Marche tourism dives 36% in Oct

(ANSA) - Ancona, January 13 - The number of foreign visitors to the Marche region fell by 36% in October over the same month in 2015 as a result of the 6.0-magnitute earthquake in central Italy on August 24 that killed 298 people, farmers' association Coldiretti said Friday.
    The drop in tourists translated into a loss for the local hotel industry of 15 million euros.
    Overall 74,000 foreign tourists visited the Marche in October 2016, spending a total of 19 million euros according to Bank of Italy figures.
    The drop in tourism, which came amid further major quakes in central Italy including a 6.6-magnitude one on October 30, reversed a positive trend that had seen foreign visitor numbers in the first eight months of the year double over the same period in 2015.