"Back to the roots to share the love for our land" Showing Puglia to the world? It’s possible, after having met Sandro and talked about the innovative concept of Arrivederci Puglia Travel, a small business led by two brothers specialized in tours to Puglia. From this interview, you’ll be enlightened by one thing: the cross-border human power of traveling and sharing. It’s time to listen to this success story from the other side, from Sandro, brother of Antonella and co-founder of Arrivederci Puglia Travel. Hello Sandro, thank you for being with us today! So, you started to design tours to Puglia to connect your land with foreign travelers. How did you get to this decision? We started out, my sister and I, two committed and passionate Apulians with this international mindset, young people ready to give it a chance. Red tape and travel director exams were our first steps, in order to ensure our travelers the best and most secure and certified experience ever. Over years we have developed our business but still remained a small family-run company. We have spread out in the territory, entering the tourism network and meeting new tour guides who shared our values. But I can say that up to now our private tours to Puglia have been managed or led by ourselves personally. We like meeting and getting to know our travelers and not just sitting on the other side of the management counter. How did you manage to keep in contact with your customer network during this year? We have always been transparent with our clients, keeping them constantly up to date with all new restrictions and travel bans in Italy. We didn’t cancel even a single trip in 2020. All our planned tours to Puglia have been postponed. In my opinion, our travelers need to be reassured and supported: only with a trusted partner they can dream and plan their next trip. Our guidance and consulting role is ever-increasing during this period, still remotely, and we are happy to contribute to better access to information for our travelers. How would you describe Arrivederci Puglia Travel using three adjectives? Local, exclusive, and cozy. Let me tell you why, for many reasons! We try to find the balance between “Puglia must-sees” and “Puglia unknown gems”. Through our customized tours to Puglia we would like to show Italy in a different way. I remember 10 years ago when we first took our travelers to Monopoli and Polignano a Mare, close to where we live. They asked us why these amazing spots were not actually showcased in the standard tour operators’ catalogs. We wanted to give them a local glimpse which they would only see with us. Every tour is related to the best wine and food programs: we boast a network of certified and experienced chefs, wine cellars, oil producers we are very proud of. Not to mention the taste of the authentic local cuisine we select for our small group tours: the same restaurants where we are used to going with our friends and family. Isn’t that exclusive? Our travelers will find a team of tour guides, in the first place Antonella, who carefully and passionately lead them through the best experiences, in order to provide them with the best memories. We aim at creating a familiar, welcoming, and cozy atmosphere. Which are your goals that will shape the future of your tours to Puglia? I would say two main ones: Expanding our partner network This pandemic time has given us the opportunity to improve ourselves every day more, mapping our territory, meeting new partners and hotel facilities, setting up new synergies. Every experience we offer is personally tested. Reliability of small group tours to Puglia by expert locals We would like to spread a simple but powerful message: as travel experts, we want to raise awareness of the value of small group tours to Southern Italy organized by locals, in compliance with every possible health and hygiene measure. Tourism and travel all over the world have undergone unprecedented change, and that’s why it is fundamental to personalize our tours to Puglia and share the value with our customers that relying on expert and professional travel companies will be the new frontier of international tourism. Well, after these inspiring insights we can do nothing but wish you the best luck! Cannot wait to embark on a new local experience? Click here to find out more about the travel offer of Arrivederci Puglia Travel!