Although the current situation is still quite complex, lots of people are starting to think about summer vacations: thanks to the projections of the Tourism Economics Observatory of the Chambers of Commerce of Isnart and Unioncamere – according to which 80% of the Italians interviewed said they wanted to plan a holiday for 2021, as soon as it becomes possible – we learn the first news about the summer tourism sector in Sicily.

The first news comes from Palermo Falcone e Borsellino Airport, which in addition to having expanded its routes with the inauguration of the Palermo-Amsterdam one with EasyJet, announces that it has activated rapid and reliable “second generation” antigen-tests in order to make airport prevention measures faster and more effective.

Interesting news also come from important Sicilian cities with tourist attractions such as Taormina, which is preparing to become the reference point for the Sicilian summer 2021: consistent with the health emergency, the calendar of events of the Ancient Theater is already being planned, among which are confirmed the TaoBook and the Taormina Film Festival. On the other hand, the intention is to make the Castle of Monte Tauro accessible again securing the path and with a new public lighting system.

In addition to travel and places of interest, there also some news regarding the hospitality sector, which seem to suggest that the protagonists of the summer will be apartments, B&Bs and guest houses, which can represent a more flexible and last minute vacation that, inevitably, will be the most popular during the next hot season.

Sicily, thanks to its characteristics, cultural and natural beauties will probably be among the protagonists of the second most unusual and particular summer of the contemporary era, with the hope of being able to enjoy its characteristics in tranquility and safety.

From the prospects regarding travel tendencies in 2021, Italy – as already happened last sommer – is expected to be the main destination for the travels of Italians, which during this last period have discovered, or rediscovered, its suggestive places and villages.

The desire to discover the most hidden corners of our country has also involved the most important international fashion houses, which have chosen Italy as sets of their advertising campaigns, selecting non-mainstream places really close to us.

The first case, more “close” to us in every sense, is the one of Dolce e Gabbana’s spot called Devotion: the fashion house returned to Sicily last summer to create a real short set in Villa Valguarnera near Bagheria , with Ennio Morricone’s music and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, who was born in Bagheria.

Another fashion brand that chose Italy and the Italian excellence in the movie sector is Dior with its “Il Castello dei Tarocchi”, a 15-minute short film that speaks about the new haute couture collection with Sammezzano Castle near Florence, as location, which is characterized by a particularly eclectic and original style that has been able to give the spot the esoteric and mysterious imprint that director Matteo Garrone wanted to communicate to the public.

The same trend is also used by Gucci, which in the past has accompanied us on a journey to Italy with a glamorous taste but also focused on the very essence of the country, portrayed in its most genuine expressions: if two years ago the brand chose as set the baroque ruins of Canale Monterano near Rome, last summer it was Umbria that welcomed Gucci in La Scarzuola, an architectural project in Montegabbione.

The two-year period 2020-2021 is therefore marking a new union between fashion and Italy, which goes beyond the obvious symbols that characterize Italian fashion but rather seals a new path made of Italianness and authenticity typical of Made in Italy, elements that are captuirng the attention of travelers in this very particular period.

2021 has just started and we are already thinking about the first anticipations regarding summer travels, with the first important data both in terms of destinations and travelers’ attitudes.

There are many online agencies that are thinking already about the intentions of their users, considering obviously the restrictions on travel conditions due to the health emergency.

Starting from destinations, as we had already seen in spring, the favorite destinations are big metropolises and art cities: Milan, London and Paris are in the top ten, but the absolute protagonist among European cities is Lisbon, already winner of the World Travel Awards in 2020. The city, in fact, maintains its leadership for the highly diversified tourist offer between culture, gastronomy, nature reserves and UNESCO sites.

Other recurring destinations are Dubai and Tokyo, venues respectively of EXPO and the Olympics, both events postponed to 2021.

Going to travel trends, the data for summer 2020 are confirmed, thus marking a concrete change in the habits of travelers, destined to last at least for the entire current season: if the business travel world is significantly reduced, the percentage of last minute trips is instead increased, a symptom that travelers have become accustomed to planning their trips shortly in advance based on the current situation.

Proximity travel still remains a fact not to be underestimated, in fact there are still many travelers who choose as holiday destination places close to their residence, a choice due not only to the uncertainty of the moment but also to the economic repercussions of the recent period.

Making accurate forecasts for summer 2021 is therefore still difficult, but the news regarding health suggest the desire of tourists to start traveling again.

Last month took place the reopening ceremony of the Giuseppe Pitrè Sicilian Ethnographic Museum, after five years of restructuring and reorganization of the exhibition. Although the event was held in presence, on the day of the birth of the Palermitan ethnologist, for the moment the exhibitions and events related to the structure are accessible only in streaming with a calendar full of events

The museum, founded in 1909, collects some of the most important archeological finds and paper documents relating to Sicilian culture and popular traditions: the two sites of the museum contain about 4000 objects, some collected by Pitrè himself and others from ethnographic collections and private donations. The main office, the one inside the garden of the Casina Cinese in the Parco della Favorita, has 30 exhibition rooms and a well-assorted library, according to the structure designed by Pitrè himself.

Conceived to best tell the history of Sicily and its traditions, the Pitrè museum “lives” also in this particular period thanks to the streaming events, inaugurated during the holiday period and which will continue in the coming months: in addition to live shows and performances in streaming inside the museum itself, there are also shows focused on Giuseppe Pitrè, who will virtually accompany us through the rooms he strongly desired.

An important point of reference for those who want to learn more about the culture of the Mediterranean, the Pitrè Museum offers interesting food for thought both for citizens and for those who want to discover the city of Palermo and Sicilian traditions, today in an even easier way, online from your living room!

Great news in the world of online payments: Strong Customer Authentication, the so-called “strong authentication” (SCA), is active starting from December 31st, which provides for a further step of personal authentication for web payments.

The SCA is required by the Payment Service Directive (P2D2), which, together with the opening of financial services to the online world, has introduced these necessary new security systems to protect the user.

The double level of authentication includes the so-called 3D Secure 2 (3DS2), a more advanced recognition system than 3D Secure 1, which provides for biometric recognition via the bank’s App or with a “disposable” code that arrives via SMS to the number associated with the credit card: it is believed that the new procedure with 3D Secure 2 makes payment times longer, a small price to pay in order to obtain more security for online payments.

As with all forms of online payment, 3DS2 must also be entered for the purchase of tickets on our platform www.prestiaecomande.it and on our App.

During these quiet and festive days, Palermo has had as guests journalists, bloggers, national and international influencers, participants in the #flytopalermo initiative aimed at showing not only the city, its culture and places, but also all the projects dedicated to the restart 2021.

This “suspended” period was in fact used by personalities of culture and of the city institutions to think about the restart of the new year, which is almost here, developing techniques and relaunch initiatives dedicated to companies, tourist, hotel and cultural associations.

The team of guests involved stood out for the variety of professionals chosen, from influencers to designers, from bloggers to food and wine journalists. The point of view of foreign journalists is particularly valuable in terms of opening the city to an increasingly international and diversified audience.

For two weeks, the correspondents took turns following a busy calendar of events and meetings that involved cultural operators, the hospitality, food and wine sectors but not only: visits to the historic center and the surroundings, such as Monreale or the Madonie, were also organized to breathe the city’s and in general the Sicilian atmosphere.

The feedback from the guests involved was very positive: as many have said, the experience made it possible to have a cultural glimps of Palermo, the foundations of which are the result of a mixture of art, history, culture, food and wine, full of splendor but also of contradictions. Great affection was also shown towards its citizens, described as generous and welcoming enough to make visitors want to go to Palermo again.