Visit to the Local Tourism Board in Marina di Massa – 02/04/09

Welcoming by the Local Tourism Board president, Mr. Tarantino

Interview with Mr. Minuto , president of ConfTourist

How long is the tourist season?

It’s about 6 months long (from Easter to the end of September/beginning of October)

- What about peak and low season?

- Peak season is from the beginning of July to the end of August. -The other months (April, May, June, September, October)

represent low season.

What kind of tourists come (families, young, old, domestic, foreign)? How long do they stay?

- During the low season most of tourists are secondary school students (participating to school trips) and third age people. They mainly come from:

Germany, Austria and Nederlands. In the peak season most of holidaymakers are represented by Italian middle-

class people.

-On average such visitors stay three days

Why do they come? (For: seaside, mountain, lake, countryside, relaxation, art, nature, spa, other)

- Most visitors choose this area as they love seaside.

- Foreign students look for an accodomation here as a starting-point to see the marble quarries, the Cinqueterre and other Tuscan places (Lucca, 45

km; Pisa 45 km; Florence 110 km; Volterra, San Gimignano).

- Foreign individual tourists prefer the

seaside, the art towns and Cinqueterre.

Which are the main types of accommodation: hotels, houses/flats/residences, farm

holidays, hostels, camping sites?

A – houses, flats, residences and hotels (near the seaside)B- camping sites: the camping area at Partaccia (between Marina di Carrara and Marina di Massa) is one of the largest in Italy: it has approximately a 20,000-bed capacityC - hostels (the hostel Turimar has a 1,300-bed capacity)D – Farm holidays (mainly located in Lunigiana, the northern part of Massa-Carrara province)E – Holiday facilities belonging to: various Associations/Religious Orders/Public Authorities

Which are the favourite tourist spots?

Seaside

The quarries

Trekking trails on the Apuan Alps

The several Malaspina Castles

Carrara centre

Prof. Alberto Rappelli