Who we are
The Regional Tourism Agency, known as Pugliapromozione, is a non-profit public body, a technical operational body for the Region, established by the Presidential Decree of the Apulia Regional Council No. 176 of 2011 (as provided for by Regional Law No. 1 of 2011, amended by Regional Law 18/2010).
Pugliapromozione is an operating entity of the Apulia Region and implements the policies of the Apulia Region in terms of promoting the unified image of the Region as well as local tourism. It has autonomy over its organisation, administration, property, accounts, management and methods. It is based on the principles of transparency and cost-effectiveness, as well as efficiency and effectiveness.
Pugliapromozione's vision
To manage and promote the tourist destination of Apulia as an integrated and flexible unit of tangible and intangible values, by working with different integrated and organised entities to develop balanced and sustainable tourism.
If tourism is a bridge between people and cultures, a union of human beings and cultures, an opening that understands differences and innovation, then Apulia wants to be a model of expert, knowledgeable and responsible tourism, because it respects human beings, nature, the environment and the rules and regulations that govern the sector.
The Agency's vision focuses on leading Italian tourism and believes that the competitive value and image of Apulia as a destination is based on the many facets of its regional identities, on the integration of the actors involved, on the quality of the countryside and environment and on the friendly and healthy local resident communities.
Pugliapromozione's mission
To implement the Puglia Region's policies on the promotion of the unified image of the region to encourage tourism.
The Regional Legislature has stated this mandate in general objectives which have given substance to the Agency's mission:
a) to promote the understanding and attractiveness of the region in its tangible and intangible resources;
b) on the basis of the Region's specific objectives, to encourage the development of stable employment in the tourism industry and to help operators and workers in the sector to gain qualifications;
c) to promote and specify Apulia's regional tourism industry, by fostering its competitiveness on national and international markets and by supporting cooperation between public and private entities' work in the sector; to encourage the region's tourism industry to satisfy agents in international tourism flows;
d) to promote the development of sustainable, slow, food and wine, cultural, youth, social and religious tourism, as well as all forms of activity and experience-based tourism, strengthening the value of associated activities;
e) to develop and coordinate tourism-related operations for the use and integrated promotion within the region of cultural heritage, natural protected areas and cultural activities, within the framework of the entire region's production;
f) to launch initiatives, shows and events to promote the excellent tangible and intangible regional features;
g) to encourage the spread of a wider culture of hospitality among public and private operators and the local population, which also can be done by avoiding approaches and actions that are directly or indirectly discriminatory in terms of subjective rights, privacy and personal conditions;
h) to promote the culture of the protection of the tourist consumer's rights;
i) to protect the regional operational facilities that support the coordination of the activities and initiatives of the Local Tourism Systems;
j) to carry out the administrative functions and duties already assigned to the Tourist Boards and to coordinate the network system of tourism hospitality information, also in their links with the Pro Loco and Municipalities;
k) to work with the system of Chambers of Commerce, university institutions and research centres, administrative offices, public authorities, bodies and specialist agencies;
l) to carry out any other activity devolved by the Puglia Region's regional regulation, strategic guidelines and programming instruments, also concerning national intervention and inter-regional and community programmes.
The specific duties listed by the Law and Regulation may be grouped into the following macro categories of Pugliapromozione's activities:
Marketing, strategic planning and stakeholder coordination
- develops the implementation plan of the general strategy for tourism promotion;
- coordinates the implementation work within the tourism marketing plans;
- develops the execution plans for the implementation work;
- carries out the coordination activities of stakeholders (the local actors involved in the promotion or marketing of tourism products) both in terms of the strategic planning (sharing the vision and strategies) and the operational planning (training, information, support and integration into a network);
- creates links with the other Regional Administration sectors to ensure compliance with policies;
- works with the regional tourism district to build product offers;
- coordinates the Local Tourism Systems in the strategic planning for the promotion of regional areas;
- supports the Region to ensure the organisation and operational efficiency of the Local Tourism Systems and Tourism District within the product framework.
Observatory and destination audits
- carries out qualitative and quantitative analysis and measurements (also in collaboration with university institutions and research centres, administrative offices, public authorities, bodies and specialist agencies) on: the competitiveness of the destination; the connection between the management and promotion of the destination with the vision and mission given to the Agency by the political guidelines of the Puglia Region and the effectiveness of the activities carried out; the tourism demand relating to specific products or markets; the tourism supply relating to specific products or markets; regional tourism flows; the quality of tourists' holidays in particular in terms of protecting the tourism consumer's rights; any other issues required for the strategic programming;
- gathers statistical data on the region;
- communicates information and results to all the local actors (arrivals and presences);
- gathers and investigates the prices of accommodation facilities;
- carries out supervision and checks of all the tourism activities on behalf of the Region;
- studies and monitors the underground economy (regarding companies and jobs);
- implements a regional information system for the collected data;
- carries out any other observatory function delegated by the Puglia Region to the Agency, also pursuant to the Regional Law on Regional Tourism Observatories.
Promotion of the destination of Apulia
- promotes the image and manages the brand positioning of Apulia and the tourism products from this destination through various communication instruments and integrated promotion: media plan, press office and public relations, e-marketing and management (also editorial related) of the Region's tourism portals, publications for promotion or tourist information, etc;
- manages the programme of trade shows, road shows and co-promotion activities;
- manages the educational tour activities and other promotional activities of the destination's reputation;
- promotes, through specific activities, the match between supply and demand and marketing of tourism products, in coordination with the Tourism District and its framework.
Management of the destination of Apulia
- spreads and develops the culture of reception and hospitality;
- coordinates (by integrating the components), controls and monitors what the region has to offer (resources and services);
- coordinates improvements to make the most of the region;
- checks and monitors the stakeholders' requirements and provides them with assistance (also and in particular regarding new businesses);
- supports the activities of the Local Tourism Systems;
- on the basis of the appropriate guidelines approved by the Regional Council known as the National Association of Italian Municipalities Apulia, manages the information points (Tourism Hospitality Information) in coordination with the Pro Loco system (which organises and keeps the Register).
The Regional Legislature provides for that the Agency can also carry out any other duty assigned to it by the Region.
Pugliapromozione would like to create an efficient and concise system that is capable of acting quickly, making savings and optimising the system to free up resources to be used to continue the expansion of the tourism industry, with a view to the compatibility and economic sustainability of the entire regional socio-economic system.
Through continuous consultation with local institutions, syndicates, specific organisations, user associations and the third sector, Pugliapromozione shall take on the aforementioned duties and promote network working methods through its regional framework. It will use the principle of subsidiarity with an aspect of comparison and consultation that allows it to check the quality of services in relation to the development of demand and the transformation of the tourism industry.