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In October, I attended the Italian travel industry trade show TTGIncontri for the second year in a row. Basically it\u2019s an exposition about the size of three football stadiums filled with travel brands and travel destinations from around the world. Companies and tourist boards all congregate for three days in Rimini to convince wholesale buyers to send retail clients their way.<\/p>\n
Associated with this event is Travel Blogger Destination Italy (TBDI), a forum for connecting digital media influencers with travel brands in Italy and beyond. This year, I was fortunate enough to be one of the (English) speakers, along with blogger superstar Melvin from Travel Dudes and photographer\/filmmaker extraordinaire Andy from Torch Studios.<\/p>\n
My talk was about podcasting. If you want to see the Power Point slides from my presentation, they are available on SlideShare via LinkedIn, entitled, \u201cPodcasting for Travel Bloggers<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n Speaking my podcast, one of the fun methods that I\u2019ve been experimenting with lately is live interviews. You may have listened to my Rome Expat Series recently. Well, today I\u2019m sharing a collection of short interviews with Italy-based travel brands and destinations that I talked to while in Rimini. I hope that you will enjoy them, and perhaps you might get some ideas to inspire your next trip to Italy. In fact, most of these are destinations that I\u2019ve never been to myself, so that\u2019s what prompted me to select these particular individuals.<\/p>\n The theme that runs through this episode is summed up in the question that I posed to several of these people: \u201cAfter someone\u2019s first trip to Italy in which they visited Rome, Florence, and Venice, what should the curious travel plan for their second or third visit?\u201d<\/p>\n Let me briefly introduce them to you. Salvatore<\/strong> \u2013 Costa D\u2019Amalfi Lemon Tour<\/a> These guys were the best! During the \u201cMeet Your Blogger Day,\u201d they had a stand in our area offering mozzarella di buffala, cured meats, and yes, limoncello at 11:00 in the morning. We wouldn\u2019t have survived without them!!<\/p>\n Alberto<\/strong> \u2013 Incoming Liguria<\/a> and Costa Edutainment \u00a0It was great to talk to Alberto about a tourist itinerary in Genova on the eve of Columbus Day. The famous explorer\u2019s hometown is at the top of my list for my next visit to the North. And they have three new “puppies” at their aquarium: a dolphin, a shark, and a manatee.<\/p>\n Claudia<\/strong> \u2013 Friuli Venezia Giulia\/PromoTrieste and Grotta Gigante<\/a> \u00a0This area is really appealing to me. It\u2019s actually a mix of Italian, Austrian, and Slovenian culture, located very close to the Croatian coast. I haven\u2019t been yet, but I have a feeling that when I do go, it won\u2019t really seem like the areas of Italy that I\u2019m already familiar with.<\/p>\n Annalisa<\/strong> \u2013 Italian Stories<\/a> I like the idea of knowing a destination through the lives of real people who live there. This company provides hands-on experiences with local artisans who are keeping their craft alive in the 21st<\/sup> century. You can spend a day with a violin maker, a sculptor, a potter, a lace maker. You get the point.<\/p>\n Anna<\/strong> \u2013 TrentinoMarketing Again, another area that I haven\u2019t been to yet. It\u2019s known to be a good area for snow skiing and other winter sports. Although I\u2019m not a big cold weather fan in general, I do love to visit <\/em>snowy destinations for a long weekend getaway. This could be my next one!<\/p>\n Ruth<\/strong> \u2013 Turismo Le Marche It\u2019s hard to believe that I\u2019ve missed Le Marche up to now, given its proximity to Rome. I like what Ruth had to say about her area, \u201cIt\u2019s all of Italy in one region.\u201d When I thought about it, she\u2019s right. You\u2019ve got the mountains, the sea, culturally rich cities, charming villages, and a great centralized location. Have you<\/em> been there yet?<\/p>\n Valeria<\/strong> \u2013 Exclusive Cruises\/Amalfi Boat Tours. While I\u2019ve been to the Amalfi Coast, I have NOT toured the area by luxury boat. This seems like everyone\u2019s dream of idyllic Italy. I know it\u2019s mine. Besides the unique views of the coastline from the water, you can also access some of the famous grottos, snorkel, and see native marine life. Then when you\u2019re hungry, the captain can pull into a small harbor town where you can find a fresh seafood lunch. Who\u2019s in?<\/p>\n Samanta<\/strong> \u2013 Alpine Dream Travel<\/a> Lake Como\/Activity Breaks. Samanta and her company offer a variety of activities for active travelers. For example, they do a lot of skiing vacations in the winter. But also city breaks, hiking, spas, and concerts. The idea is that you don\u2019t have to just be a sightseer. You can do<\/em> things that will make your vacation even more memorable.<\/p>\n Well, I hope you enjoy this whirlwind tour with these Italian travel industry insiders. Look them up when booking your next trip to Italy.<\/p>\n Lastly, I apologize ahead of time for the poor audio quality. I did my best to clean it up with some filters, but the venue was tough and I didn\u2019t have my earbuds with me, so I couldn\u2019t monitor the conversation. Still, you can hear what they had to say, and get a little peek into the minds of people who sell us our travel dreams.<\/p>\n Click the link to check out other episodes and see my list of the <\/span>best podcasts about Italy<\/b><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\nItalian Travel Industry Stories<\/h2>\n
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NOBODY<\/strong> \u2013 Vatican Museums: You\u2019ll notice that there\u2019s no link here. Well, it\u2019s because the Vatican Museums didn\u2019t want to talk to me. I wanted to ask about any special preparations for the upcoming Jubilee. All\u00a0I got was a dismissive shrug. I realize that they don’t need Rick Zullo to help promote the event, but would kill them to at least be polite about it?<\/p>\n![\"chianti2\"](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/chianti2-300x220.jpg\")
<\/a>Anna<\/strong> \u2013 CoolTours<\/a> \u00a0Anna is a friend of mine who is private driver\/guide in Tuscany. By chance, we ran into each other on the enormous expo floor and chatted a few minutes about her tours throughout that enchanting land of Chianti and Val d’Orcia.<\/p>\n![\"Not](\"https:\/\/rickzullo.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/exclusivecruises_amalfi31-300x200.jpg\")
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