Florence project for tourism 'invasion'

(ANSA) - Rome, December 7 - Florence Mayor Dario Nardella has presented the "Destination Florence" project at the recent Buy Tourism Online (BTO) online tourism expo, explaining that it was a response "against the daily invasion, against quick pass-through tourism; now we have moved on to the facts".
    The project, which was developed by the Destination Florence Convention and Visitors Bureau in partnership with the City of Florence, aims to monitor tourist flows, diversify offerings, and improve strategies.
    German art historian Eike Schmidt, the director of the city's Uffizi Gallery, said his museum will have seasonal prices starting on March 1, which will be higher in the summer and lower in the winter.
    Schmidt said museum admission prices "can be an extremely useful tool to help congestion in cities such as Florence, Venice, and Rome during the summer; it would therefore be a big shame to throw away this tool and not use it".
    The Destination Florence platform uses a technological system that is able to monitor the number of tourists present, tourism usage, and hours in which tourist venues are most crowded. It provides detailed information regarding where tourists come from and their habits, in order to identify new ways for booking at the large museums, as well as regulating prices based on seasonal flows and demand, and the interest of returning tourists".
    Nardella said that it's necessary "to focus on quality and sustainability, managing flows and accompanying them in places that aren't always the usual ones, and to focus on civilization, because tourism is civilization".