PIEMONTE IN LONDON TO PROMOTE TOURISM AND ATTRACT INVESTMENTS

From November 4 to 6, 2024, Piemonte heads to London with a mission to attract investments and showcase its tourism offerings. This initiative aims to highlight the region's ecosystem as a prime destination for quality foreign investments and tourism, timed with the World Travel Market (WTM), one of the two most prominent industry fairs alongside Berlin. During the mission, details of The 50 Best Restaurants Award—a competition that annually honors the world’s top 50 chefs and will be held in Torino and Piemonte in 2025—will also be announced.

The Piemonte delegation includes representatives from Regione Piemonte, the City of Torino, the Torino Chamber of Commerce, Unioncamere Piemonte, Ceipiemonte, Visit Piemonte, and Piemonte’s Local Tourism Agencies, including Turismo Torino and the Royal Residences Consortium. Targeted meetings with potential investors will showcase investment opportunities in the region to UK-based companies and organizations with a potential interest.

On Monday morning, eight C-level executives from leading companies with extensive experience in foreign investment projects will meet with Piemonte institutions, organized by the Financial Times. This gathering will allow international companies to understand Piemonte’s competitive advantages and the support roles of regional institutions, especially through resources like the investment attraction team. Attending executives include representatives from Space Solar, Hybrid Air Vehicles, Amazon, Quantum Propulsion Technologies, EvoliTo, Aspia Space, Infogrid, Renesas Electronics, and Graphcore.

Additionally, the Financial Times will preview a report on Piemonte's ecosystem, based on interviews conducted in early October, to be published by its investment-focused publication, fDi Intelligence, in December 2024.

In the afternoon, the City of Torino, along with Collegio Carlo Alberto, will participate in a session with the London School of Economics and its LSE Cities Research Center.

Piemonte has recently become increasingly attractive to foreign investors, a fact underscored by the Financial Times' award ranking it as the sixth best European region for investment attraction strategy in 2024. Piemonte is the second-leading Italian region in terms of employment by foreign multinationals and value added by multinational industrial companies (source: TEH Ambrosetti). Between 2019 and 2024, the average number of foreign investments per year in Piemonte doubled compared to 2014-2018. The United Kingdom leads the countries represented among the over 400 foreign investor contacts managed by Ceipiemonte. Currently, Ceipiemonte is managing 50 potential investment cases, including a dozen in advanced stages, from the UK, primarily in sectors such as Aerospace, Automotive, Cleantech & Green Building, ICT, Mechatronics, Real Estate, Health, and Wellness.

Piemonte will headline the “Piemonte’s Ecosystem and Its Investment Opportunities” event on Monday, November 4, at the Italian Embassy in London. This presentation, attended by over 100 representatives from foreign companies, will include testimonials from those who have chosen to invest in Piemonte. Following the conference, the Networking Cocktail “Experience Piemonte: a Journey through Flavours, Events, and Snow” will welcome international tourism operators and journalists in London for the World Travel Market 2024 (November 5-7). At the event, Piemonte’s booth within the Italian Pavilion will host local tourism agencies, private operators, and consortia, including a space dedicated to the Royal Residences, under a promotional project led by the City of Torino. The Piemonte area will facilitate meetings with potential investors and hold dedicated sessions to promote the region as a tourist destination, with a particular focus on the UK market.

Over the past decade, tourism from the United Kingdom has grown by approximately 30%, with over 160,000 arrivals and more than 600,000 overnight stays. February records the highest number of overnight stays by British tourists in Piemonte, representing nearly 19% of the annual total. British tourists are especially drawn to the mountains, with over 102,000 overnight stays, affirming the appeal of skiing and winter holidays. The summer season (June through September) accounts for over 205,000 stays (34% of the annual total), with the lake area particularly popular, exceeding 109,000 stays (more than 50% of the regional total). Figures for the first quarter of 2024 confirm a positive trend in British tourist flows, with a 10% increase over the same period last year, especially toward mountain areas.

“Regione and Comune are united in London to promote our territory, its capacity to attract investments—especially in strategic sectors—and its positioning in international tourism markets,” states Alberto Cirio, President of the Regione Piemonte. “Piemonte has seen its level of internationalization grow over recent years: we are the leading region in Italy in terms of increased investment and jobs created by multinationals, with the UK leading the list of countries with companies interested in investing in our area. We are here to meet with potential investors, tour operators, and to strengthen ongoing investment cases.”

“Piemonte is proving itself to be one of the most dynamic and attractive regions on the market,” comments Andrea Tronzano, Regional Minister for Economic Development, Internationalization, and Investment Attraction. “These days in London will see regional representatives working as a team to showcase the myriad opportunities Piemonte offers. Our region has an unparalleled productive mix, from aerospace to semiconductors and advanced manufacturing to automotive. This combination holds one result for the future: growth. I remain optimistic about the strength of our region’s economy. Recent Ambrosetti reports confirm that investing in Piemonte is a smart choice.”

“The mission to London,” emphasizes Regional Minister for Culture, Tourism, and Sport Marina Chiarelli, “is a strategic opportunity for Piemonte to expand its base of foreign investments and position itself as one of Europe’s most comprehensive and competitive destinations. Beyond promoting our industrial and technology hubs, we aim to highlight our complete tourism offering, from cultural and gastronomic itineraries to winter sports—a sector we have developed with vision and commitment. Our alpine ecosystem, with top-quality facilities and ever-improving services, offers experiences ranging from skiing to mountain trails and sustainable tourism to local gastronomy. Thanks to modern ski areas and facilities, Piemonte can compete with Europe’s most desirable destinations, drawing not only tourists but also investors and partners eager to invest in a high-growth segment. London is a launching point for establishing new connections with investors and operators interested in our territory.”

Stefano Lo Russo, Mayor of Torino, states: “This mission aligns with the path we are taking to internationalize our area, involving all institutions. For the City, this is an opportunity for exchange and engagement, not only in tourism but also with business and academia. The latter is particularly important to us as we are increasingly committed to attracting high-level academic and educational institutions to Torino to further establish the city as a top international university destination.”

“This institutional mission to London represents a valuable opportunity for Piemonte to strengthen its position as a premier economic and tourism destination for international investments,” comments Paolo Bertolino, Secretary General of Unioncamere Piemonte. “Thanks to effective collaboration among our regional institutions, we aim to showcase our excellence and entrepreneurial expertise capable of attracting foreign capital and skills. Building solid partnerships with UK partners will provide new growth prospects for our region, as well as further enhance our level of internationalization.”

“Piemonte and its capital Torino have strong reasons for attracting foreign capital, investors, and new businesses,” explains Dario Gallina, President of the Torino Chamber of Commerce. “That’s why we are implementing a comprehensive attraction project that has brought us to London today: the United Kingdom is the leading country for investment projects in our region. We are confident that this mission, which combines investment attraction and tourism promotion and includes the joint participation of all local institutions, will serve as an excellent introduction to Piemonte as a strategic partner abroad.”

“This regional institutional mission to London is an essential step in Piemonte’s foreign investment attraction strategy, which Ceipiemonte, together with the Region, the Torino Chamber of Commerce, and the entire Piemonte Chamber System, is pursuing to promote and support foreign companies interested in setting up operations in our region,” says Dario Peirone, President of Ceipiemonte. “Meetings with major companies and investment funds will enable us to spotlight the territory’s logistical advantages and short supply chains. The UK is a target country for our efforts, as it ranks first among the over 400 potential investors we have identified since expanding our investment attraction team.”