Italian tourism is preparing to celebrate its excellence with the seventh edition of the Italian Tourism Awards, scheduled for December 2nd at the Teatro dell’Opera in Rome. The evening, renamed “The Night of Excellence”, will be hosted by Gabriella Carlucci and will bring the protagonists of the national tourism sector to the prestigious Roman stage.
The award is conceived and produced by Deborah Garlando, founder and CEO of MHR, in collaboration with Palmiro Noschese, strategic advisor for luxury hospitality, and Paolo Garlando, expert in tourism marketing and territorial networking. It will be Noschese who will lead the jury of this seventh edition, coordinating a group of prominent figures from the institutional world, hospitality, business, and communication.
Among the jurors are Gian Marco Centinaio, Vice President of the Senate, the Michelin-starred chef Carlo Cracco, and Veronica Berti Bocelli, Vice President of the Andrea Bocelli Foundation and CEO of the beach club Alpemare.
The hotel, business, and media sectors will be represented by Aldo Melpignano, managing director of Borgo Egnazia, Giuseppe De Martino, general manager of The St. Regis and Westin Excelsior Rome, Carmela Colaiacovo, CEO of Tourist Spa, a company that manages the Park Hotel ai Cappuccini in Gubbio, and Luca Pirolo, associate professor at Luiss Business School.
Completing the jury will be Andrea Delfini, founder and CEO of the Blastness group, the same Deborah Garlando, creator of the award, and Simona Tedesco, director of Dove and editorial director of multimedia projects at RCS MediaGroup.
The Italian Tourism Awards can count on the sponsorship of important institutions, including ENIT, the Municipality of Rome, and the Lazio Region, as well as the collaboration of numerous sponsors, partners, and technical partners.
There are 13 categories in competition and three special awards, aimed at enhancing the realities that contribute to the growth and innovation of the Italian tourism system.
«My passion for tourism – stated Deborah Garlando –è evident also for the great commitment made in organizing this award. It was born with the intent to give voice and a stage of excellence to those who, every day, build the value of our country system. I hope that the final evening is not just a celebration, but a true map of the tourism of the future».
For Palmiro Noschese,«Italy is not loved only for what it possesses, but for what it knows how to make live. Behind every memorable experience, there is a person capable of telling, welcoming, interpreting, and creating emotion. Human capital is our true work of art: protecting it, training it, and enhancing it means defending the future of Italian hospitality».
During the presentation conference, Gabriella Carlucci also emphasized the value of the initiative, highlighting how the Italian Tourism Awards are dedicated to those who make concrete the emotion that the world associates with Italy: «hospitality, beauty, authenticity, and excellence».
The competition sections range from Destinations to Hotels and Resorts, from New Forms of Hospitality to Catering and Cuisine, up to Spas, Wellness, Transport and Mobility, Events, and Travel in Italy. Among the novelties of this edition is the category dedicated to Travel Experiences, designed to enhance new ways of living and telling destinations.
Great attention will also be given to the Start Up, Innovation, and Sustainability categories, created to promote generational change and give visibility to new business models, emerging technologies, and solutions capable of responding to the new needs of travelers, with particular attention to inclusion, sustainability, and digital innovation.
Completing the picture is the international section Best International Tourism Award, dedicated to a foreign destination that has distinguished itself for the quality of its offer and capacity for innovation. During the final evening, the audience in the hall will also be a protagonist with the assignment of the Best Tourism Night Award, through an instant voting conducted via mobile devices.
The ceremony will conclude with the assignment of three prestigious special awards out of competition: the Man of Tourism, dedicated to the memory of Jean Marc Droulers, the Woman of Tourism, in memory of Elena David, and the title of Ambassador of Italian Tourism.
The Italian Tourism Awards are supported by leading companies and operators in the tourism and hospitality sector; among the partners is also BTM Italia, alongside other realities committed to promoting innovation and development in the tourism sector.
