CASTELLANA CAVES: WELCOME TO PUGLIA
The Castellana karst site was the focus of the conference held on September 13th at the Fiera del Levante. The results of the tourism promotion strategy implemented by the company over the past three years were described as a virtuous example from which to draw inspiration.
Castellana Grotte, September 16, 2016 The Grotte di Castellana srl company, and its virtuous example of tourism promotion, were the protagonists of the conference presenting the "Welcome to Puglia" project. This initiative aims to promote the Puglia brand, of which the Apulian karst site is an undisputed benchmark, in the national media. The meeting took place on Tuesday, September 13th at the New Congress Center of the Fiera del Levante in Bari, attended by numerous representatives of the regional and national press and television.
The conference, moderated by Videonews director Claudio Brachino, featured speakers including Domi Ciliberti, president of the Castellana Caves, Michele Emiliano, president of the Puglia Region, regional councilors Loredana Capone and Leonardo Di Gioia, Gianfranco Lopane, mayor of Laterza, and Giuseppe Colafati, president of the SAC "Serre Salentine."
During his speech, President Ciliberti focused on the communication strategies of "Hidden Puglia." Grotte srl's tourism promotion model was presented at the conference and, given the results achieved in recent years, has been dubbed a "virtuous model." To name just one example, the increase in tourism from visitors to Grotte alone has increased approximately 50% from January 2013 to today.Our action was aimed at creating a network with the local excellences – Ciliberti highlighted I'm referring, for example, to the sharing of exhibition spaces with the Trulli of Alberobello, the prestigious partnership with Il Libro Possibile in Polignano a Mare, the one with the Putignano Carnival Foundation, and, recently, the one with the De Chirico exhibition with the municipality of Conversano. To these, let's add some of broader commercial scope, such as the one with Alitalia, the Italian Touring Club, IKEA, and many others. One of our main goals is to act as a driving force for the entire region, including through the Trulli-Grotto-Sea journey. The shared effort, in our opinion, must be to move beyond individualistic approaches and consider our neighbors as allies, as valuable assets, rather than competitors.“, a statement which earned the compliments of the deputy director of Tg3, Giuliano Giubilei, who defined the Caves as a “model from which to draw inspiration”. Finally, President Domi Ciliberti recalled how in recent years "we have managed to extend the Grotte brand from that of a mere naturalistic heritage to an artistic, cultural and musical container"Just think of Hell in the Cave, the performance of Dante's Inferno on the Grave stage; Speleonight, which transforms a cave visit into a new sensory and emotional experience; and the cultural events and concerts that have brought national and international guests to the cave in recent years. Many more new features are planned for the near future, with surprises that will undoubtedly once again bring the Castellana Caves to the forefront of the national media, which is also the primary objective of the "Welcome to Puglia" project.
During the conference, the regional councillor for tourism Loredana Capone spoke of Puglia as “rough diamond"highlighting the positive trend that continues to be recorded in tourist presences"thanks to the joint efforts of Apulian operators and institutions".
Michele Emiliano concluded the meeting by underlining the need to focus on tourism to achieve the success of the entire Apulian economy, recalling that "tourism is the way we intend to present ourselves to the world" and therefore "the way we also want to sell everything else that Puglia can offer in terms of business".
Press Office Grotte di Castellana Srl
Serena Greco Mobile. +39 348 7649373
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