Piazza Pretoria, Palermo, Sicily, Italy, Sculptures, Fountain
Photo Credit: Romas Photo/Shutterstock
Way back in April, when many of us still harbored naive hopes that the pandemic would be over by summer, I reported that Sicily was making vacationers an offer they couldn't refuse.
To make up some of the billions in lost tourism revenue and put locals back to work, the storied isle came up with a bold plan to subsidize tourist visits. All admission fees at museums would be waived for a while, one out of every three hotel nights would be free, and visitors would receive 50% off airfare.
The government set aside €545 million for the plan.
Needless to say, the story got a lot of attention. And then . . . crickets.
No further information appeared on Sicily's official tourism website for how to take advantage of the offer once travel resumed.
Today, I have some good news and some bad news.
According to Time Out, island authorities have said that the program has been extended to run until December 2021. Museum visits will be free and there will be vouchers for some free lodging stays, though there's no longer any word about 50% off airfares.
Even more concerning, Sicily's government has yet to give any details about how visitors will get the vouchers and special perks. It now has a web page devoted to the "See Sicily Voucher Program" but it's merely a placeholder.
"We are currently in the course of defining procedures for the “SEE SICILY” Voucher program which aims to support the tourist sector in Sicily during the post-emergency phase of Covid-19," says the site. "The initiative, which promotes Sicily as an ideal destination for holidays, provides the acquisition, by the Department of Tourism, of services that will be made available through special tourist packages."
"Information for tourist operators who would like to participate in the program “SEE SICILY” will be published soon."
Our advice? If you want to try and take advantage of the offer—and hopefully it will be safe enough to travel in the summer and fall, though who knows?—bookmark the page we linked to above. The money was earmarked by the government back in spring of 2020....so we assume the program will go forward someday. Hopefully that someday will coincide with when Americans are finally allowed to return to Europe.
