Vieste between sport and tourism: the words of the Mayor Giuseppe Nobiletti
It is called the Pearl of the Gargano and it is the queen of the Apulian holidays. Vieste will be the Municipality leader together with Peschici of the exciting adventure of the WMOC 2022 that the world orienteering community is preparing to experience in Gargano from the 8th to the 16th of July. We talked about this with its Mayor Giuseppe Nobiletti.
Credits. Giuseppe_Nobiletti.
Mayor, how important is tourism for a municipality like Vieste?
“Tourism is the backbone of the economy for our municipality. Its development in recent decades has completely changed the face of the city, modernizing it and making it emerge forcefully in the panorama of the most popular tourist places in Italy, as well as the most visited in Puglia. The benefits in social, cultural, and environmental terms derived from the rise of the tourist vocation have been enormous; they have completely changed the face of the city and promise even more ambitious development margins”.
What value does sports tourism have for you?
“As shown by the enormous competition between large cities to host major sporting events, the most disparate sports practices (football, athletics, swimming, etc.) constitute a strategic bet to promote and affirm every tourist reality in an increasingly competitive and globalized market. Previous experiences can be traced back to various stages of the Giro d’Italia in the tourism sector and we are also expanding in terms of nautical and water sports that have already been the subject of past events”.
Why did Vieste choose to support WMOC 2022?
“Vieste made this choice considering it strategic for the sporting and environmental value of the orienteering discipline. Perfect to integrate into a tourist offer that increasingly wants to decline with the enhancement of the environment and landscape of which our territory is very rich. Orienteering is a sport par excellence of exploration of territories and landscapes, not surprisingly consolidated in northern European areas particularly prone to the discovery of those vast and varied landscapes. The WMOC 2022 marks a fundamental step in our strategy of diversifying the tourism offer that is sometimes too anchored to the seaside target only”.
Credits V.Biffani
What can Vieste offer to those who choose to visit it?
“Vieste offers beaches, landscape, hinterland, traditions, customs, food, and wine with a consistency that makes it ultra-competitive in the panorama of the tourist offer of that magnificent international tourist product called ‘La Magnifica Italia’. ‘We are in Puglia’ is making a name for itself inside this”.
Comment on your historic center that will host the WMOC Sprint races.
“Our historic center is ready for this wonderful sporting hospitality. It offers itself with the charm with which we have enhanced its value in recent years. Village of history, traditions, smells, flavors, alleys, customs, events, colors, and atmospheres of the highest order, highly appreciated by rivers of visitors not only in the summer but also in the post and pre-season. Ready to show itself with its ridges not only on the most popular brochures (recently in an advertisement in the New York Times) but also to be breathed in sports. WMOC 2022 is an extraordinary business card”.
Finally, what message do you want to send to the 3 thousand orienteers who will reach the Gargano?
“Explore our beauties. They are waiting for nothing but to be admired!”