Offer You Can’t Refuse: Sicily Will Pay For Your Holiday Flights

The regional government of Sicily has offered to pay for flights and cover accommodation costs of tourists who decide to take a holiday on the Italian island.

Offer you can’t refuse

According to British quality newspaper The Times, the regional Sicilian Government has decided to allocate a 50 million euro budget to lure tourists to the Mediterranean island once corona virus (COVID-19) measures have been lifted.

The regional government reportedly plans to pay half of the flight costs of arriving tourists as well as one out of three hotel nights they stay on the island.

Vouchers which can be used for cultural activities and tourist attractions will also be handed out to tourists.

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The waterfront of Syracuse. ©Paliparan

Tourism website

When the restrictions are lifted and overseas tourists are again welcomed on the island, the vouchers will be available from the official Sicilian tourism website.

Corona impact

As a total of 13 percent of Italy’s GDP depends on the tourist industry, the regional government hopes that the offer will help convincing tourists to take a holiday in the country which is one of the hardest hit by the corona virus in the entire world.

Although in Italy the corona virus has mostly caused havoc in the northern regions of Lombardy and Veneto, Sicily is likely to be disproportionately hit by a post-COVID19 economic slump being among Italy’s poorer regions where the travel industry makes up a big part of economic activities.

The sights of Sicily

Whether or not the proposed scheme to pay tourists to come to the Italian island will come to fruition, we can highly recommend a holiday to this sunny island.

As the largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily almost feel like a continent on its own and it has definitely enough cultural and natural sights to keep you occupied for months.

Among the highlights of Sicily are lively cities such as Palermo and Catania which offer tons of local cultural and culinary highlights. Sicily also has the imposing sight of the Etna volcano, the sheer history of places like Syracuse and Taormina and tons of charming baroque towns like Scicli and Modica.

Of course, if you just want to enjoy the sun and sea, there are also countless of beach resorts on the island.

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The main square of Syracuse on the island of Sicily. ©Paliparan
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The Cathedral of Palermo. ©Paliparan
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Mount Etna as seen from a plane window. ©Paliparan
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If you are lucky, you can witness an eruption of Mount Etna. ©Paliparan
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The ancient Greek theatre of Taormina with Mount Etna visible in the far distance. ©Paliparan
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A baroque church in Buscemi. ©Paliparan
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The baroque interior of a church in Scicli. ©Paliparan

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Koen

Koen works as a freelance journalist covering south-eastern Europe and is the founding father and editor-in-chief of Paliparan. As a contributor to some major Fleet Street newspapers and some lesser known publications in the Balkans, he travels thousands of miles each year for work as well as on his personal holidays. Whether it is horse riding in Kyrgyzstan’s Tian Shan mountains, exploring the backstreets of Bogotá, or sipping a glass of moschofilero in a Greek beachside taverna, Koen loves to immerse himself into the local culture, explore new places and eat and drink himself around the world. You can follow Koen on his travels on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

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