An alliance that could reshape Italian tourism
Italian tourism policy entered a new and sensitive phase after Gianmarco Mazzi was sworn in as the new Minister of Tourism on April 3, 2026. This formally closed a period marked by the departure of Daniela Santanchè, who resigned after strong political pressure and under the shadow of several investigations linked to her earlier business activities. But the change at the top is not just a personnel change. It raises the question of whether Italy, in years of intensified global competition, will manage to combine two logics that often do not go together easily: the country’s cultural narrative as a unique civilizational destination and operational, data-driven international promotion. That is precisely why the relationship between Mazzi and Alessandra Priante, president of ENIT, the state agency that is the operational arm of Italy’s promotion around the world, has come to the center of attention.
On paper, this is a potentially very strong tandem. Mazzi comes from the cultural and media world, with experience in the music and television industry and a political mandate that, before his ministerial office, he held as Undersecretary for Culture. Priante, on the other hand, represents an international and institutional profile: an economist and diplomat, former Director for Europe at UN Tourism, with experience working on global tourism policies, crisis management, and the positioning of countries on the international market. At a time when Italy is trying to capitalize on the momentum of major events, from jubilee travel to sports events linked to Milan-Cortina, that combination of cultural symbolism and international strategy could prove decisive.
A reshuffle after a political blow
Mazzi’s arrival is not the result of a long-prepared reshuffle, but of an urgent political need. The Italian Ministry of Tourism confirmed that Mazzi was sworn in on April 3, after Santanchè had officially submitted her resignation to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni several days earlier. In the published letter of resignation, Santanchè herself stated that she was stepping down at the explicit request of the Prime Minister, while publicly wishing to emphasize that the decision had not come spontaneously. Such an outcome shows how politically sensitive the issue of managing tourism has become in a country where this sector is not only a symbol of national identity but also a vast economic infrastructure.
For Meloni’s government, the replacement was also necessary because of credibility. Tourism in Italy is no longer a portfolio that can be managed solely through communication logic or seasonal campaigns. According to ISTAT data for 2023, the sector directly generates 106.8 billion euros of gross domestic product, and when indirect effects are included, the total contribution rises to 206.4 billion euros, or 9.6 percent of GDP. More than four million jobs, or 14.4 percent of total employment, are linked to tourism activities. In such a context, any political instability at the top of the ministry necessarily turns into a question of investment security, international promotion, and the relationship of the state toward regions, cities, and the private sector.
Why ENIT is more important than it seems at first glance
In everyday political language, the minister is the face of policy, but the real reach of tourism strategy depends to a large extent on ENIT. This institution was reorganized in February 2024 into ENIT Spa, an in-house company under the supervision and control of the Ministry of Tourism, with the ownership role of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. At the time of its establishment, Priante was appointed president, and the model was presented as an attempt to speed up procedures, strengthen operational capacity, and connect the promotion of Italy more strongly with state development policies.
In other words, ENIT is not merely a promotional office that appears at trade fairs and produces advertisements. It is the place where market research, international campaigns, work with airlines and tour operators, regional branding, consumption monitoring, trend analysis, and the increasingly important issues of sustainability, accessibility, and digitalization come together. This is especially important for a country like Italy, where the tourism image cannot be reduced only to Rome, Venice, and Florence. The Italian challenge is how to sell a recognizable national brand globally, while at the same time distributing visitors to smaller towns, inland areas, mountain regions, thermal destinations, and regions that do not participate equally in the tourism boom.
The profile of Alessandra Priante: international network and institutional discipline
This is why Alessandra Priante is a valuable asset for Rome. According to ENIT’s official biography, she is an economist with pronounced international and diplomatic experience who, as Director for Europe at UN Tourism, managed a region of 43 member states that together account for more than half of the global tourism market. She joined ENIT with the reputation of someone who understands how international organizations function, how trust is built among states, and how tourism policy is becoming less and less about slogans and more and more about managing data, partnerships, and reputational risks.
Her advantage, however, is not only foreign-policy related. Over the past years, Priante has publicly emphasized topics that are also becoming central in the European debate on tourism: sustainability, reducing seasonal pressures, balancing the relationship between visitors’ interests and the quality of life of the local population, and the broader use of digital tools in destination management. Such an approach can bring greater seriousness to Italy at a time when big numbers are both an advantage and a problem. The country attracts an enormous number of guests, but precisely for that reason, pressure is also growing on cities, infrastructure, housing, and the everyday lives of residents in the most burdened destinations.
Mazzi brings different capital: narrative, stage, and political visibility
If Priante symbolizes the technical and international dimension, Mazzi brings something else: the ability to connect tourism with the cultural industry and public narrative. His career is tied to television, music, and cultural production, and it is precisely in that zone that Italy has traditionally had one of its greatest advantages. Italian tourism does not sell only accommodation, flights, and museum tickets. It sells an idea of lifestyle, gastronomy, landscape, historical continuity, festivals, design, and local identity. In that sense, a minister with a strong feel for media language and cultural branding can be politically useful.
But an advantage can easily become a limitation as well. Today’s tourism competition is not won only with emotionally powerful stories about the beauty of a country. It is also won through the quality of management, precise market segmentation, investment coordination, fiscal instruments, workforce, transport connectivity, and the ability to turn visitor numbers into sustainable local benefit. That is precisely why cooperation with Priante will be a test for Mazzi: will he manage to turn the cultural story into a strategy, or will policy remain at the level of impression and symbolism.
The numbers provide optimism, but also a warning
The Italian side has reason for self-confidence. At the beginning of March, ENIT announced at the ITB Berlin tourism fair that Germany remained the leading source market for arrivals to Italy in 2025 as well: in the first nine months of that year, 11.1 million German travelers stayed in the country, with tourism spending of 7.5 billion euros. At the same time, ENIT data for overseas markets show that 2025 and 2026 carry exceptional weight because of the combination of two major demand drivers: the jubilee year and the Milan-Cortina Winter Olympic Games. According to published estimates, Rome recorded 7.1 million air tourist arrivals in 2025, of which 6.3 million were international visitors, while more than 1.3 million arrivals are expected for the first quarter of 2026. In the regions of Lazio, Umbria, and Marche, 30 percent of companies directly link user growth to the jubilee effect.
This means that the new management team is not taking over a sector in recession, but one in the midst of acceleration. That is precisely why pressure is rising. When the numbers grow, so does the expectation that the state will manage space, traffic, and the benefits of spending better. Sports tourism is a good example of that dual challenge. ENIT states that in 2024 Italy was chosen for sports-motivated holidays by 556 thousand international travelers, who generated almost two million overnight stays and 338 million euros in spending. In addition, interest in Milan-Cortina 2026 is growing in key long-haul markets as well, including North America, Europe, and Oceania. This is a strong opportunity for branding the country, but also a serious organizational test.
The real issue is not only promotion, but crowd management
This is precisely where it becomes clear why the relationship between the minister and the president of ENIT will not be only a matter of protocol. The Italian government, ENIT, and international organizations are speaking ever more openly that the success of tourism must no longer be measured only by the number of guests and spending. The document of Italy’s G7 presidency on inclusive and sustainable tourism emphasizes the need to balance the benefits of tourism with effects on the environment and local communities, and that development should not be viewed only through the growth of arrivals. In practical terms, this translates into several political priorities: deseasonalization, digitalization of the tourism ecosystem, sustainability, and a better distribution of benefits toward less developed destinations.
Nor does the Italian budgetary framework hide these priorities. The Ministry of Tourism stated that 37.5 million euros per year for the Tourism Fund has been secured in the budgetary measures for the 2026–2028 period, along with additional instruments for contracts in the value chain, digitalization, and support for models of sustainable and quality destinations. It is especially important that sites that receive the status of a quality tourism destination will have priority support from ENIT in promotion. This is a signal that Rome is trying to shift the focus from merely increasing the number of visitors to a more selective and balanced management of growth.
Where it could get stuck
Still, the institutional architecture also carries built-in tensions. ENIT is under the supervision of the Ministry of Tourism, but its effectiveness depends on a certain degree of professional autonomy, continuity of market work, and the trust of international partners. The minister, on the other hand, has a political mandate, must answer to the government, parliament, and the public, and is subject to the daily pressure of the media and party expectations. When relations are good, such a model allows a clear division of labor: policy sets the direction, and the agency executes. When relations are not good, room opens for parallel centers of power, overlapping competences, and blockages over who actually defines the priority campaigns, markets, and messages.
That is exactly why the Mazzi–Priante tandem arouses so much interest. Both have a strong profile, but a different type of legitimacy. Mazzi comes with political authority and access to the Prime Minister, Priante with international credibility and professional authority in the sector. In the ideal scenario, this means synergy between political visibility and expert implementation. In a worse scenario, it could mean competition between a ministry that wants immediate control over the message and an ENIT that wants a long-term, market-based strategy. For now, there are no public signs of open conflict, but the very importance of their roles says enough that any discord will quickly become politically visible.
What success would actually mean
If this alliance succeeds, Italy could gain a model that other Mediterranean countries are still seeking. It would be a model in which national tourism promotion is not based only on postcard iconography, but on precise market management, distribution of flows, and linking tourism with industrial, cultural, and transport policy. In such a scenario, Mazzi would be the political translator of Italy’s cultural power, and Priante its global strategist. In practice, this would mean stronger use of major events without degrading the quality of life in host cities, stronger promotion of the south and the interior, and smarter use of data to attract higher-value guests, and not only greater volume.
For Italy, this is especially important now, when the country is already a strong brand, but must decide what kind of growth it wants. The data show that demand exists, that international markets are responding, and that major events are bringing additional momentum. But the same data warn that further growth without smart management could intensify pressure on cities, infrastructure, and local communities. In that sense, Mazzi’s appointment will not be judged only by the communication impression of the first months of his mandate, but by whether he can establish an operational relationship with Alessandra Priante in which policy and expert implementation pull in the same direction. In a country that lives from its beauty, history, and the ability to turn them into economic strength, it is precisely that balance that could determine whether Italy, in the new cycle of tourism growth, will act as a world stage or as a system that knows how to manage its own success.
Sources:- Ministero del Turismo – official announcement of the appointment of Gianmarco Mazzi as Minister of Tourism on April 3, 2026. (link)
- Ministero del Turismo – Daniela Santanchè’s resignation letter published on March 26, 2026. (link)
- Ministero del Turismo – announcement of the establishment of ENIT Spa and the appointment of Alessandra Priante as president on February 28, 2024. (link)
- ENIT – official biography of Alessandra Priante with information on her international career and work at UN Tourism (link)
- ISTAT – Tourism satellite account for Italy, year 2023; data on tourism’s contribution to GDP and employment (link)
- ENIT – ITB Berlin 2026; data on the German market as the leading source market for Italy in 2025. (link)
- ENIT Research Office – report on overseas markets, the jubilee, and Milan-Cortina 2026; estimates of arrivals and the effects of major events (link)
- Ministero del Turismo – budget measures for 2026 with an emphasis on tourism funds, digitalization, and quality destinations (link)
- G7 Italy / Ministero del Turismo – document on inclusive and sustainable tourism and the need to balance economic benefits with effects on the environment and residents (link)
- ANSA – reports on the resignation of Daniela Santanchè and the appointment of Gianmarco Mazzi, with the political context of the change at the top of the ministry (link)
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