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On February 1st the summer charter program to Pisa was a subject for discussion in the Italian National Tourism Office in Moscow. Initiators of the flight – top managers of VIM-avia, Ital Travel and Intourbureau Omega, representatives of Pisa Airport and Toskana Promotione (governmental institution favoring economical development of the Toscana region) – presented the possibilities of the new charter program to Moscow tour operating companies.
According to them, a direct flight to Pisa will allow to form various tours to Italy involving excursions, shopping and balneology. Besides, Pisa airport is convenient from the point of view of organizing transfers to different cities of Italy.
Generally, Italian representatives showed their interest in co-operation with Russia. ‘Flights Moscow-Pisa were attempted to be launched before. But they were single flights. VIM-avia program is of crucial importance for us. It is intended to start as a charter but then we plan to bring it to the regular basis’, explained Director of Pisa Airport, Pierre Georgio Ballini. The Head of Toskana Promotione Roberto Pucci added: ‘we support this initiative as it will give Russian tourists an opportunity to learn about the history and culture of Toscana’.
A propos, according to Pucci, in 2005 Toscana welcomed 7 million foreign tourists. The majority of them came from the most developed countries - Eastern Europe, the USA and Japan. Meanwhile, only 173,000 Russain tourists visited Italy in 2005. The Director of Toscana Promotione pointed out that the Boris Gromov, Governor of the Moscow Region, made the most frequent appearance in Toscana last year. That evidently proves the fact that Toscana is a place for wealthy people. Will charter flights be popular among them? Time will tell.
