Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group Executive Chairman and World Travel & Tourism Council Chairman, Manfredi Lefebvre has called on the tourism industry to focus on destinations beyond Italy’s landmark cities, to disperse tourists further afield in the country, as a means to handle the overtourism debate.
Italy is constantly at the front of mind and the top of bucket-list destinations for ultra-luxury and high-net-worth individuals, whether it be first-timers or returning serial visitors, as reported by the likes of Virtuoso and Signature Travel Network.
Speaking at the annual assembly of the Federturismo Confindustria, Italy’s national travel and tourism federation, the billionaire travel expert, said: “Italy is not merely a tourism destination. It is the world’s most powerful cultural influence machine and we are undervaluing it.”
Manfredi Lefebvre, Executive Chairman, WTTC and Abercrombie & Kent Travel Group,
speaking at the 2026 Public Assembly of the Federturismo Confindustria | Credit: LinkedIn
Travel and tourism account for one in nine jobs worldwide, Lefebvre said, “yet Spain – with fewer visitors than France – earns 40% more in international spending.”
“Volume is not value,” the Italian-born luxury travel and cruise icon argued. “Italy understands this instinctively. We have not yet turned that instinct into strategy.”
“The next chapter is not in our icons. It is in everything beyond them in the borghi, the regional cuisines, the landscapes, the craftsmanship, the quiet valleys and coastal towns that the world is actively searching for but has not yet found,” Lefebvre said.
Portofino, Italy | Credit: Ricardo Gomez Angel/Unsplash
He continued, saying: “Italy has more UNESCO World Heritage Sites than any country on earth. We have barely scratched the surface of what that means for destination travel.”
“We must promote this country not as a collection of postcard images, but as a living civilisation that rewards those who go deeper,” he told delegates at Federturismo.
“That is our competitive advantage. That is what no algorithm can replicate and no competitor can copy.”
Lead image: Trevi Fountain, Rome, Italy | Credit: Jeff Ackley/Unsplash