Tourism Industry Reacts to Post-9/11 Crisis at Ttg Incontri 2001
The stands featured at the Palafiere della Baltera this year number 600, with 800 exhibiting companies, and visitors are expected to be many more than last year, when all records were broken. Yet, among the stands at the 38th edition of Ttg Incontri, the tourism exchange fair inaugurated yesterday, few are truly rejoicing over these figures, which seem only superficially positive.
Impact of September 11 and Industry Reactions
The tragedy of September 11th has suddenly transformed the Rivano event—planned in detail long before that date—into a kind of major emergency “briefing.” Industry operators (especially those in outbound tourism, meaning those who organize trips abroad) have arrived and will arrive in droves (consider that the hotel facilities in our area are unable to meet all reservation requests for this weekend), to meet with colleagues, to understand what to do, how to move, how to emerge from an unprecedented crisis—more than to conduct business as in previous years.
A tangible sign of this was the incredible turnout at the “open forum” organized by Fiavet and held at 2:30 pm yesterday in the “Lorenzo Il Magnifico” hall, nearly simultaneous with the opening of the two-day Ttg Incontri event. An open debate (with numerous and interesting interventions from the audience) participated by leaders of various sector associations.
Reactions of Authorities and Event Atmosphere
The entire environment, in essence, is moving within a not exactly peaceful climate, and even the statements by various authorities—who a few minutes later, around 3 pm, took part in the inauguration ceremony, opened by Gianni Zontini, president of Palacongressi—could not avoid addressing this theme. While the provincial tourism assessor, Marco Benedetti, promised maximum attention and commitment to help the sector, the Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communications, Giancarlo Innocenzi, called on everyone to respond with a strong and positive reaction.
“We must not be afraid,” he said, “because that is exactly what those who committed these heinous acts want. The Mayor of New York, Rudolf Giuliani, stated that the time has come not only to live again but to actually have fun. In their desire to react, the United States,” Innocenzi concluded, “should serve as an example for us too.”
