KONA, Hawaii -- U.S. travelers represent the third-largest
international market for Sicily's tourism, following France and
Germany, officials at the U.S. Tour Operators Association annual
conference here said.
While Europeans tend to focus on Sicily's beaches and resorts,
U.S. visitors traditionally are Italian-Americans visiting
relatives or searching for their roots, they said.
According to Franz Pisciotta, director of the Palermo and
Monreale tourism office, hotels in Sicily reported 124,000
overnight stays by American travelers in the first six months of
1997 compared with 106,000 overnight stays in all of 1996. Of those
visitors, 80% booked organized tours, and the rest were FITs.
At a press conference here, Pisciotta reminded operators that
"Sicily has 3,000 years of culture and civilization," including
ruins dating to the Greek and Roman eras, and later architecture
influenced by Arabic and Baroque styles.
There are 40 U.S. tour operators that sell Sicily packages, and
many are featuring special-interest programs focusing on culture,
he said.
Sicilian tourist offices, working through the Italian Government
Tourist Board in the U.S., are eager to work with operators by
helping to fund promotional campaigns, said Pisciotta, who added
that such campaigns are expected to include fam trips for U.S.
agents.