ITALIAN travel agency Mappamondo has intensified its efforts to attract more tourists from South-east Asia to visit Italy as a mono destination by appointing a Kuala Lumpur-based marketing representative, Barbara Sette, since February.
The company has already introduced pilgrim tours targeted at Christians from Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. Last month, these outbound tours were extended to Indonesia’s top consultants and pilgrimage agencies through a roadshow in Jakarta, according to Sette, who is also managing director of Sette Reps.
She added: “We have received requests after the roadshow in Indonesia while from other markets such as Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, we operate ad hoc groups. Italy is a must-see destination for Christian pilgrims and the interest is obviously big.
“An interesting route we operate is Rome, Cascia, Assisi, Siena, Florence, Pavia, Padua and Venice. This is one of our popular itineraries that can be done in 11 days/10 nights.”
In early 2015, Mappamondo will introduce halal tours targeted at the Muslim markets from Malaysia and Indonesia, said Andrea Mele, the company’s president & managing director. These tailor-made tours will cover Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome, focusing on the Islamic attractions, cultures and local communities living in Italy.
Mappamondo, which has been doing outbound tours from Italy to South-east Asia for the last 30 years, has diversified into the inbound market from South-east Asia to Italy in the last four years, added Mele.
