Articolo disponibile anche in: Italian

Visitors to the Chianti hills have the following things in common: travel by couple or with the family, use of their own car, the love of discovering the territory’s culture, purchasing typical local food products, use of the web to reserve a dream vacation in Chianti.

According to data collected by the Towns of Barberino, Greve, San Casciano and Tavarnelle, the tourist continues to choose the Chianti region, brand affirmed in international markets. They are attracted to the richness of the area, its various environmental resources, its excellent food and wine, its cultural, artistic and architectural heritage, and the quality of life.

More than 80 per cent of tourists are foreign, groups are few, and the purchase of typical products is wide. The median expense per person is above 100 Euros per day and 500 Euros is the median per person expense for a voyage to Chianti. Most of the tourists arrive between March and October, and many book on the web.

The town of Greve is one of the most popular on the virtual market with the highest number of offerings. Says the Tourist Assessor of Greve, Gionni Pruneti: “I confirm the great vitality of our businesses, which try to meet the contemporary needs of the digital tourist”.

To be noted is also the tendency to buy typical traditional Chianti products. The Town of Tavarnelle has created a vast project to try and increase the potential of local production. “We shouldn’t limit ourselves to promoting the quality of a product,” adds the vice-Mayor of Tavarnelle, Davide Venturini. “It is fundamental to sell the history of the product, what is behind its birth and development: the tradition, artisanship, the roots of our land…are all precious values which make our territory unique. Chianti needs to be able to transmit and communicate its deep essence, corresponding to its exterior beauty”.

The Vice-Mayor of Tavarnelle also wans to work on the Internet and on English translations: “The rich historic-artistic and typical local production which enriches Tavarnelle, needs to be made available to foreigners through information which focuses on the heritage of our area in digital form and which offers a viable translation in English”.

For the Assessor of San Casciano, Roberto Ciappi, working as a team in areas like Chianti is fundamental, especially in the sector which promotes the territory and increases its appeal on the international market: “In Chianti, the percentage of the market consisting of foreigners is more than 85 % for those who desire a rural vacation and wish to rediscover traditions and rhythms at a human pace. This is done through experimenting and sharing a culture and discovering a different way of living in our territory. This might be the key to making Chianti international”.

From the town of Barberino Val d’Elsa, the Assessor, Cristina Pratesi, expresses the desire to improve the tourists’ stay. Her objective is to increase the stay in Chianti, which today is between 3 and 4 days. “The average Chianti tourist”, notes Pratesi, “remains only for a few days. We need to work on this aspect  by sharing the promotion of the area with the town Union and with other town administrations. Resources are countless. Three days may not be enough to appreciate and “taste” the Chianti region”.