made many domestic holidays and American hotels, for example in Miami but almost everywhere, multiplied the prices by 2, 5, even 7 times. The whole market then aligned itself».
In Capri, the summer front of boats and yachts changes the panorama
Francesco BoninoYet the classic American stereotype seems destined to disappear. For those arriving now, it is often not the first time in Italy. «With the Americans we are reaching unprecedented levels of presence», confirms Patrizia Hofer, manager of the St. Regis hotel in Venice. «Yes, they are no longer ‘postcard’, they no longer go to San Marco in the midst of the confusion, they leave by boat with the chef to pick the artichokes on the island of Sant’Erasmo, then they come back and cook, happiness». And have the hotels changed? “Something adapts to this Instagram world, more details, such as a more flowery tree, or a different welcome, because it is clear that now photos are published all the time: it is organic marketing”.
Social networks are also strong in Florence, but thousands of people are no longer stationed on the Ponte Vecchio or in Piazza della Signoria spying on the genitals of David as if on a class trip. The tours have become more refined. At the Belmond Villa San Michele hotel in Fiesole, Italian excellence wins, with itineraries where you can meet artisans such as the hatter Gatto, who doesn’t even have a sign but makes hats for English aristocrats. «Now we stay more days, but we do fewer things, but better, in a word we try to grasp what we Italians have invented: the holiday».
But doesn’t the «Dolce far niente», a disused phrase very popular abroad, not risk being dominated by cities and islands so congested that you can’t even walk, abandoned by residents and students as happens in Venice? «Even in Florence it is a serious problem. If they become cities where no one lives anymore, the identity is lost, and so is our charm», says Sofia Peluso, the General Manager of Villa San Michele. The biggest fault, everyone agrees, is unregulated short-term rentals. “But it won’t be solved easily: it’s too unpopular for politics to really get their hands on it,” says Kafri.
Our last stop in Italy for foreigners is also the most sought-after destination after Rome: Lake Como. «There is euphoria, tourism is growing everywhere, everyone wants to travel much more, in an exaggerated way, and interest has shifted from material things to experiences: trying to experience something beautiful and happy has even more value than before», says Valentina De Santis, «Best Hotelier of the Year 2022» and owner of the legendary Grand Hotel Tremezzo and the boutique villa Passalacqua. Felice is certainly a fan of the Tremezzo restaurant, the American par excellence: George Clooney has just arrived in Laglio. The Italian summer can now begin.
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Source: Vanity Fair

I’m Susan Karen, a professional writer and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in Entertainment news, writing stories that keep readers informed on all the latest developments in the industry. With over five years of experience in creating engaging content and copywriting for various media outlets, I have grown to become an invaluable asset to any team.