The ATL Turismo Torino e Provincia (Local Tourist Agency) was established on 29 September 1997 with a single, grand and ambitious goal: to let the world know that Turin had what it takes to be a tourist destination on a par with other Italian and international destinations.
Because Turin, the first capital of Italy, had nothing to envy from other cities. It just had to become aware of its excellences and attractions and start communicating them. It had to shake off the image of a grey and boring city that prejudices had created and roll up its sleeves, as they say, to intrigue tourists and carve out a place for itself on the tourist scene, unlike cities like Rome and Florence that shone in their own light.
Since 1997, steps have been taken thanks to the perseverance and farsightedness of the administrations and members who have believed in Turin's potential and in the ATL which, in the words welcome and promotion, has founded its path and mission! Thus, tourism products and services were created to make the destination usable by tourists (from the Torino+Piemonte Card to the Welcome Tour), a welcome network was set up with no less than 12 information points, and all the online and offline communication tools (materials, web and social networks) and promotion tools were activated in order to reach the final public, the media and national and international tour operators.
After a few years, in 2007, the province was unified with the subalpine capital and the ATL Turismo Torino became Turismo Torino e Provincia, integrating a rich, attractive territory, all to be discovered with an extension of 6. 821 km2 and 312 municipalities - from the plains and hills of the Ivrea and Canavese Morainic Amphitheatre to the Lanzo Valleys, the Gran Paradiso National Park with Ceresole Reale, passing through the Sangone Valley and the Alps of the Upper Chisone and Susa Valleys - and with 82 public and private members. In 2010, the ATL was further expanded by incorporating the Convention Bureau, the contact point for acquiring and realising events and congresses in Turin.
In these 25 years, the city has changed, has changed its image, has convinced even the most sceptical of its beauty and attractiveness, and thanks also to the passion and professionalism of the team of Turismo Torino e Provincia: Turin has gone from 2,040,262 presences in 1997 to 4,688,970 in 2019*, registering an increase of 130%; while Turin and its province has gone from 3,921,802 presences in 2007 to 7,233,639 in 2019*, an increase of 84%.
And for the current year, there are well-founded expectations to exceed pre-Covid values.
An extraordinary result that allows us to assert that Turin and its province is to all intents and purposes, without ifs and buts, a tourist destination worth visiting! So... Happy Birthday Turismo Torino e Provincia and... many happy returns!
*pre Covid year